The other day I was helping a grandmother select early readers for her granddaughter. She said specifically that she wanted “…Level One books.” I walked over to our spinner full of the early readers and pulled out several level one books from the following publishers: Penguin, Harper, Simon Spotlight, and Scholastic, and found a vast difference between each publisher’s definition of what a level one book.
As the grandma looked at each book I couldn’t help but see the differences, some enormous, between the books. For the first time in a long time (I’m ashamed to admit) I really looked at these and found there is absolutely no consistency with what a level one book is supposed to be. Some were what I would expect: bold, easy to describe pictures with a limited number of words on the page. Each publisher describes what a level one clearly on the back of the book with a range of reading abilities required. Perhaps it’s just me, but I think most of my customer think level one books are for kids who are just learning how to read; these are the easiest books to read. The customer started rejecting book after book because they were too hard.
I’m not sure when we moved from the very simple: “The cat sat on the mat.” of the Bob books. Here are random sentences from four different level one books that highlight the range of language and sentence structure in these books. “Have fun with your balloon,” from Hippo and Rabbit: Brave Like and then,” Let’s go home!” from Clem and Clara Take a Ride to, “Trucks in pink,” from Trucktown. And then finally, this sentence from Fancy Day in Room 1-A: “Lionel makes the points on his crown look like bloody shark teeth.”
I think the differences between these sentences is fairly obvious. It’s clear the sentence from the level one Fancy Nancy book is not only the most complex, but the scariest. As someone who struggled learning how to read, some of these books would have been far too hard for me. Which leads to the inevitable discussion of consistency among the publishers. It’s probably too much to ask that the publishers all have the same sentence structure in each leveled reader.
So, I’ve decided that my job as a bookseller is to know how each publisher treats each leveled reader. Now I know Harper level ones are far more advanced than others’ level ones. This is making me rethink how we shelve the I Can Read spinner. Rather than going alphabetically within each level, I think it makes more sense to shelve by publisher. But then it’s hard for customers to find books, although I have noticed that most parents seem to know which publishers are good for their kids.
Booksellers, how does your store treat the leveled readers?
 

Every year, the Shelburne Community School kindergartners visit local businesses on foot, walking from their school down the long Harbor Road to town, settling in and asking questions about what it’s like to work in Shelburne. It’s a big outing for them, and we are honored to be one of their stops. This week, three kindergarten classes visited the Flying Pig for half an hour, taking turns between us, the town’s Pierson Library and their own school library. It was a whole day of celebrating books for the SCS Treehouse team.
After introducing myself and telling the children a little bit about the bookstore, it was reading time. With Halloween so close at hand, I couldn’t resist starting off all three groups with Ammi-Joan Paquette and Adam Record’s charming new GHOST IN THE HOUSE. It’s a really fun read-aloud with some great language, rhyme that invites prediction by young listeners, sound effects for sharing, and an amusing surprise ending. About the sound effects: I was gratified and amused that all three groups could carry off — at my request, and because of other customers in the store — a “very quiet shriek.” It was one of the cutest sounds I’ve ever heard, 20 five-year-olds at a time barely whisper-shrieking, “Eeeeeeee!” together.

After Ghost in the House, each group received a slightly different mix of stories, depending on what mood I picked up from the children. One group was hungry for lots of Halloween, so they got a poem each from Adam Rex’s FRANKENSTEIN MAKES A SANDWICH and HALLOWILLOWEEN: NEFARIOUS SILLINESS FROM CALEF BROWN, as well as Ross MacDonald’s quirky and amusing HENRY’S HAND. I loved watching their faces as I read that one. I was trying to gauge any five-year-old anxiety about a monster whose parts detach and whose hand runs away from home, but they were a smiling and receptive little audience. For two of the groups, I read David Shannon’s GOOD BOY, FERGUS! Totally shameless crowd-pleaser, that book, one that reduces kids to peals of giggles.



