We were lucky enough this month to host Mitali Perkins for her new book Forward Me Back to You. She was in town primarily for school events, and we invited her to join us for a special conversation with educators to talk about her book with the Anti-Defamation League through the lens of their landmark No Place for Hate® program. Designed to help educators build inclusive, respectful environments where every student can thrive, the program has been implemented in all Austin area schools. We’ve done a few of these author receptions for participating educators now, first with Jewell Parker Rhodes, then Erin Entrada Kelly, and now Mitali Perkins, and I love them. They’ve all been different, but each one has produced truly thoughtful discussions about the power of books to expand necessary conversations; navigate complex territory; and build caring, confident, culturally literate readers.
With a background as a school counselor and a passionate commitment to building empathy and combating bias in our schools, ADL Austin’s Education Director Jillian Bontke is one of my favorite moderators because she reads with her heart wide open and dives right into the messy human dynamics that make stories like Forward Me Back to You resonate so deeply—qualities that made her a wonderful partner for Mitali Perkins who always wears her literary heart on her sleeve (and in person is much the same). The conversation that followed was a passionate and slightly tearful exploration of family, identity, community, and advocacy. Continue reading →

Every now and then it is nice to feel like King Eric the Victorious. Eric, a 10th-century King of Sweden, was described as a person “that hath borne over long time a difficult burden and, casting it down at length where he would have it, breatheth free and seeth all fair before him.” That’s a bit how I feel now that our ARC House program is finally up and running. Phew! It’s been two years in the making.The ARC House pictured below now lives in the Cascade Brook School Library here in Farmington. All seven Mt. Blue Rural School District School Libraries now have one.
Theses houses were were paid for by a grant I received from the Rotary Club. They were built by Mt. Blue High School students with the assistance of Rotary Club members. Here they are letting the fresh paint dry in the bowels of Mt. Blue High School last week.

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Early summer is teasing us here in Indiana — we have cool damp mornings when we dress the kids in sweatshirts and pants, followed by warm sunny afternoons when the carpool conversation consists of asking those kids WHERE THOSE CLOTHES ARE NOW as we pick them up in their t-shirts and gym shorts. Jackets are scattered on the playground like the petals from the tulip poplar in bloom (our state tree) now washed to the pavement in one of our many spring rainstorms.
Dandelions are popping up in every road median, and so, too are the job applicants. Our 4 Kids summer college crew is back, a little traumatized by finals and battle-weary from the spring semester, glad (we think) to spend their days just straightening the leveled readers and wrapping birthday gifts. “Oh! Cynthia! I meant to tell you about my lit professor this year! He said that the smartest people in the world work in libraries and bookstores…. and I told him that I work in one, and he smiled at me and told me to say ‘thank you for saving civilization.’ And can I have Thursday off to go to the Slayer concert?” (For more on our seasonally rotating payroll, see Summer Staffapalooza.) 
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When the Wonder Woman movie came out a couple of years ago, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I’d been expecting an hour and a half of battle scenes, which usually leave me cold. But in addition to appreciating the fact that there was a lot more story in Wonder Woman than I expected, I also finally understood what generations of boys and men must experience when they watch superhero movies: the chance to project themselves into the action and feel the thrill of triumph as personal.
The fight scenes in Wonder Woman, while still never going to be my favorite part of a movie, were ten times more interesting and fun to watch because there were women doing the kicking and leaping. It felt unexpectedly empowering.
So why does the current trend of girls with weapons on fantasy covers make me a little uneasy?
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Congratulations!
Today is your day.
It’s time for returns.
You’re off and away.
You have reports in your hand, poured some joe in your cup. Dragging basket or cart, you must fill it up.
You’re not on your own, but you know what you know. Those books that aren’t selling, they just have to go.
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I’ve written a few times about my experience the last couple of years as a volunteer at a local school, reading to emerging readers who could use a little extra attention. Every week they read to me from a book from class and then I read to them from a book I bring with me. As a bookseller, this has proven a fascinating walk on the flip side of the reluctant reading journey. You know, the part that happens before, after, and in between visits to the bookstore. At the store, our job is to sell enthusiasm for reading by building fun experiences and conversations around books or offering tantalizing glimpses into the adventures lying within. It’s our job to hook kids with the promise of literary delight and keep offering ever more interesting options when they return. But we’re not typically on hand for the long, occasionally painful, slog as they try (and sometimes fail) to fall in love with the books they take home. Continue reading →

As I entered the glade for my annual interview with Summer I was surprised to find a chorus of squirrels singing but no sign of Summer herself. The squirrels took note of me and ceased singing.
Kenny: Hi there, that was a lovely song, though I could not make out the words.
Squirrel Chorus: So we gather.
Kenny: I’m looking for Summer.
Squirrel Chorus: So we gather.
Kenny: Where is she?
(as I spoke that question the squirrels parted and Summer herself was standing in their midst)
Kenny: Hello Summer.
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We live in a parched society. Across the retail landscape, thirsty customers carry giant plastic and metal water bottles with engineered lids that are more complicated than my running shoes, extra large Big Gulps with straws so long that they don’t require even a dip of the chin to access, steaming lidded coffee beverages with cryptic codes written in sharpie marker on the side : dbl caf 2shot soy -whip, and the frappa-whoopie-doozie-syruped domed cups of every hue and flavor. All of these seem critical to have in hand AT ALL TIMES – when driving, when walking and when shopping at the bookstore. Ideally, these should be consumed while also TALKING ON THE PHONE, so that both hands are occupied while trying to extricate a credit card from the tightly wedged stack inside the Kate Spade wristlet or the teeny tiny zipper pocket at the top of yoga pants.
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Before I get to today’s topic, I have a check-in. Last Tuesday, I set a 100-book challenge for Children’s Book Week. Did anyone succeed? Did anyone almost succeed, and if so, do you need a few extra days to finish? Entries are still being accepted at e bluemle @ publishers weekly (no spaces, and the usual .com).
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The bookselling community has been rattled this week by the news that Baker & Taylor, one of the nation’s two largest book wholesalers, has decided to stop selling to retailers and concentrate all of its efforts on the school and library market. The reverberations of this decision might not be immediately visible to the outside observer, but this is the latest body blow to the almost comically Sisyphean task of running a bricks-and-mortar bookstore.
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A truly hilarious thread developed this weekend on Facebook in a group maintained by indie booksellers. A certain wry sense of humor develops when one works in retail, and the added fodder of customer comments regarding ordering product online – while they are SHOPPING IN THE BOOKSTORE – is sometimes just too tempting to resist. I thought I would share the conversation with you as a “sneak peek” into the mind of your friendly local bookseller, as they direct you towards the self-help aisle. (And watch for some of these folks on the local comedy club circuit – or at least as potential “guest posters” on this blog – in the future!)
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