The relationship between a store and the credit department of publishing houses is very important. Bookstores order books and it’s the credit department’s job to ensure that payments get made within terms. I’ll be honest, this has not always a been an easy relationship, but lately there seems to be a greater antagonism between publisher’s credit departments and bookstores. I can only speak anecdotally, but from my own experience and those of my colleagues the relationships seem to be deteriorating.
Many stores I have spoken with have had out-and-out battles with credit departments, some over large amounts of money, but more often than not, it’s over bills under $300. There seems to be a rush to put stores on an all-cash basis rather than maintain the net 30 terms stores usually enjoy. In the interest of fairness, I sent out a seven-question email to six of my credit reps last week and not one rep has even acknowledged receiving the email, so I can’t include their thoughts in this post. ETA: Here are the questions:
The seven questions I posed to the credit reps were:
1. Has your company had to shrink the size of its credit department over the last year in response to the economy?
2. Does your publishing company put stores on credit hold first before making them go to an all cash basis?
3. Are you finding more stores in financial difficulty than in previous years?
4. Since switching to email statements (if you have) have you found people are paying more quickly or less quickly?
5. Does part of your job include  reaching out to stores and making phone calls letting them know their account is in jeopardy?
6. How many accounts is the average credit rep responsible for?
7. What’s the one thing you would like to see bookstores do to make your job easier?
I’ve spent a fair amount of time thinking about how to improve the relationship between credit departments and bookstores. Here’s my list of how I think credit departments and bookstores can work together better during these tough financial times.
– Stores should order only what they can actually pay for. Don’t sucked in by large displays or carton quantities if you might suffer buyer’s remorse when the invoice comes. Don’t think you’ll have the money in thirty days, because chances are, if you don’t have it now, you won’t have it at the end of the month.
– Credit reps might want to introduce themselves to stores before that first tense email or phone exchange about an overdue balance. If my sales reps know my name and I know theirs, we’ll actually have a relationship that extends beyond tension, and that can only be a good thing.
– Stores should make every effort to pay their bills on time, within whatever terms the various publishers have.
– Publishers should assume the best of stores that have had a good track record. Sometimes the folks who pay the bills are on vacation, sometimes life gets in the way of being timely.
– If a store finds itself in a financial bind, call your rep and let him or her know. Better to be honest right away than be forced to pay cash up front for every order.
– Publishers shouldn’t put a store on an all-cash basis without first talking to them about it before it gets out of hand. This shows a lack of trust, and to not communicate with the store and then slam them with something this big, smacks of big business trying not to deal with smaller stores. I mention this because I know several stores that have been good with their bills only to be a little late, have no communication from the credit rep and then be told they’re going to have to pay up front for the next six months or a year.
– Send in returns if you’re feeling a little strapped for cash. There’s nothing like a slow winter day to inspire me to cull my inventory and return some of the dead weight of the past year or two. Be smart about returns. Look ahead to the spring list and see who you’ve ordered the most from and return to them first.
– Stores should never have to give permission to apply account credits to any outstanding invoices. This is one of the most galling things credit departments do. I’ll get a call from a well-intentioned rep who wants to let me know that my account is a few days late and she’ll ask, “Would you like me to apply the $500 in credit you have?” Of course I do. What store says “no, please hang on to my money one more month”?
– Get your co-op done. Nothing looks nicer on a publisher statement than a bunch of co-ops to offset your bill.
– Buy smart. Take advantage of as many backlist specials as you can. Often they have better terms and dating.  But don’t buy 100 units more than you need just to get a better discount or dating, because that bill is still is going to come due.
– Ask your sales rep who your credit rep and introduce yourself to him or her.  There’s no reason booksellers can’t initiate a conversation and make contact before you find your account in any kind of jeopardy.
– A wise friend of mine said to pay bills every five days — that way, no bills have a chance to get too late.
– I don’t think it’s necessary to send slightly antagonistic emails every month reminding stores that their payments are in the lockbox by the 31st of the month, or they’ll be considered late and subject to a possible credit hold.  Angering buyers every month when they’ve done nothing wrong is really not a good way to foster a good business relationship.
I know it’s the nature of the beast between the credit department and bookstores to be somewhat tense, but I think if we all talk to each other more frequently business will be better for both sides, and that can only benefit customers who see shelves stocked high with great books.

So many of you have told me that you love (and miss seeing!) the birdhouses I’ve made using picture books, so I thought I’d post a few more here every now and again, for your viewing pleasure. In all I think I’ve made close to 20 of these, almost all of them as gifts for other people. Among the few still in my possession, though, are my very first bookish birdhouse (from Book Fiesta) and this one, created using Bedtime for Frances, a book written by Russell Hoban, illustrated by Garth Williams, and very dear to my heart.

front

left

back

right (What you can’t see here is the crack in the ceiling that Frances is staring at, fearfully, from her place on the bed below. The crack is visible on the birdhouse, though, if you look up under the overhanging portion of the roof!)

ta da! (I’m so pleased with this one.)

The next birdhouse, below, was in a previous life an F&G for Mary Poppins from A to Z written by P. L. Travers and illustrated by Mary Shepard. Now, it is a birdhouse in the home of Jane Kohuth, one of our wonderful children’s booksellers who is also a soon-to-be author. (Random House recently acquired 2 books by her!) Funny thing: I chose Mary Poppins because Jane is fond of classic illustrated children’s novels in this vein. It was only after I’d given it to her that she pointed out the fact that she and her husband have the same names as Mary Poppins’ charges — Jane and Michael!
front (almost)

left

back

right (hmm… Mary’s face is jolly well blocked by the overhang…)


right, take 2 (AND now Mary’s face is in shadow…)

right, take 3 (AND now the whole thing is blurry, but you get the idea, right? Whew.)

If you’re interested I’ll happily show more of these creations at a future date. I’ll also put together a how-to if any of you want more than my quick & dirty set of instructions, which are:
1. Buy cheap birdhouse.
2. Remove perches.
3. Paint it.
4. Glue pages to it.
5. Put pencils where perches where.
Done!

This video has been making the rounds recently, and we love it. It was created by Dorling Kindersley UK for a sales conference, and everyone loved it so much that DK decided to put it on YouTube. Do watch the whole thing for the full effect. (Thanks to Kara LaReau and Erin Murphy for the link.)

One of the absolute joys in owning a bookstore is the kids. I’m especially fond of three-and-four-year-olds who have embraced reading to such a degree that want to share their newfound love with everyone, including stuffed animals.
We have a bin of stuffies (as some kids call them now) in the picture book section that kids love to go through. Often the kids will just play with the toys, but every once in a while I see them carefully setting up the toys with books in their little stuffed laps.  We have one little boy who is read to constantly by his parents and he comes in with his father about once a week or so. Young Finn is perfectly content in picture books by himself.
Someone donated three rather large dragon animals to us, and they are a favorite of Finn’s. He sets them up in the three kid-sized chairs in a circle. Then he carefully selects a book for each dragon to read. One dragon was reading a book about dragons, of course, I was told. The other two each had very different books:the red dragon had a fairy tale book and the blue dragon was reading a short truck book.
What was so revealing and lovely, was how Finn turned the pages for each dragon, retrieved fallen books and generally wanted to make sure each dragon had a satisfying and rewarding reading experience. Finn can’t read yet, but he was making up stories, mostly to the dragon reading the dragon book. I was charmed to pieces and only wish I was able to get a picture of Finn with the dragons, but he got very shy.
The care, and almost reverence, this little boy has with books was so touching. He wanted to share his love of story with anyone who would listen, and in our busy store it meant dragons. At his house, I’m sure the dog gets many books set out by his bed.
Finn’s behavior speaks to a household that loves books. He sees both parents, especially his stay at home dad, reading all the time. He is read to constantly. This simple act, sharing a story with a child, has an amazing ripple effect. These parents have grown a reader. And in turn, our stuffed animals have a reading buddy.

