An ‘Early’ Appearance
Author Jarrett J. Krosoczka visited CBS’s The Early Show this past Saturday, as a spokesperson for the New York Times Great Children’s Read, which took place last Sunday in New York City. Krosoczka appeared at the morning show at the request of Great Children’s Read sponsor Target; here, the author and some young fans show off copies of his new Lunch Lady series of books. The third title in the series, The Author Visit Vendetta, will be published in December.
Martha and Her ‘Mom’
Author Susan Meddaugh, whose talking dog Martha is the star of several picture books from Houghton Mifflin, as well as a cartoon on PBS that debuted last year, recently stopped by Watchung Booksellers in Montclair, N.J. Meddaugh grew up in Montclair and in the PBS version of Martha Speaks, the dog and her family live at 33 Fairfield St., just down the road from the bookstore, which located at 54 Fairfield St. Here, Susan and “Martha” greet bookstore customers. Meddaugh read from the Martha books and did some drawing during her visit.
Lucky Number Six
Six children’s book authors and illustrators won a spot at the booth of online children’s book community JacketFlap at the Orange County Children’s Book Festival, held this past weekend in Costa Mesa, Calif. Seen here (l. to r.) are JacketFlap CEO Tracy Grand with this year’s winners: Susan Lendroth (Ocean Wide, Ocean Deep), Ashley Wolff (I Call My Grandma Nana/I Call My Grandpa Papa), Merrily Kutner (The Zombie Nite Café), Joy Allen (Princess Party), Dan Santat (Bobby Versus Girls [Accidentally] by Lisa Yee) and Erik Brooks (Boo’s Surprise by Betsy Byars).
Happy Fifth Birthday
Porter Square Books in North Cambridge, Mass., celebrated its fifth birthday with a Wild Things parade last Sunday. Children gathered at the bookstore’s new neighbor in the Porter Square Shopping Center, Henry Bear’s Park, a children’s book and toy store that relocated from Huron Village in Cambridge. At Porter Square Books, children could get their pictures taken with a monster, have a Wild Things drink and stay for a reading of Where the Wild Things Are. Just days earlier the bookstore, which has quickly established itself as a neighborhood institution, was singled out for a 2009 Independent Spirit Award for creative excellence in bookselling from the Book Publishers Representatives of New England.
How to ‘Say Cheese!’ in Human
Author Natalie Standiford’s latest novel, How to Say Goodbye in Robot (Scholastic)—about the friendship between a new girl at a private school and a quiet, withdrawn student—went on sale last week. Seen here with Standiford (l.) at the book’s release party in Brooklyn, N.Y., is librarian (and author of the Reading Rants! Web site) Jennifer Hubert Swan, who was among those who came out to congratulate the author.
