This week, an author and illustrator inspire kids to read; debut authors talk shop; a mother-daughter author pair celebrate their latest collaboration; an author reads with sharks; touring authors get theatrical with bookstore critters; and N.C. booksellers celebrate local authors.
For the Love of Reading
Author Kelly Starling Lyons and author-illustrator Don Tate visited the Anne Beers Elementary School in Washington, D.C. on May 14, as part of the Freedom Book Tour – an ongoing project for Tate and his collaborators, (Lyons and Chris Barton, devoted to sharing their books about African-American historical figures and their pursuit of freedom. Their visit to the school included a live taping for the literacy organization Reading Is Fundamental, during which Lyons and Tate talked about their love of books.
Debut Trio
Between the Covers bookstore in Harbor Springs, Mich., hosted a YA Debut Bash on May 15, featuring (from l.) debut authors David Arnold (Mosquitoland, Viking), Jasmine Warga (My Heart and Other Black Holes, Harper/Balzer + Bray), and Tommy Wallach (We All Looked Up, S&S), who discussed their books and the writing process.
Right on Page
Jodi Picoult and her daughter/co-author Samantha van Leer celebrated the release of their YA novel Off the Page (a companion to their first collaboration, Between the Lines), on May 19 at the First Congressional Church in Madison, Conn. The event was sponsored by R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison. Here, Leer (l.) and Picoult sit for a photo-op with attendees.
Shark Tales
Marine scientist and author Ellen Prager read from the second in her middle-grade series, Shark Rider (Mighty Media) at the Florida Aquarium on May 8. The event marked what might be the first ever children’s-book reading performed entirely underwater. Note: no sharks, authors, or books were harmed during this event.
Strike a Pose
Macmillan authors(from l.) Temple West (Velvet), Sandy Hall (A Little Something Different), Kimberly Karalius (Love Fortunes and Other Disasters), and Kate Van Ark (The Boy Next Door), are currently on the first-ever Summer of Swoon Reads group book tour. Here, the authors strike poses with some unique companions that live at the Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Home-Spun Yarns
North Carolina-area authors gathered on May 19 at Pomegranate Books in Wilmington for an event called Read Local: N.C. Authors for Kids and Teens. At the event, authors David Macinnis Gill (Hell’s Cross trilogy), Catey Miller (YARN assistant fiction editor and contributor), and Rebecca Petruck (Steering Toward Normal) discussed books and led games about famed N.C. authors. From left: Miller; Kathleen Jewell, Pomegranate Books owner; Petruck; sales associate Anne Turlington; and Gill.
