Book Bugs
Eric Carle made a rare appearance at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Mass., on Saturday, September 21, to meet museum visitors and to sign copies of his forthcoming book Friends (Philomel, Nov.). Carle signed more than 1,000 books for close to 500 guests from California, Illinois, Arizona, and New England. Here, Carle is joined by a young fan who fluttered in for the occasion with home-crafted wings.
‘Reach’ing New Heights
On September 22, during the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., Reach Out and Read executive director Anne-Marie Fitzgerald accepted the David M. Rubenstein Prize, which carries with it a $150,000 award. The prize honors an organization that works to tackle illiteracy in in the U.S. (L. to r.): John Y. Cole, director of the Center for the Book and chair of the Library of Congress Literacy Awards; Fitzgerald; and Rubenstein.
Double Take
White Square Books in Easthampton, Mass., hosted a birthday party for two famed twins: Ling and Ting, who star in the second book in their eponymous series by Grace Lin’, Ling & Ting Share a Birthday (Little, Brown). Guests – many of whom dressed alike – were treated to goodie bags containing stickers, magnets, and other items, as well as, naturally, birthday cake. Ling read to a packed house and offered a drawing presentation before signing books and greeting her many look-alike (at least for the day) fans.
Screen Time
A Boston-area mother-daughter book club spoke with author Joelle Charbonneau via Skype during their monthly meeting on September 22. The teens – who, along with their mothers, all read Charbonneau’s YA dystopian novel The Testing (HMH) – wore The Testing shirts to greet Charbonneau on-screen. The author, who took time to meet the club members virtually while waiting for a flight at the Albany (N.Y.) International Airport, will kick off an eight-city tour in January for Independent Study, the second book in the Testing trilogy.
A ‘Killer’ Launch
A book launch event for author Joseph Bruchac’s YA novel Killer of Enemies (Tu Books) took place at the Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. on September 21. It was a short commute for Bruchac, who is a lifelong resident of the foothills of the Adirondacks near Saratoga Springs. Here, Bruchac greets Rachel Person, events and community outreach coordinator for Northshire.
Hoop Dreams
During the 14th annual Celebration of Minnesota Children’s Authors and Illustrators, held September 21 in Red Wing, Minn., John Coy, author of Hoop Genius: How a Desperate Teacher and a Rowdy Gym Class Invented Basketball (Lerner/Carolrhoda), recreated the first basketball game in partnership with the Red Wing YMCA. Just as the players did back in 1891, the teams improvised by using a peach basket attached to a ladder. Here, Coy retrieves a ball from the basket – you don’t quite get that same “swish” without a net.
