The press, which was founded by Charles Tuttle Jr. in 1948, will publish new editions of reference books like Daniel C. Beard's 19th-century bestseller The American Boy's Handy Book (Sept.), which Tuttle has kept in print since 1966. In it Beard, who co-founded the Boy Scouts, provides practical information on making rigging and sailing small boats, camping without a tent and building a snow fort.

Also slated for September are four books based on Tuttle's all-time children's bestseller, Japanese Children's Favorite Stories, which has half a million copies in print over the course of 55 years: Peach Boy and Other Japanese Favorite Stories, Little One-Inch and Other Japanese Favorite Stories, Kintaro's Adventures and Other Japanese Favorite Stories and Urashima Taro and Other Japanese Favorite Stories. Originally published 50 years ago, the four companion volumes contain stories that Florence Sakade culled from the Japanese children's magazine Silver Bells. 

The idea for this story sprang from a brainstorming session between the author and Margaret Ferguson, co-publisher and editorial director of Farrar, Straus & Giroux Books for Young Readers, who has edited every Carl title except the first (Good Dog, Carl, which Green Tiger Press published in 1985). "We decided that it would be nice to have two books based on seasons, since Margaret knows I like to paint weather,” Day recalls. The author is now working on a winter-themed companion to Carl's Summer Vacation, currently scheduled for fall 2009 publication.

Ferguson, who notes that people constantly contact the publisher with suggestions for what Carl should do next, believes that the seasonal angles are a good fit for the dog—and for young readers. "It seemed to me that children and dogs like to go on vacation and they like to have fun in the snow,” she says. "And we also felt that the seasonal themes offered a lot of visual opportunities and near misses that could be captured in the art. In Carl's Summer Vacation, there is something for everyone—fireworks, adventures on a lake, picnics—things that say summer and that many people can relate to.” 

However, set against the horrors of the Holocaust and the Nazi death camps, this story is no fairy tale. Angel Girl is based on a real-life love story—though this one does include a fairy godmother: none other than Oprah Winfrey, who called it the greatest love story ever told. Herman and Roma Rosenblat, the couple whose story was adapted by Friedman in Angel Girl, first told their story to the world on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1996, and are scheduled to visit her again next February.