This week, the Wimpy Kid travels to the Vatican; police officers – and the inspirations behind two middle-grade characters – head to the library; a publisher’s softball team is a hit; an author and illustrator receive an honor; and writers talk shop in Wyoming.
Holy Father Meets Wimpy Kid
On June 24 in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, Pope Francis was given a copy of Commentarii de Inepto Puero, the Latin edition of Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The book’s translator and priest of the Diocese of Gaylor in the United States, Monsignor Daniel B. Gallagher (l.), presented the book to the Pope. Jeff Kinney said: “Seeing the Pope holding a copy of the Latin edition of my first book is beyond an honor.”
Platypus in Blue at the Local Library
Walden Pond Press has piloted events in Alabama, Colorado, and Virginia that bring police officers and young children together through a theatrical reading based on Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s Platypus Police Squad series. But the one held late last month at the public library in Watertown, Mass., stood out, because Krosoczka (standing) was joined by two childhood friends, who served as the inspiration for the series: State Police Officer Chris Zengo (l.), who was the model for Detective Rick Zengo, and (center), MIT Police Officer Corey McGrath (the model for Detective Corey O’Malley). Also taking part in the event was Watertown Police Officer Kerry Kelley (r.).
It’s Da Bears!
The Candlewick Bears, the company softball team for Candlewick Press, based in Somerville, Mass., has had a successful first season, drawing staff members from every department at Candlewick, as well as an occasional appearance by the company’s costumed bear mascot. Here, team members of the Candlewick Bears (along with family members) get their game faces on.
What an Honor!
Author Jim Aylesworth and illustrator Barbara McClintock were honored with a 2015 Sydney Taylor Book Award for younger readers for their picture book My Grandfather’s Coat (Scholastic Press). The collaborators, along with other winners, were presented with their award at a banquet held on June 23 in Silver Spring, Md. The Sydney Taylor Book Awards are given annually to children’s books that convey the Jewish experience.
A Meeting of Minds
Wyoming writer Nanci Turner Steveson (l.), whose novel Swing Sideways (HarperCollins) releases in 2016, and Jewell Parker Rhodes (Sugar, Little, Brown), were among the approximately 200 attendees at the 24th annual Jackson Hole Writers’ Conference, held June 25–27 at the Jackson Arts Center. Rhodes gave one of three conference keynote speeches, titled “Staying Nimble: Finding Your Writer’s Voice and Themes,” while Steveson led a workshop about fine-tuning books for young readers during the publishing process.