Our store had the great, great honor of playing host to Rebecca Stead for two school visits and one public event when Random House graciously sent her our way at the beginning of last month. We had been looking forward to her visit for months, but the excitement of having her here was increased exponentially following the announcement that When You Reach Me had been awarded the Newbery Medal! Yeehaw!
In my nine years at Wellesley Booksmith we’ve hosted a LOT of events with amazing people, but our visit with Rebecca will surely go down as one of my favorites, in part because she is just so, so lovely, and in part because there was a magical energy that came from her having *just* won the highest possible honor for a novel we had been championing to our customers from day one and watching them respond to with such great enthusiasm. More than 100 enthusiastic fans turned out for our public event, which is about 10 times more than we’d normally get for an author who has so far published just two books, and the schools that hosted Rebecca pulled out all the stops.
Pasted below are photos from what was a truly wonderful 2 days! If life was the “$20,000 Pyramid,” the memories listed here would appear in the category “Moments You’d Like to Go Back and Relive.” (You can also read Rebecca’s notes on her visits with us and other bookstores on her blog.)
Stop number one on our Rebecca Stead mini-tour was Sprague Elementary in Wellesley, where she was greeted, upon her arrival, by this somewhat peculiar sign… Hmm… (Congratulations $2.00 Bills? What?)

The welcome she received inside was a bit less cryptic.

And the welcome she received from librarian Ellen Mandel needed NO deciphering! (Who doesn’t speak the language of homemade chocolate chip cookies??)

While at Sprague, Rebecca spoke to the 4th and 5th graders, all of whom had either read When You Reach Me or listened to the entire book as it was read aloud to them by their teachers. I can’t tell you how amazing it was to have a school go to such lengths to prepare their students for an author’s visit!! (Thank you, Principal Donna Dankner!) It was especially beneficial in the case of When You Reach Me, as the book contains so many secrets. On this one rare occasion, Rebecca was able to discard all worries about having to dance around possible spoilers. During this visit she could answer ANY question fully and honestly, which she did! I learned a lot of great background bits about my favorite plot points and characters at this point during the day. What a treat!

At the end of Rebecca’s presentation, she was presented with a big plastic barrel, which was the brainchild of wonderful, always enthusiastic teacher Moe Henzel. In it were notes from all of Sprague’s 4th and 5th graders. On one side of each note was the image of a $2 bill. On the other was a student’s prediction for Rebecca’s future.

I am dying to know what things they thought she ought to be preparing herself for! Below, Rebecca shares one of the predictions with a Sprague parent who helped coordinate her visit to the school.

And NOW… Have you figured out why that “welcome” sign for Rebecca was so odd? The visible mention of “$2.00 Bills” was intended to be a clue. Rebecca left clues throughout her book for them — it seemed only right that they should leave clues for her too! (I love it.)
One more Sprague thing: Each year members of the outgoing 5th grade class create small paper self-portraits of themselves that one of their teachers then arranges and pastes together in group photo style to create a “class portrait” composed of individual self-portraits, like this one of the Class of 2009, below. The resulting piece is framed and hung in the school’s main stairwell, where all future classes pass by them on a daily basis, and where we passed by them on our visit too. While it’s true that it’s much harder to look at these representations years later and say, “Why that must be Susie Hackenbock! I’d know her anywhere!” these class portraits feel so much more personal and so much more lively, too — maybe because each of these kids has been able to present themselves in the way that THEY want to be seen. Interesting, no? But I digress…

After her visit at Sprague, Rebecca joined us at the Wellesley Free Library, where she read for and took questions from an eager audience of readers, pretty evenly split between kids and adults who have enjoyed her books.

After the reading/chatting/fantastic Q&A, Rebecca signed books. Many, many books!

I wanted to include this photo (below) of the foamcore sign Random House sent us to promote Rebecca’s event, in part because we LOVE receiving big, splashy “put this in your store window so everyone will see this author is coming to your store” signs, and partly because I was bowled over by one little thing Random House did to “enhance” it. About a week after the ALA awards announcement, I received a slim envelope from Rebecca’s publicist that contained a scaled-to-fit-the-cover-image-on-our-sign replica of the Newbery Medal. It had CLEARLY been printed onto label paper (or some equivalent) and been cut out by hand, and while looking at it I had one of those “bless the hard-working folks in publicity” moments, thinking about how many crazy phone calls had been flowing into the Random House publicity office that week and marveling that someone cared enough to think of this one little tiny detail. Was it necessary? No. (Especially not when I’d already boldly markered the words “WINNER OF THE 2010 NEWBERY MEDAL” on the sign.) Was it nice? Yes. Very much so. AND I enjoyed finding just the right spot for that shiny gold medal to go.

Now, here’s Rebecca, the following day, in the Tenacre Country Day School’s library. (Yes, their school library has a fireplace. Yes, we are ALL jealous of their school library!!) The kids at Tenacre asked very intelligent and personal questions about their own writing projects — things like, “What advice would you give to someone who doesn’t know how to end their story, because, well, I’m writing a book right now, and…”
I loved that Rebecca gave very sincere, honest, and encouraging answers to these questions. She didn’t belittle the importance of students’ work or dismiss their frustrations with an “Oh, you’ll get past that.” Instead, she gave them pointed pieces of advice — the same advice she’d give to adults asking her the same questions. The point at which I wanted to jump up and hug Rebecca was when she told these kids that the fact that they are struggling and trying to solve problems meant that they were truly doing the work of writers — that what they are doing is WRITING, in the truest sense of the word. It was moving for those of us adults in that room, to see these kids being treated as “equals” by a Newbery Medal-winning author, and I know the sincerity of Rebecca’s remarks made the kids value them (and her) all the more.

Here’s Rebecca with Tenacre’s *brilliant* School Librarian, Esther Frazee, whose creativity never ceases to amaze me. Each time I visit the school the library is filled with the most amazing projects — all of them spearheaded by her and created in the tiny amount of time in which she sees these kids each week. On the mantle behind Rebecca’s head (above) are two of the big 3D characters created by Tenacre’s kindergartners in response to Lucy Cousins’ book Yummy.

You can see more of the Yummy dolls in the photo below, AND a small “set” that was assembled in the library for Rebecca’s visit.

Near the bed display stood this HUGE replica of the postcard Miranda’s mother receives at the start of When You Reach Me.

