Trivia Night in NYC
This past Wednesday night, the Children’s Book Council held its annual Extreme Trivia Challenge at Scholastic’s New York City headquarters, as teams of CBC members put their children’s book knowledge to the test. (A question no team could answer: “David Wisniewski’s 1997 Caldecott winner Golem is one of the few retellings of the Jewish folktale in which the golem has a name. What is its name?” Here, the winning team, named Schlomo, shows off its Golden Bunny trophies: (l. to r.) Becky Shapiro, Emilie Ziemer, Emily Heddleson, Anna Bloom, host Francesco Sedita, and Colleen Venable. (And the answer to the above? Joseph.)
Pop Go the Authors
This past Saturday, Books of Wonder in New York City celebrated its fourth annual Pop-Up Celebration. Seven authors/artists/paper engineering wizards turned out to present their most recent interactive kids’ books. Here, l. to r., are Kyle Olmon (Baby Signs), Matthew Reinhart (A Pop-up Book of Nursery Rhymes), Sam Ita (Christmas Tree in a Box), David A. Carter (White Noise—a 2009 New York Times Best Illustrated selection), Bruce Foster (behind recent books such as Big Frog Can’t Fit In by Mo Willems and WOW! The Pop-Up Book of Sports), Chuck Fisher (Angels), and Bert Fink (The Sound of Music).
Lunching with Lowry
Last weekend, the University of Connecticut hosted the 18th annual Connecticut Children’s Book Fair, which drew families, collectors and fans/students of children’s books to the campus. Eighteen authors and illustrators participated in this year’s festival. Proceeds from the events’ sales benefit the Northeast Children’s Literature Collection in the Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries. Here (l. to r.), Suzy Staubach, manager of the general books division at the UConn Co-Op, author Lois Lowry, and Nan Sorensen, assistant executive director of the New England Booksellers Association, share a meal.
On the Road in Search of Pen Pals
Author Heather Vogel Frederick recently toured bookstores and schools in Missouri, Minnesota, and Illinois in support of Dear Pen Pal (S&S, Sept.), the third book in her Mother-Daughter Book Club series. Her stops included Main Street Books in St. Charles, Mo.; Pudd’nhead Books in Webster Groves, Mo.; The Bookcase in Wayzata, Minn.; The Book Stall in Winnetka, Ill.; and Anderson’s Bookshop in Downer’s Grove, Ill. Seen here, Frederick (back, center) received a warm welcome at Holy Spirit Catholic School in St. Paul, Minn., in an event coordinated with the Red Balloon Bookshop.
