At the beginning of Tuesday night’s Wrecking Ball release event, Jeff Kinney said that after 14 years of straightforward tours, he wanted to mix it up—and that’s exactly what he did. The show pulled out all the stops and more—raising the bar for interactive, kid-oriented fun that rewards longtime super-fans and newcomers alike. With a set that took a full afternoon to set up, a wheel of activities to drive the action, and plenty of goofy, unpretentious fun, the 2200 people in the audience were in for a rollicking ride. Continue reading →

It looks like a new-baby book. And it IS a new-baby book, but it’s also so much more. Kyle Lukoff’s picture book, When Aidan Became a Brother (fabulously illustrated by Kaylani Juanita and published by Lee & Low), takes on—in the most clear, lovely, and warm way—the desire for families to unlearn gender assumptions, especially when a new baby arrives.
The story begins with Aidan, who, when he was born, was assumed to be a girl. His room was decorated the way girls often liked their rooms decorated; his clothes were the kinds of clothes many girls liked wearing. But Aidan was a boy, and after realizing it, Aidan and his parents set about to fix the parts of Aidan’s life that didn’t work anymore. Boom! Not a big deal, just a process. The simplicity and caring of this opening slays me; it’s like reading the first lesbian YA novel that didn’t end in tragedy. You mean, gender coming-out, too, can be a joyful and textured experience for a kid? Hooray!! Continue reading →

We were unusually well-staffed at the store this weekend, so I volunteered to take the cash-and-wrap spot behind the register for the entire open-to-close shift. I twisted a knee this week (not doing anything remotely athletic, I just tripped over a snoozing bulldog) and thought that if I could just stay put in one spot, perhaps propping my foot up behind me on a step stool in a modified flamingo pose,  I could make it through the day at work and still be helpful. My ever-energetic 4 Kids crew could cover the floor and more active duties, and I would just  scan items at the register, swipe credit cards and answer questions. It sounds easy, right?
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As the weather in Austin turns suddenly autumnal, all our kids’ thoughts turn naturally to CANDY! Yes, the adorably costumed, greedy hordes will be out in force tonight, armed with soon-to-be weighted bags and buckets. At BookPeople, we have been known to indulge in a little candy (and will have plenty onhand for our Halloween costume party with Eva Chen tonight!), but we also think that books make the very best treats. Wednesday morning we hosted our annual Halloween trick-or-treat-for-books storytime and costume parade. Donning my witch’s hat and giving out books to eager pandas and scarecrows, cats and bats, dinosaurs and superheroes, princesses and aviators is one of my favorite times of the year, and in honor of the holiday (and all our staff members who dressed up), I wanted to share just a few of our favorite moments with you!

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There are a number of animals known to possess oracular power such as the raven, the owl, the antelope, the pig, the mole rat, and the Gaboon viper. Not many people, however, know that the most prognosticatory of all animals is actually the octopus. We have learned this obscure but useful fact at DDG due to the remarkable oracular exploits of Mervyn, the store octopus.
With the Early Bird Sale coming up this Saturday, that fun annual event in which Downtown Farmington merchants open at 6:00 a.m. and have special sales till 9:00 a.m., it was time to test Mervyn’s powers. After all, the Early Bird is a window into the holiday season to come and a good opportunity for Mervyn to flex his oracular muscles.
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The following handwritten note was on my storefront counter one morning last week, as I arrived in the quiet pre-dawn hours to enter some backlist orders and ponder the impending holiday event schedule:
Dear Store,
I stole a lip balm. And I never ment to. It was an awful choice and I feel really really bad because I realized it was wrong. It was $8.  So      I am willing to give you 10$. I learned from my mistake and will never do it again. Again i feel really bad please forgive me.  – Sarah*
Calendar conflicts and backlist specials were quickly set aside, and I looked for a note from my evening staff with more details. In their usual conversational shorthand, this was the story I gleaned from the post it notes on the register:
A 9- or 10-year-old was brought to the store by her dad, who stood about 10 feet behind the girl as she approached the counter. She offered the handwritten note, and then explained what she had done. Our bookseller thanked her for her honesty, and then looked up her parent to ask for direction. “She needs to pay for it, and then give it back.” The staffer did as asked, and the embarrassed child left the store. From the staffer: “She was totally ashamed. We didn’t make a big deal about it, and we sure hope she’ll be back.”
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When the funny, powerhouse author of the Judy Moody and Stink series, Megan McDonald, came to town to celebrate her new book, Judy Moody and the Book Quiz Whiz, she was on the road, she had a fever, and she still enthralled hundreds of children — as well as one of our toughest adult customers (more on that later). It takes a true professional, a natural entertainer, and a gracious human to pull that off.
It helped that Megan’s traveling companion, her calm and tour-seasoned husband Richard, was on hand. Their easy, fun rapport with each other and those around them made even the more workmanlike aspects of a tour, like the lengthy school order book-signing process, enjoyable. (Note to publicists: I think all major tour planning should include in the budget an author’s most trusted and favorite person to come along for the trip—perhaps instead of media escorts, who are occasionally a little chatty for introverted authors needing downtime. If those traveling companions are as nice and as helpful as Richard, they are well worth the investment! I’m not surprised that Candlewick Press, our host publisher for the event, was on the ball.)
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“So, you’re just a children’s bookseller, right?”
I looked up from my laptop screen, which functioned this weekend as my point-of-sale, store management tool, and receipt printer at an offsite event for crime and mystery writers, where I had been working for the last three days.
“Well, I don’t think there’s a “JUST” in that question, but yes, I do own a children’s bookstore. May I ring those up for you?”  I gestured toward the stack of mysteries and thrillers in her hands, as I reached beneath the table for one of our store canvas totes, for her purchase surely totaled over $100.
“I just meant… you sell kids’ books. You aren’t a REAL bookstore, right?”
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Last week I briefly previewed our staff’s seasonal picture book review session, but I promised a deeper dive into all the reactions. From a septuagenarian tightrope dancer to a disgruntled egg seeking some sun to a celebration of those who protect Earth’s water, we found a lot to love! As always, there were plenty of bold pronouncements in the room.
“I would LOVE to see a 70 year old tightrope walker!” 
“Why make a picture book and use bland colors?”
“Uh… Humpty Dumpty’s a lot on the creepy side!”
“If I don’t like the pictures, I don’t read it.”
“Ew! It’s got a possum. No! No! No! No!”
“Wait. Is pink still a thing?” Continue reading →

“Cynthia, you have some phone messages. They look important.”
I had been out of the store for a day or two, helping one of the 4 kids (see my store name) move from one city to another for her new job, and expected to have a stack of pink message slips upon my desk, but most would be of the “We’ll have a manager in your area on Tuesday, and we’d like to discuss the wholesale credit card rates your business qualifies for” variety. Oh, there might be a couple of “will your store provide books for our author luncheon event?”  queries and some “United Church of Very-Well-Meaning-Ladies-in-Cardigans-Making-Baked-Goods Holiday Bazaar booth opportunities,” but typically if my staff feels that something is critical when I’m not on-site, they judiciously offer my cell phone number, or text an S.O.S: CYNTHIA!!!! We got double-shipped the sticky unicorn poop… do we keep it or ask for a call tag?
These messages were all much more terse, and I could tell from the first-names-only and the 1-800 phone numbers that these were credit rep calls, and they needed immediate attention. I filled my coffee cup and plugged in my laptop as I settled into my desk chair — well, first I moved the stack of damaged books awaiting return instructions and the crayon picture of a dinosaur (?) that a young customer dropped off for me — and began to dial.
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