As for Rebecca’s “parting gifts” from Tenacre? Well, like the students at Sprague, this bunch each wrote individual notes to Rebecca, each one stating something the student had either LIKED or NOTICED in When You Reach Me. They gave her a Tenacre totebag filled with Tenacre branded items that they claimed to have “swiped” from the Tenacre storeroom, in the same fashion by which Miranda’s mother occasionally “swipes” things from the supply closet of the office where she works. Finally, the Tenacre group presented Rebecca with a lunch she could eat on the train back to New York: a (supposedly) “cheese, lettuce, and tomato” sandwich from (where else?) Jimmy’s. The report from Rebecca’s blog suggests that the contents of the sandwich were actually more exciting than what she’d been told to expect, and that they were quite delicious too.
Finally I can add another name to the category “Newbery Medal-Winning Authors Who Like Prosciutto.”

You know those obscure picture books you read as a child over and over again? The ones that delighted or haunted you, that stayed with you over the years, that helped form you as a person—but that no one else has ever heard of? It’s a little weird and a little cool, as though maybe ten copies were ever printed and you were the only person outside the author’s family who managed to find one. Over the years, I’ve managed to save and/or collect most of these books, and occasionally I’ll pull them down from the shelves and enjoy my Proust’s madeleine experience and go back in time.
One of my favorite no-one-else books was Princesses’ Tresses by Luciana Roselli. This book was an early 70’s confection of (three?)-color art in sherbet hues, drawn with a fanciful, sentimental line. The story was simple, about a little girl with very short hair who yearned for long princess hair, oodles and miles and spaghetti swirls of it — until she realized how much of a pain that much hair would actually be, and she settles for trusting that her hair will grow to a pretty, manageable length and will be just fine and dandy, thank you. Why did I love this book so very much? I can’t even begin to tell you. Perhaps it was partly the fact that my mother gave it to me especially because of my very thick, impossible hair, and partly that the little girl’s name was Elisabeth (that elegant variation of my own very common name). I know it had something to do with the images that went with phrases like, ‘It would take seven handmaidens to wash it, seven suns to dry it…’ [paraphrased; I can’t find my beloved copy]. I was entranced by the improbably elaborate hairdos necessary to contain all that mass: for instance, hair parted and braided and fashioned into, say, a large garden trellis. The consequences of incredible tresses became increasingly absurd, ending, I think, with a prince or two getting lost in there. (Put Dr. Freud back on the shelf; this book was too sprightly to have engaged in metaphor.)
The writing was actually lyrical, but it was also simple and clear and comfortingly matter-of-fact, like a good fairy tale. I don’t know how and where my mother found that book, and I’m sure she never would have imagined I’d read it almost as often as I read Where the Wild Things Are, but there you are. In all my years of loving and living with books, I’ve never met another person familiar with that one.

Minnie the Mump and Other Stories by Paul Tripp. This 1960 book about health and doctors’ visits and illnesses for kids was published by a drug company, of all things: Ross Laboratories in Columbus, Ohio. Its full title, in fact, is preceded by “The Vi_Daylin® book of….” Turns out that Vi-Daylin® was “the Ross Laboratories brand of vitamin supplement.” What I loved about this book were the illustrations: personified illnesses like CLARA the COLD, CHARLIE CHICKEN POX, HERMAN GERMAN MEASLES, MOLLY MEASLES, SCARLET FEVER (“She is a STREPTOCOCCUS which is not a nice thing to be”). They were suitably nasty creatures, but in a friendly sort of way — not an easy duality to carry off. Do you know it wasn’t until I pulled this one from the shelf tonight that I realized the artist was Trina Hyman (no Schart back then)?! No wonder I loved the illustrations!
I’ve always loved miniature things, so when my mother brought home a book featuring a tiny tiger nestled in flowers, I was enchanted. Tiger Flower, “a tale by Robert Vavra around paintings by Fleur Cowles with a preface by Yehudi Menuhin,” was an odd book that didn’t tell a story so much as present a lot of lovely paintings of a topsy-turvy natural world where mushrooms were the size of trees and lions and tigers balanced on blades of grass, no longer hunting zebras but, rather, flowers for bouquets. I’ve never met anyone else who encountered it as a child, and in fact, it’s the kind of arty, slightly distant book that perhaps has more adult than child appeal. (I’ll bet my mom found it at an art gallery or museum in Phoenix somewhere.) Still, though I didn’t connect strongly to the words, the idea of a miniature tiger—a tiger small enough to run around in the palm of my hand, or to be blanketed by a rose petal—brought me back again and again to the pages of that book.

Arm in Arm by Remy Charlip might have been written just for me: a child who got lost in funny words and skewed ideas and pictures that asked questions. An unorthodox picture book, it was a collection of jokes and wordplay and skits and mini-stories poetry and very-1970s doodly playful rainbow-colored illustrations and hand-lettered text that spiraled around in shapes to follow along the page. The subtitle alone was delicious: A Collection of Connections, Endless Tales, Reiterations, and Other Echolalia. (Try getting THAT past Acquisitions today.) It was the very essence of imaginative art, full of funny little touches and bright spirit. It even sneaked in some  philosophy. I can’t tell you the number of hours I spent inside this book, pondering the concepts and poring over the art, the fine lines and miniature drawings and bursts of color. Incidentally, Arm in Arm also gave me my favorite childhood joke: “Ask me if I’m a boat.” “Are you a boat?” “Yes. Now ask me if I’m an airplane.” “Are you an airplane?” “No, silly, I’m a boat.” I still have my old copy, inscribed by my mom in 1973: “…a silly fun book because you are fun to be silly with.” (Inscriptions are practically a lost art, and I miss them.) Although Remy Charlip wasn’t and isn’t an obscure author, I was the only kid I knew who had that book. It was unique in format and freedom, and it was a touchstone for me.
Another no-one-else picture book was The Magic Friend Maker by Gladys Baker Bond, illustrated by Stina Nagel. It’s the story of Beth, a shy “one-girl,”an only child with no best friend. Then she meets Jean, a new girl in the neighborhood who befriends Beth by showing her a special, egg-sized rock. I loved that rock and its mysterious colors: “It looked very old. Its brownness was streaked with one color that looked like rust on old iron, and another color that looked like a policeman’s coat on a smoggy morning.” It  turns wonderful colors when submerged in water, “… like melted candy, streaked with red, yellow, and shadowy blue.” Brought together by the stone, two girls become best best best best friends. But all good things must come to an end, and one day, Jean announces she has to move. Beth is despondent, but then a new girl moves in, and Beth — I know this will shock you — befriends her with the rock Jean gave to Beth as she was leaving. “It was just a rock until it was shared. Then it became a magic friend-maker.” I don’t know why I liked this simple story so much. I wasn’t a “one-girl;” I had a sibling and little friends to play with. But man, I loved that rock. I still gather a stone or two when visiting a new place, or going back to an old one, and I know that my habit of rinsing stones to see what they look like wet is due to The Magic Friend Maker.
Recently, my entire understanding of this book was called into question by a friend who facetiously found a wildly lesbian subtext in the friendship; she quoted lines like “Touch it …. My rock gets warm when you hold it,” with an exaggerated leer, making me both laugh hysterically and hate her a teeny bit for forever besmirching my inner five-year-old’s delight at the friendly faces, innocent hand-holding, and happy teeter-totters, wild swings, and cute sparrows in the park. “Want to touch my rock?” It’ll never be the same.
This is why perhaps some of these no-one-else books deserve their place in solo memory, so you can keep your rocks rocks and your cigars cigars. But in case you want to share, I’m really curious: what are YOUR no-one-else books?

