Bloomsbury Childrens Books has secured a captivating picture book by the renowned author Isabel Allende, marking her debut in children’s publishing. This enchanting tale, titled “Perla: The Mighty Dog,” draws inspiration from Allende’s own rescue dog. The book is slated for a hardback release in the summer of 2024, with the subsequent two instalments scheduled for 2025 and 2026.
Editorial director Pari Thomson obtained the UK and Commonwealth rights for both the text and illustrations through negotiations with Alessandra Birch at Writers House, representing authors Isabel Allende and Sandy Rodriguez, respectively. The Perla series will simultaneously grace the pages of books across the United States through Philomel, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Isabel Allende, a recipient of the PEN Center Lifetime Achievement Award and the esteemed Presidential Medal of Freedom, has also been honoured with the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters by the National Book Foundation. Bloomsbury, known for publishing Allende’s acclaimed novels for adults, including her most recent work, “The Wind Knows My Name,” released on June 2023.