Loyola Press announced the launch of 4U2B Books & Media, a new imprint to help children, parents, educators, and lifelong learners thrive with a sense of place and purpose.
“With 4U2B Books & Media, we’re looking to entertain, educate, and nurture families by helping children develop self-awareness, social-emotional skills, responsible decision-making, and thriving relationships,” says President and Publisher Joellyn Cicciarelli. ” In addition to materials for children, we are excited to be publishing special offerings for adults from authors whose passion is to empower the hearts and minds of readers of all ages and from all walks of life. Adults, after all, have much to gain and give from tapping into their own childhood memories, experiences, and perspectives.”
Two children’s books by New York Times best-selling author Mark K. Shriver will be the first to bear the new imprint. Pairs of People, due out in September 2022, helps children learn about the strength in numbers and the power of working together to make the world a better place. An alphabet book is scheduled to release in 2023.
In addition, New York Times best-selling author, nutritionist, and wellness expert Kimberly Snyder has signed on to write a children’s book on eating right and celebrating healthy living. Greg Kincaid, another New York Times best-selling author, returns to the fictional town of Crossing Trails, Kansas, made popular in his A Dog Named Christmas series, with an illustrated tale about a loveable dog named Holiday. And prolific children’s book author Meredith Rusu presents There’s a Yeti in My Tummy, her first book in the Mighty Moods series of picture books that explores unique ways children express their own “big feelings.”
Rounding out the first series of announced works is a new book of childhood-inspired life lessons for adults by Angela C. Santomero, the co-creator of the beloved cultural phenomenon Blue’s Clues, as well as the Emmy Award-winning Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, which is based on the Neighborhood of Make-Believe from Mister Rogers.
The connection between Mister Rogers and 4U2B runs deep. Cicciarelli’s background includes decades of early childhood product development experience, including as editor for Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, producing his longest-running book series for pre-K through 8th grade teachers, Grow and Learn with Mister Rogers. “Working with Mister Rogers was a dream come true and those experiences helped to shape me as a person and as someone who is deeply interested in helping children grow emotionally,” says Cicciarelli. “This is one of the many, many reasons why we are so excited be working with Angela Santomero, who has influenced the lives of millions if not billions of children all over the world.”
“4U2B Books & Media represents our desire to inspire children and adults alike,” says Gary Jansen, Executive Acquisitions Editor for the new imprint. Jansen, whose brainchild was the New York Times best-selling children’s book Dear Pope Francis, has recently authored his own relationship-centered children’s book, Remember Us with Smiles. “What I love about this genre and the new imprint is that we are helping to create lasting connections between children and their parents, their caregivers, their teachers, and anyone who loves them,” says Jansen. “I can’t think of anything more important than helping others to grow and celebrate life.”
The new imprint is based in Chicago with a satellite office in New York and will distribute globally in multiple languages.
