Yesterday we hosted our best-ever authorless event. We were fortunate enough to have a three-hour visit from the Wimpy Kid Mobile 8. Picture the cover of the newest addition to the series Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck on the side of the van. A really cool van. This van has been driving all over the country getting kids excited about the newest Wimpy Kid book that’s not even coming out until November. And, boy, were these kids excited.
We promoted the appearance of the van and its book trailer, giveaways and photo ops heavily, and the kids who showed up early were so excited. The love that kids, a true split between boys and girls, have for this series still boggles my mind. These kids are loyal readers who just wanted a chance to see more Wimpy Kid things. They didn’t mind that there was no new book. They just wanted to see the van and get some Wimpy Kid stuff. Abrams is so smart to make this an event that literally runs itself. All we had to do today was save some choice parking for the van.
The van was run by two really great guys: Solomon and Trey. They took pictures, handed out sticker sheets, and even told kids about the discounts we were offering on pre-orders of the eighth book. Their energy never seemed to flag in the near 90-degree sun. Kids were excited, and after they got their picture taken under a larger-than-life Greg Heffley, they streamed into the bookstore. And they bought lots of books.