Our friends at Disney Publishing inform us they are aiming to release Charlie Higson’s fifth Young Bond novel By Royal Command in the U.S. in May 2010.

The Young Bond series was launched concurrently in the UK and U.S. with the publication of SilverFin in 2005. However, UK publisher Puffin’s decision to release two Young Bond novels in 2007 (Double or Die and Hurricane Gold), combined with the departure of U.S. publisher Miramax Books that same year, caused the series to fall two books behind in the states. Hence, fans will get By Royal Command in 2010 while UK fans had the book in hand in 2008.

Should Charlie Higson write more Young Bond books after his new original series for Puffin (as he has hinted in various interviews. including THIS ONE), then it’s conceivable the series could sync back up in the UK and U.S. at some point in the future.

The fourth Young Bond novel, Hurricane Gold, is set for release in the U.S. on April 7.