On Halloween day, Manhattan’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts debuts a new genre of programming, which springs from its first-ever partnership with a children’s publisher – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Called LC Kids Storytime at the Atrium, the collaborative venture offers free monthly events showcasing children’s book authors and illustrators. Headlining the inaugural program are two stars in the children’s publishing pantheon: R.L. Stine and Marc Brown, creators of the seasonally appropriate The Little Shop of Monsters, who will entertain attendees with a book talk, reading, and drawing demonstration. Like subsequent events in the series, this event will take place in the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center.
This book-centered initiative expands the offerings of LC Kids, Lincoln Center’s program devoted to presenting quality performances and events to engage children in the arts. Donald Yeh, LCPA’s associate director of international marketing, explained, “Our goal is to offer programs that engage children of all ages, and we are always looking for opportunities to enhance our family programming.”
To that end, Storytime at the Atrium is aimed at an age level – children 3-6 – that is younger than those targeted by existing LC Kids programs, and supplements family programming orchestrated by the institution’s resident companies, including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, and New York Philharmonic.
The Atrium, an airy, open space where kids can sit on the floor and interact with presenters and performers, as well as view images from the books on oversize screens, is an ideal venue for entertaining the picture-book audience. “The Atrium is a wonderful, family-friendly venue,” Yeh said. “It allows us to accommodate families with very young children, and to offer free programs that engage kids in the arts regularly – not just as a special occasion – so that the arts become a part of their lives at an early age. With Storytime at the Atrium, children will have an immersive, visually stimulating experience that will let them relate closely to stories, authors, and illustrators.”
Teaming Up to Connect Kids with Books
Though Yeh and his colleagues discussed partnering on Storytime at the Atrium with several children’s publishers, they determined that Little, Brown was, in Yeh’s words, “the best fit. We saw a great opportunity with Little, Brown as a publisher who can give us access to great books for kids in this age range. Given the Atrium’s exciting space for kids, it made sense to combine what we and the publisher have to offer, and do together something neither of us could do alone.”
The folks at LBYR agreed wholeheartedly with Yeh’s assessment; “we hopped right on it and made our case to be selected as the series’ exclusive publishing partner,” said publicity director Jessica Shoffel.” She recalled that her team visited Lincoln Center equipped with a PowerPoint presentation that “highlighted our local authors who are at the ready, as well as other authors we could bring in. We also had some great brainstorming sessions with Lincoln Center’s publicity team, and I think it became obvious to them that Little, Brown is as passionate about Storytime at the Atrium as they are.”
Shoffel, in turn, contacted Peter Glassman, owner of Books of Wonder, located a few dozen blocks southeast of Lincoln Center, who immediately signed on as bookseller. “I was flattered to be asked to join this great partnership,” he said. “Books of Wonder has partnered in programs at the 92nd Street Y and the New York Public Library, so this continues our journey across Manhattan! I’m thrilled that the series’ events are free to the public, and will not only introduce young kids to Lincoln Center – which mesmerized me the first time I visited as a child – but also will make parents and children aware of great books and let them connect with others about the joy of books and reading. That’s a very real and special chemistry.”
Glassman also lauded “the great lineup of authors and illustrators” that Little, Brown has tapped to participate in Storytime at the Atrium. Stine and Brown’s engagement (which is part of Lincoln Center’s larger Halloween celebration, LC Trick-or-Treat: Monsters and Music) will be followed by the November 21 appearance by Caldecott Honor author-illustrator Patrick McDonnell, who will read and sign copies of his Thank You and Good Night during a pajama party-themed event.
Author Lindsay Mattick and illustrator Sophie Blackall will be the featured guests at the final 2015 Storytime at the Atrium happening on December 19, when the collaborators will talk about, read, and sign copies of Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear. Subsequent monthly programs will continue through May.
Shoffel is hopeful that Storytime at the Atrium will continue into the 2015–16 school year and beyond. “We always strive to plan events in partnership with others nationwide,” she said, “and to be able to do this in our own backyard, in a venue that has such a wonderful atmosphere for book creators as well as families, and with an institution that has such a long history of bringing great cultural events to New Yorkers, is truly an honor.”