Here’s this year’s first installment of the 2010 children’s books that have received starred reviews from (in alphabetical order) Booklist, The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, The Horn Book,  Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.
The list below covers  Booklist through 3/15/2010, the Bulletin through 3/2010, Horn Book through March-April 2010, Kirkus through 3/15/10, PW through 3/15/10, and SLJ through March 2010. I’ll update quarterly.
EDITED TO ADD:  Okay, since you asked for it — I created a LibraryThing collection of these books, with book covers, genre and general age range. The 2010 Starred Review Library is divided into collections (1 Star, 2 Stars, etc.) and can be sorted in a variety of ways including by “tags” (e.g., MG, YA, Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, etc.).
I’m happy to see books from small presses recognized here as well as those from larger houses. In June and December, I’ll add a publisher tally to the update, as well as a count by genre if I get really ambitious.
It’s helpful to us busy booksellers, librarians, and teachers, to be able to scan a list of books have received stars. However, it would be a mistake to seek out only starred books. As usual, I want to add that hundreds, if not thousands, of wonderful books are published every year that don’t receive starred reviews but are wonderful, child-appealing, beautifully written books. Reading as many books as possible yourself, as well as a wide variety of review sources, will always uncover hidden gems that inform and delight.
This list was happily (and painstakingly) collected by an independent bookseller. If you are using it as a purchasing guide, please consider supporting your local independent bookstore, or an online indie (find a store on IndieBound.org). Thanks!
And, if you find this project valuable, please make a brief comment below. I’d like a sense of how many people are actually using this list, to know that collecting the data and making the citations consistent are worth the sort of ridiculous hours I spend doing it. I just want comments like, “Yep, use it!” not, “Thank you, goddess of lists, for using your OCD tendencies in a productive manner.” I’m fishing for users, not compliments, here. But if you like my hair today, please feel free to compliment that.  : )
5 STARS
COSMIC. Frank Cottrell Boyce. (HarperCollins/Walden Pond, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-06-183683-1
INCARCERON. Catherine Fisher. (Dial, $17.99) ISBN 978-0-8037-3396-1
MIRROR, MIRROR: A BOOK OF REVERSIBLE VERSE. Marilyn Singer. Illustrated by Josée Masse. (Dutton, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-525-47901-7
4 STARS
CONSPIRACY OF KINGS, A. Megan Whalen Turner. (HarperCollins/Greenwillow, $16.99) ISBN 978-0061870934.
DEATH-DEFYING PEPPER ROUX, THE. Geraldine McCaughrean. (Harper, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-06-183665-7
DREAMER, THE. Pam Munoz Ryan. Illustrated by Peter Sis. (Scholastic, $17.99) ISBN 978-0439269704
FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK. Melina Marchetta. (Candlewick, $18.99) ISBN: 978-0-7636-4361-4
MY GARDEN. Kevin Henkes (Harper/Greenwillow, $17.99) ISBN 978-0-06-171517-4
ONE CRAZY SUMMER. Rita Williams-Garcia. (HarperCollins/Amistad, $15.99. ISBN 978-0060760885
UBIQUITOUS: CELEBRATING NATURE’S SURVIVORS. Joyce Sidman. Illustrated by Beckie Prange. (Harcourt, $17) ISBN 978-0-618-71719-4
3 STARS
AMELIA EARHART: THIS BROAD OCEAN. Written and illustrated by Sarah Stewart Taylor and Ben Towle. Center for Cartoon Studies and Disney/Hyperion, $17.99) ISBN 978-1-4231-1337-9
BUNNY DAYS. Tao Nyeu. (Dial, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-8037-3330-5
EXTRAORDINARY MARK TWAIN, THE (ACCORDING TO SUSY). Barbara Kerley. Illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham. (Scholastic Press, $17.99) ISBN 978-0-545-12508-6
HERE COMES THE GARBAGE BARGE! Jonah Winter. Illustrated by Red Nose Studio. (Random/Schwartz & Wade, $17.99) ISBN 978-0-375-85218-3
LAST SUMMER OF THE DEATH WARRIORS, THE. Francisco X. Stork. (Scholastic/Levine, $17.99) ISBN 978-0-545-15133-7
MERCURY. Hope Larson. (Atheneum, $17.99 hc; $9.99 pb)  ISBN hc 978-1416935858; ISBN pb 978-1416935889
MYSTERIOUS HOWLING, THE (INCORRIGIBLE CHILDREN OF ASHTON PLACE, THE. BOOK 1). Wood, Maryrose. (HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray/, $15.99) ISBN 978-0-06-179105-5
NOTHING. Janne Teller. Translated from the Danish by Martin Aitken. (S&S/Atheneum, $16.99) ISBN 978-1-416-98579-2
OUT OF MY MIND. Sharon M. Draper. (S&S/Atheneum, $16.99) ISBN 978-1416971702
REVOLVER. Marcus Sedgwick. (Roaring Brook, $16.99) ISBN 978-1596435926
SOME GIRLS ARE. Courtney Summers. (St. Martin’s Griffin, $9.99) ISBN 978-0-312-57380-5
WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON. John Green and David Levithan. (Dutton, $17.99) ISBN 978-0525421580
2 STARS
AFTER EVER AFTER. Jordan Sonnenblick. (Scholastic, $17.99) ISBN 978-0-439-83706-4
ALCHEMY AND MEGGY SWANN. Karen Cushman. (Clarion, $16) ISBN 978-0547231846
ALL STAR!: HONUS WAGNER AND THE MOST FAMOUS BASEBALL CARD EVER.  Jane Yolen. Illustrated by Jim Burke. (Philomel, $17.99) ISBN 978-0-399-24661-6
ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL. Ashley Bryan. (S&S/Atheneum, $16.99) ISBN 978-1-4169-8939-4
BEACH TAIL, A. Karen Lynn Williams. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. (Boyds Mills, $17.95) ISBN 978-1590787120
BIG RED LOLLIPOP. Rukhsana Khan. Illustrated by Sophie Blackall. (Viking, $16.99) ISBN 978-0670062874
BORDERLINE. Allan Stratton. (HarperTeen, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-06-145111-9
BORROWED NAMES: POEMS ABOUT LAURA INGALLS WILDER, MADAM C. J. WALKER, MARIE CURIE, AND THEIR DAUGHTERS. Jeannine Atkins. (Holt, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-8050-8934-9
BRIDGET’S BERET. Tom Lichtenfeld. (Holt/Christy Ottaviano, $16.99) ISBN 978-0805087758
CHESTER’S MASTERPIECE. Watt, Mélanie. (Kids Can, $18.95) ISBN 978-1554535668
DARK DAYS OF HAMBURGER HALPIN, THE. Josh Berk. (Knopf/Borzoi, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-375-85699-0
EFRAIN’S SECRET. Sofia Quintero. (Knopf, $16.99) ISBN 978-0375847066
FALLING IN. Frances O’Roark Dowell. (S&S/ Atheneum, $16.99) ISBN 978-1416950325
HENRY IN LOVE. Peter McCarty. (HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-06-114288-8
FEVER CRUMB. Philip Reeve. (Scholastic, $17.99) ISBN 978-0545207195
HAPPYFACE. Stephen Emond. (Little, Brown, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-316-04100-3
HATTIE THE BAD. Jane Devlin. Illustrated by Joe Berger. (Dial, $16.99) ISBN 978-0803734470
HEART AND THE BOTTLE, THE. Oliver Jeffers. (Philomel, $17.99) ISBN 978-0399254529
I CAN BE ANYTHING! Jerry Spinelli. Illustrated by Jimmy Liao. (Little, Brown, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-316-16226-5
IF STONES COULD SPEAK: UNLOCKING THE SECRETS OF STONEHENGE. Marc Aronson. (National Geographic,  $17.95) ISBN 978-1426305993
LITTLE RED HEN AND THE PASSOVER MATZAH, THE. Leslie Kimmelman. Illustrated by Paul Meisel. (Holiday House, $16.95) ISBN 978-0-8234-1952-4
LMNO PEAS. Keith Baker. (S&S/Beach Lane, $16.99) ISBN 978-1416991410
MAMA MITI: WANGARI MAATHAI AND THE TREES OF KENYA. Donna Jo Napoli. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. (S&S/Wiseman, $16.99) ISBN 978-1-4169-3505-6
MEANWHILE: PICK ANY PATH. 3,856 STORY POSSIBILITIES. Jason Shiga. (Abrams/Amulet, $15.95) ISBN 978-0-81098-423-3
MOCKINGBIRD. Kathryn Erskine. (Philomel, $15.99) ISBN 978-0399252648
NEST FOR CELESTE, A: A STORY ABOUT ART, INSPIRATION, AND THE MEANING OF HOME. Henry Cole. (HarperCollins/Tegen, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-06-170410-9
NUMBERS. Rachel Ward. (Scholastic/Chicken House, $17.99) ISBN 978-0-545-14299-1
ONCE. Morris Gleitzman. (Henry Holt, $16.99) ISBN 978-0805090260
OSTRICH BOYS. Keith Gray. (Random, $17.99) ISBN 978-0-375-85843-7
SHARING THE SEASONS: A BOOK OF POEMS. Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins. Illustrated by David Diaz. (S&S/McElderry, $21.99) ISBN 978-1416902102
SHARK VS. TRAIN. Chris Barton. Illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. (Little, Brown, $16.99) ISBN 978-0316007627
SPIES OF MISSISSIPPI: THE TRUE STORY OF THE SPY NETWORK THAT TRIED TO DESTROY THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. Rick Bowers. (National Geographic, $16.95) ISBN 978-1426305955)
SUMMER BIRDS: THE BUTTERFLIES OF MARIA MERIAN. Margarita Engle. Illustrated by Julie Paschkis. (Holt, $16.99) ISBN 978-0805089370.
WHAT IF? Laura Vaccaro Seeger. (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter, $15.99) ISBN 978-1596433984WOODS RUNNER. Gary Paulsen. (Random/Wendy Lamb, $15.99)  ISBN 978-0-385-73884-2
YEAR OF GOODBYES, THE: A TRUE STORY OF FRIENDSHIP, FAMILY, AND FAREWELLS. Debbie Levy. (Disney-Hyperion, $16.99) ISBN 978-1-4231-2901-1
1 STAR
13 TREASURES. Michelle Harrison. (Little, Brown, $15.99) ISBN 978-0316041485
ADVENTURES OF JACK LIME, THE. James Leck. (Kids Can, $16.95) ISBN 978-1554533640
ANIMAL CRACKERS FLY THE COOP. Kevin O’Malley. (Walker, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-8027-9837-4
ASHES. Kathryn Lasky. (Viking, $16.99) ISBN 978-0670011575
BABY SHOWER. Jane Breskin Zalben. (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter, $16.99) ISBN 978-1596434653
BACK OF THE BUS. Aaron Reynolds. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. (Philomel, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-399-25091-0
BACK TO BED, ED! Sebastien Braun. (Peachtree, $15.95) ISBN: 978-1561455188
BAG IN THE WIND. Ted Kooser. Illustrated by Barry Root. (Candlewick, $17.99) ISBN 978-0763630010
BANDIT’S SURPRISE. Karen Rostoker-Gruber. Illustrated by Vincent Nguyen. (Marshall Cavendish, $16.99) ISBN 978-0761456230
BEFORE I FALL. Lauren Oliver. (HarperTeen, $17.99) ISBN 978-0-06-172680-4
BIRMINGHAM SUNDAY. Larry Dane Brimner. (Boyds Mills/Calkins Creek, $17.95) ISBN 978-1590786130
BIRTHDAY BALL, THE. Lois Lowry. Illustrated by Jules Feiffer. (Houghton, $16) ISBN 978-0547238692
BLACK ELK’S VISION: A LAKOTA STORY. S.D. Nelson. (Abrams, $19.95) ISBN 978-0810983991
BLACK MAGIC. Dinah Johnson. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. (Holt/Christy Ottaviano, $15.99) ISBN 978-0805078336
BLEEDING VIOLET. Dia Reeves. (Simon Pulse, $16.99) ISBN 978-1-4169-8618-8
BLOCKHEAD: THE LIFE OF FIBONACCI. Joseph D’Agnese. Illustrated by John O’Brien, Jr. (Holt, $16.99) ISBN 9780805063059
BORN YESTERDAY: THE DIARY OF A YOUNG JOURNALIST. James Solheim. Illustrated by Simon James. (Philomel, $15.99) ISBN 978-0399251559
BOY WHO CLIMBED INTO THE MOON, THE. David Almond. Illustrated by Polly Dunbar. (Candlewick, $15.99) ISBN 978-0763642174
BOYS, THE. Jeff Newman. (Simon & Schuster, $15.99) ISBN 978-1416950127
BRAND-NEW BABY BLUES. Kathi Appelt. Illustrated by Kelly Murphy. (HarperCollins, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-06-053233-8
CAPTAIN SMALL PIG. Martin Waddell. Illustrated by Susan Varley. (Peachtree, $15.95) ISBN 978-1561455195
CARBON DIARIES 2017. THE. Saci Lloyd. (Holiday House, $17.95) ISBN 978-0823422609
CAT THE CAT, WHO IS THAT? Mo Willems. (HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray, $12.99) ISBN 978-0-06-172840-2
CELESTIAL GLOBE, THE. Marie Rutkoski. (FSG, $16.99) ISBN 978-0374310271
CHAMPION OF CHILDREN, THE: THE STORY OF JANUSZ KORCZAK.  Tomek Bogacki. (FSG, $17.99) ISBN 978-0374341367
CITY DOG, COUNTRY FROG. Mo Willems. Illustrated by Jon J Muth. (Hyperion, $17.99) ISBN 978-1423103004
CITY OF SPIES. Susan Kim and Laurence Klavan. Illustrated by Pascal Dizin. (Roaring Brook/First Second, $16.99) ISBN 978-1596432628
CLOUD TEA MONKEYS. Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham. Illustrated by Juan Wijngaard. (Candlewick, $15.99) ISBN 978-0763644536
DOGS. Emily Gravett. (Simon & Schuster, $15.99) ISBN 978-1416987031
DON’T SPILL THE BEANS! IanSchoenherr. (HarperCollins/Greenwillow, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-06-172457-2
DRAGONBREATH: ATTACK OF THE NINJA FROGS. Ursula Vernon. (Dial, $12.99) ISBN 978-0803733657
DRAGONS OF DARKNESS. Antonia Michaelis. Translated by Anthea Bell. (Abrams, $18.95) ISBN 978-0810940741
DRIZZLE. Kathleen Van Cleve. (Dial, $16.99) ISBN 978-0803733626
EASTER EGG, THE. Jan Brett. Putnam, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-399-25238-9
EGRET’S DAY, AN. Jane Yolen. Photography by Jason Stemple. (Boyds Mills/Wordsong, $17.95) ISBN 978-1590786505
EIGHTH-GRADE SUPERZERO. Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich. Scholastic/Levine, $16.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-545-09676-8
ENCHANTED GLASS. Diana Wynne Jones. (Harper/Greenwillow, $16.99) ISBN 978-0061866845.
ENCYCLOPEDIA MYTHOLOGICA: GODS AND HEROES. Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda. (Candlewick, $29.99) ISBN 978-0763631710
EYE FOR COLOR, AN: THE STORY OF JOSEF ALBERS. Natasha Wing. Illustrated by Julia Breckenreid (Holt, $16.99) ISBN 978-0805080728
FARAWAY ISLAND, A. Annika Thor. Translated by Linda Schenck. (Delacorte, $16.99) ISBN 978-0385736176
FARM. Elisha Cooper. (Scholastic/Orchard, $17.99) ISBN 978-0545070751
FDR’S ALPHABET SOUP: NEW DEAL AMERICA, 1932-1939. Tonya Bolden. (Knopf, $19.99) ISBN 978-0375852145
FIREFLY LETTERS, THE: A SUFFRAGETTE’S JOURNEY TO CUBA. Margarita Engle. (Holt, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-8050-9082-6
FOREVER FRIENDS. Carin Berger. (Harper/Greenwillow, $16.99) ISBN 978-0061915284
FOX AND THE HEN, THE. Eric Battut. (Boxer Books, $16.95) ISBN 978-1907152023
FRANKIE PICKLE AND THE PINE RUN 3000. Eric Wight. (Simon & Schuster, $9.99) ISBN 978-1416964858
GARMANN’S STREET. Stian Hole. (Eerdmans, $16.99) ISBN 978-0802853578
GIRL WITH THE MERMAID HAIR, THE. Delia Ephron. (HarperTeen, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-06-154260-2
GREEN WITCH. Alice Hoffman. (Scholastic Press, $17.99) ISBN 978-0545141956
HALF-MINUTE HORRORS. Edited by Susan Rich (HarperCollins, $12.99) ISBN 978-0061833793
HALLELUJAH FLIGHT, THE. Phil Bildner. Illustrated by John Holyfield. (Putnam, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-399-24789-7
HENRY AARON’S DREAM. Matt Tavares. (Candlewick, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-7636-3224-3
HEY, RABBIT! Sergio Ruzzier. (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter, $16.99.) ISBN 978-1-59643-502-5
HIP HOP DOG. Raschka, Chris. (HarperCollins, $16.99) ISBN 978-0061239632
HOUSE OF DOLLS. Francesca Lia Block. Illustrated by Barbara McClintock. (Harper, $15.99) ISBN 978-0061130946
HOW TO CLEAN A HIPPOPOTAMUS: A LOOK AT UNUSUAL ANIMAL PARTNERSHIPS. Steve Jenkins and Robin Page. (Houghton, $16) ISBN 978-0547245157
HOW TO SURVIVE MIDDLE SCHOOL. Donna Gephart.  (Delacorte, $15.99) ISBN 978-0385737937
I AM A BACKHOE. Hines, Anna Grossnickle. (Tricycle, $12.99) ISBN 978-1582463063.
I AM GOING (ELEPHANT & PIGGIE). Mo Willems. (Hyperion, $8.99) ISBN 978-1423119906
I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER (JOHN CLEAVER). Dan Wells. (Tor, $9.99) ISBN 978-0765327826
INCREDIBLE VOYAGE OF ULYSSES. Bimba Landmann. (Getty, $19.95) ISBN 978-1606060124
IS IT NIGHT OR DAY? Fern Schumer Chapman. (FSG, $16.99) ISBN 978-0374177447
KNIFE THAT KILLED ME, THE. Anthony McGowan. (Delacorte, $16.99) ISBN 978-0385738224
LAWN TO LAWN. Dan Yaccarino. (Knopf, $17.99) ISBN 978-0375855740
LIBERTY OR DEATH: THE SURPRISING STORY OF RUNAWAY SLAVES WHO SIDED WITH THE BRITISH DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. Margaret Whitman Blair. (National Geographic, $18.95) ISBN 978-1426305900
LIFE AND TIMES OF SCROOGE MCDUCK, THE. VOL. 1. Don Rosa. (Boom! Kids, $24.99) ISBN 978-1608865383
LIGHTER SIDE OF LIFE AND DEATH, THE. C.K. Kelly Marton. (Random, $16.99) ISBN 978-0375845888
LINCOLN TELLS A JOKE: HOW LAUGHTER SAVED THE PRESIDENT (AND THE COUNTRY). Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer. Illustrated by Stacy Innerst. (Harcourt, $16) ISBN 978-0152066390
LOCKDOWN. Walter Dean Myers. (HarperTeen, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-06-121480-6
MAGIC UNDER GLASS. Jaclyn Dolamore. (Bloomsbury, $16.99) ISBN 978-1599904306
MEETING, THE. Brigitte Luciani. Illustrated by Eve Tharlet. Translated by Carol Klio Burrell. (Lerner/Graphic Universe, $6.95) ISBN 978-0761356318
MILLION SHADES OF GRAY, A. Cynthia Kadohata. (Simon & Schuster/Atheneum, $16.99) ISBN 978-1-4169-1883-7
MIMI’S DADA CATIFESTO. Shelley Jackson. (Clarion, $17) ISBN 978-0547126814
MISS BROOKS LOVES BOOKS! (AND I DON’T). Barbara Bottner. Illustrated by Michael Emberley. (Knopf/Borzoi, $17.99) ISBN 978-0-375-84682-3
NIGHT FAIRY, THE. Laura Amy Schlitz. Illustrated by Angela Barrett. (Candlewick, $16.99) ISBN 978-0763636746
NORTHWARD TO THE MOON. Polly Horvath. (Random/Schwartz & Wade, $17.99) ISBN 978-0-375-86110-9
OLDER THAN THE STARS. Karen C. Fox. (Charlesbridge, $15.95) ISBN: 978-1-57091-787-5
PADDLING OF DUCKS, A: ANIMALS IN GROUPS FROM A TO Z. Marjorie Blain Parker. Illustrated by Joseph Kelly. (Kids Can, $16.95) ISBN 978-1553376828
PALACE BEAUTIFUL. Sarah DeFord Williams. (Putnam, $16.99) ISBN 978-0399252983
PARIS IN THE SPRING WITH PICASSO. Joan Yolleck. Illustrated by Marjorie Priceman. (Random/Schwartz & Wade, $17.99) ISBN 978-0-375-83756-2
PIGS TO THE RESCUE. John Himmelman. (Holt, $16.99) ISBN 978-0805086836
PLANET HUNTER: GEOFF MARCY AND THE SEARCH FOR OTHER EARTHS. Vicki O. Wittenstein. (Boyds Mills Press, $17.95) ISBN 978-1590785928
POD. Stephen Wallenfels. (Namelos, $18.95 hc; $9.95 pb) ISBN hc 9781608980109; pb 9781608980116
POISON EATERS AND OTHER STORIES. Holly Black. Illustrated by Theo Black. (Big Mouth House, $17.99) ISBN 978-1931520631POISONED HONEY: A STORY OF MARY MAGDALENE. Beatrice Gormley. (Knopf, $16.99) ISBN 978-0375852077
PRIME BABY. Gene Luen Yang. (First Second, $6.99) ISBN 978-1596436121
PUSH BUTTON. Aliki. (HarperCollins/Greenwillow, $16.99.) ISBN 978-0061673085.
QUIET BOOK, THE. Deborah Underwood. Illustrated by Renata Liwska. (Houghton, $12.95) ISBN 978-0547215679
RATFINK. Marcia Thornton Jones. Illustrated by C. B. Decker. (Dutton, $16.99) ISBN 978-0525420668
RESISTANCE. Carla Jablonski. Illustrated by Leland Purvis. (Roaring Brook/First Second, $16.99) ISBN 978-1596432918
RIVER, THE. Mary Jane Beaufrand. (Little, Brown, $16.99) ISBN 978-0316041683
SALT. Maurice Gee. (Orca, $18) ISBN 978-1554692095
SAY HELLO! Rachel Isadora. (Putnam, $16.99) ISBN 978-0399252303
SHAKESPEARE MAKES THE PLAY-OFFS. Ron Koertge (Candlewick, $15.99) ISBN 978-0763644352
SIGNED, ABIAH ROSE. Diane Browning. (Tricycle, $15.99) ISBN 978-1582463117
SIT-IN: HOW FOUR FRIENDS STOOD UP BY SITTING DOWN. Andrea Davis Pinkney. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. (Little, Brown, $16.99) ISBN 978-0316070164
SKY IS EVERYWHERE, THE. Jandy Nelson. (Dial, $17.99) ISBN 978-0803734951
SMALL FREE KISS IN THE DARK, A. Glenda Millard. (Holiday House, $16.95) ISBN 978-0823422647
SMILE! Leigh Hodgkinson. (HarperTeen/Balzer+Bray/, $16.99) ISBN 978-0061852695
SOLAR SYSTEM, THE. Howard K. Trammel. (Children’s Press, $6.95) ISBN 978-0531228029
SONG OF THE WHALES, THE. Uri Orlev. Translated by Hillel Halkin. (Houghton, $16) ISBN 978-0547257525
SPELLS. Aprilynne Pike. (Harper, $16.99) ISBN 978-0061668067
STAR CRUSHER, THE: MISSILE MOUSE. Jake Parker. (Graphix. $10.99) ISBN 978-0545117159
STAR IN THE FOREST. Laura Resau. (Delacorte, $14.99) ISBN 978-0385737920
STARS. Ker Than. (Children’s Press, $6.95) ISBN 978-0531228067
STUCK ON EARTH. David Klass. (FSG/Foster, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-374-39951-1
SUNDAY IS FOR GOD. Michael McGowan. Illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. (Random/Schwartz & Wade, $17.99) ISBN 978-0375841880
SWEET HEREAFTER. Angela Johnson. (Simon & Schuster, $16.99) ISBN 978-0689873850
TAKE ME WITH YOU. Carolyn Marsden. (Candlewick, $14.99) ISBN 978-0763637392
THIS WORLD WE LIVE IN. Susan Beth Pfeffer. (Harcourt, $17) ISBN 978-0547248042
THREE RIVERS RISING: A NOVEL OF THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD. James Richards. (Knopf, $16.99) ISBN 978-0375858857
TIME YOU LET ME IN: 25 POETS UNDER 25. Selected by Naomi Shihab Nye. (HarperCollins/Greenwillow, $16.99) ISBN 978-0-06-189637-8
TOADS AND DIAMONDS. Heather Tomlinson. (Holt, $16.99) ISBN 978-0805089684
TYRANNY. Lesley Fairfield. (Tundra, $10.95) ISBN 978-0887769030
WAITING OUT THE STORM. JoAnn Early Macken. Illustrated by Susan Gaber. (Candlewick, $15.99) ISBN 978-0763633783
WAR TO END ALL WARS, THE. Russell Freedman. (Clarion, $22) ISBN 9780547026862
WE THE CHILDREN (BENJAMIN PRATT AND THE KEEPERS OF THE SCHOOL 01). Andrew Clements. Illustrated by Adam Stower. (S&S/Atheneum, $14.99) ISBN 978-1416938866
WHEN JACK GOES OUT. Pat Schories. (Boyds Mills, $13.95) ISBN 978-1-59078-652-9
WISHING FOR TOMORROW: THE SEQUEL TO A LITTLE PRINCESS. Hilary McKay. Illustrated by Nick Maland. (S&S/McElderry, $16.99) ISBN 978-1442401693
WORD AFTER WORD AFTER WORD. Patricia MacLachlan. (HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen, $14.99.) ISBN 978-0060279714
YOUNG ZEUS. G. Brian Karas. (Scholastic, $17.99) ISBN 978-0-439-72806-5
ZEUS: KING OF THE GODS. Adapted and illustrated by George O’Connor. (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter/First Second, $16.99 hc, $9.99 pb) ISBN 978-1-59643-431-8 hc; ISBN 978-1-59643-625-1 pb.

Yesterday, I spent seven long hours waiting at JFK Airport, trying to get back home from a quick weekend away in Florida. When faced with so many hours in an airport, I don’t read. I people watch.
I saw more Kindles than I ever have in my life: three. I was curious about these Kindle readers, so I tried to speak with each of them. Only one was interested in talking to me.
I was curious what he was reading and was very surprised to hear he was reading a Louis L’Amour novel. He actually whispered it, telling me, “I would never go to a store to buy this.” He loves his Kindle.I asked if he still went to bookstores and he said somewhat sheepishly, no. This echoes what my family in Florida said, too. I was worried about this, then I looked around the gate area.
The three Kindle readers had stopped reading and were just looking around, as if they needed a break from the screen. All the other book readers, and there must have been about thirty readers at my gate, had their heads down, happily turning pages, fairly oblivious to the chaos around them.
One other thing I didn’t see was anyone recharging their book. Not beholden to the proximity of outlets, the book readers were literally strewn about. (Before folks get mad at me, I understand the battery life of the Kindle is long, but at some point they do need to be recharged.)
Are books dead? Hardly. But it’s clear to me at least, who lives in a very bookstore-friendly state, that the e-reader is creeping into the larger book reading world. The Borders here at the airport even sells preloaded Sony e-readers.
One last quick scan of the gate revealed book readers outnumbering Kindle owners by ten to one. That’s a number I can live with, I think.

Many moons ago, Sandy Lemon, one of the local teachers I have the great pleasure of working with, introduced me to CricketSam, her husband’s blog about life as a stay-at-home dad caring for their twin girls, who in a few months will be starting (gasp!) kindergarten. I have since become a frequent reader of Stephan’s very entertaining blog and a big fan of both Stephan’s humor and his daughters’ antics. Thinking you all might become the same and realizing it’s rare that we post the perspectives of actual kids on this blog, I asked Stephan if he and the girls might want to review a book or two for ShelfTalker. They jumped at the chance and walked out of my office with a pile of F&G’s for forthcoming picture books. What follows is their review of Pink Me Up by Charise Mericle Harper (Random House, February 2010). Along the lines of “Clap if you believe in fairies,” please comment below if you would like to see the Lemon family make more such contributions!
And now, heeeeeere’s Stephan!
******

My name is Stephan Lemon. I am a writer, fervent reader, and, more importantly, a stay-at-home dad to twin 4-year-old girls Cricket and Samantha. My girls and I are honored to be reviewing children’s books that will be available in the coming weeks and months. After years of reading the same books over and over and over and over again (parents, can I get an Gahhhhh!), getting some fresh advance-copy action is just about the best thing in the history of ever. Plus, Cricket and Sam are perfect for this task. Just two months shy of their 5th birthdays, they are experts at rendering judgment on a wide range of topics and have an opinion on everything.
The emasculation I experience on a near daily basis from our girls and our two cats – another set of twin girls – leaves me a broken and bitter shell of a man. Happily, my wife, Sandy, is a saint of a woman who acts as a counterweight and gives balance to my life (He shoots! He scores! Marital points!), and fortunately I have the ability to mine the forces acting upon me for comedy gold I can then put to use for my family blog, my fledgling design business and the book I’ve been threatening to write – a book with a title so wondrously cool that I cannot share it for fear that it fall into the hands of another broken and bitter shell of a man before I can publish. (Maybe someday I’ll have a measureable level of content that will rival the wondrously cool title.)
I know what you’re thinking right now. It’s either Wow, this guy’s life is REALLY exciting! or I’m actually not getting this time back, am I? But it’s not about us. It’s about the kids and the books. I’m just impressed you’ve followed me this far! Let’s keep going.

The first book to get the CricketSam treatment is Pink Me Up by Charise Mericle Harper. The girls were drawn to this book from the beginning, choosing it, based purely on the cover, from a lineup of 8 other new books.
The opening page of the story reads “Today is a special Mama-and-me day. Today is the day of the PINK GIRLS PINK-NIC.”
Oh boy, this is where the “Daddy Dilemma” kicks in, as I’m left reading a book, delightful as it may be, that by all appearances should be read by a mother to a daughter. But fortunately 4-year-olds don’t care about such things, and I really don’t mind either since this allows me to walk hand-in-hand with my feminine side and, truth be told, the feminine me is SO much nicer than the regular me.
Returning to the story, our pink-obsessed main bunny (who curiously goes unnamed, to the dismay of my girls) has her hopes of a wonderful day at the pink picnic dashed when her mother falls ill with – egads! – Pink Spots! (Who knew pink could be so debilitating?) This leads to a moment the girls know all too well, as our heroine falls, crying, to the floor. So familiar are my daughters with this type of scene that in fact they finished reading the final sentence on the page for me… “Today. Is. The. Worst. Day,” I began… then “EVER!” they chimed, as I ran my finger over the word.
It is at this point where Pink Me Up takes a turn for the Awesome! as we find out who will escort our pinkster to the picnic. None other than… DADDY! (Wait. What? Daddy? Really? I know, even my girls were surprised.) “It’s a PINK girl party!” our young bunny exclaims. “Boys are NOT pink!”
I ask Sam and Cricket what they think is going to happen next. They agree that Daddy is not worthy and the story will end in despair, which is TOTALLY not the right answer. When prompted again, they deduce that maybe Daddy will find pink clothes and be able to accompany his daughter to the picnic.
After the bunny successfully “pinks up” her dad with a combination of stickers, markers and tape (those pink-striped pants are SO slimming) she holds his hand on the way to the picnic because “he is not used to being pink.” To me, this line best demonstrates the psyche of the 4-year-old, as my girls are accustomed to treating me as a helpless automaton that requires constant attention for even the smallest of tasks. But hey, pink-striped pants!
Cheerily, everyone at the picnic LOVES the pink dad, leading to many other dads getting “pinkified” at future events. Our pinkster, flush with confidence, dreams of a world in which – GOOD LORD – everything is pink.
I selfishly liked this book because Daddy saves the day but appreciate that the main character overcomes adversity and is part of the solution, which is a good message for the kids.
The girls liked that the stuffed carrot is always smiling. Unbelievable.
Final assessment? Three thumbs up for Pink Me Up.

Some would say the secret to a good book fair is not to do them. Fewer and fewer independent stores are doing in-school book fairs these days because the cost/benefit ratio is dwindling to such a degree that they can be a losing proposition. Book fairs are a complex thing for an indie bookseller to do well, and here are some tips that might help out.
* Work with one person from the PTO. Having more than one point person can make things confusing and needlessly complicated. Make sure there’s one store contact person as well. Confidence builds when there is a solid relationship between school and store.
* Be clear about expectations. How much money is the school hoping to raise? What will the school do to ensure the success of the book fair? The school administration needs to ensure that all the kids and their families, not only know about the book fair, but will given adequate time during the school day to shop for books.  Nothing ruins a book fair than kids strolling amid the books with no money because their parents didn’t know what day the book fair was.
* Draw up a contract that clearly states what everyone’s responsibilities are. How will damaged books be dealt with? It is much better to have a simple document that makes clear what happens if books are stolen, missing, or damaged during the fair, than to discuss it after a box of books goes missing. Also, a contract makes the store look more professional and it lets the school know what exactly you are doing.
* Make sure the parent organization has enough volunteers to run the book fair before it begins. Nothing is more frustrating to the PTO than having an understaffed book fair. I’ve seen book fairs where the main parent volunteer not only never leaves the fair, but has checked in and set up the entire book fair and packs it up on her own.
* Be very clear up front how the school will benefit from book sales. Will they get 15% in cash or 20% in store credit?
* If your staff is able to go into the school the week preceding the book fair for booktalks, sales will rise immeasurably. In addition to booktalks, if someone can generate a flyer with the booktalked items on it that kids can take home then they’re more likely to bring money for those books.
* Don’t have a book fair that’s either too short or too long. A week-long, in-school book fair is probably too long for most schools to staff. One day is a recipe for failure. Two days with a kick-off dinner can be a really successful. Sometimes getting a local author can help jump-start a book fair and can generate a lot of excitement.
* I know it sounds ridiculous, but schedule the book fair when the kids are in school. We once had the misfortune of having a book fair scheduled during parent/teacher conferences and it was the one of the worst book fairs ever.
* If you’re trying to get into a school that has traditionally only done Scholastic Book Fairs, stress that your store is better positioned to choose books that are geared for that specific school because you know them. I’ve worked with schools who didn’t want to give up the Scholastic Fair, so I suggested having two fairs: one using us and one Scholastic. If both book fairs are marketed well, they can both be money makers for the school.
I’ve had great book fairs, and not-so-great book fairs. One thing we’ve started to focus on is doing book fairs for schools close enough to the store so that those families can be become new customers. A book fair is a great way for folks to get to know your store and what you can offer the community, which can a long lasting ripple effect of good will.