Because I am a children’s book author in addition to being a bookstore owner, and teachers like for me to share that experience with children, I also read each group one of my books. I love sharing my books with kids (though it’s harder to blog about because they are my own books, which feels immodest to talk about, so I will keep it brief!). Two of the Treehouse classes heard MY FATHER THE DOG and were adorable recognizing things dads and dogs have in common. The third group heard HOW DO YOU WOKKA-WOKKA?, which was great because they are working on rhyme and rhythm in class and kept the beat as I read with finger snapping and claps.
I used the connection of Halloween with bats as an excuse to read Ari Berk and Loren Long’s lovely NIGHTSONG to two of the groups, who were enthralled by the little bat’s solo adventure into the night world. They seemed wrapped in the book’s lyrical language and the warm mother-child connection that provides a safe and loving background to freedom and exploration and adventure. I had an interesting experience with this story. When I pulled it out for the second group, one little boy said, “I don’t like that book!” I said, “Have you heard it before?” He replied, “We have it at home and I’ve heard it again and again, and I don’t like it.” I said, “I hope you don’t mind if I read it. Why don’t you listen to it one more time and see if it strikes you differently this time?” I read the book, and this group, like the last, seemed to really love it. I asked the little boy, “Did you like it any better this time?” And to my everlasting relief, and gratitude for his open willingness to change his mind, he nodded strongly and said, “Yes. It was a different version.” I will never know if he had initially confused Nightsong with another book he hadn’t liked, or if the reading had just connected with him differently from before. It doesn’t matter. It was a happy outcome either way.
As each group left, the little ones waved their goodbyes, calling out all kinds of informational tidbits they felt were important for me to hold on to: their names, their dogs’ names, which of their dogs had died, when they had been or were coming back to the bookstore. James, the teacher of the last group, the ones who had kept the beat to Wokka, said that they would wokka all the way back to school. Later that day, Josie called me from her cell phone to say that she had seen James’s group  heading back down Harbor Road. “They looked so happy and lively!” she said. I asked, “Were they dancing around a little?”  “Yes!” she said. I had to smile.
I’m not sure if all the children know much better today than yesterday what the exact difference is between a bookstore and a library, but I do know that they brighten, perk up, lean in, and fully engage with stories and poems that make them laugh, think, imagine, and wonder. And that’s plenty of worthwhile goodness for a kindergarten outing.

Last week I popped by the store for an hour on my day off to get a few things done. I walked in and there was a large family happily browsing. The first thing I noticed was that the four kids, ranging in age from 3 to almost 14, were not only amazingly well-behaved, they loved books. Each child was happily ensconced in the right section and the mom was browsing the adult section.
The mom asked if I owned the store and I said yes and she smiled broadly and then said excitedly, “We came from Montreal just to come to your store.” Who doesn’t love to hear that a family drove over two hours just to shop at my store? They made a day of it and met another family from Albany at the bookstore after lunch. As if Montreal weren’t far enough away, it turns out they’re from Singapore and looked us up there! I shared with her that I had been to Singapore so we chatted about the city and her life.
Angie Ng is the mother of this happy brood. I remarked at how much her kids loved books. Turns out Angie ran an online children’s bookstore in Singapore before relocating to Montreal. She marveled at our children’s selection, especially our picture books. She wanted books by Vermont authors, so I was more than happy to show her the books Elizabeth had written as well as others in the talented pool of Vermont authors and illustrators.
In the exchange with this charming family I was reminded of the universality of books. No matter where you go books can bring people together. All the way from Singapore, this family had intended to come to my store in Vermont. I happily filled their tote bag with books and smiled all day.

Like most indie bookstores, I suspect, the Flying Pig gets a lot of love from out-of-state visitors who no longer have bookstores in their own towns. Fall foliage brings throngs of tourists to the area, and we have the great joy of basking in their appreciation of the shop. They see everything about our selection and displays so freshly, it gives us new eyes, too. I also love tracking the book requests we get from out-of-towners that differ from the usual fare, things like woodworking and animal husbandry, auto repair manuals and books of mandala patterns.
Our local customers appreciate us, too, but we’ve been a constant for 17 years now, so they don’t wax rhapsodic every time they walk in the door. When they do, it’s extra special. On Saturday, two local sixth-grade girls came in. Their families started coming to the store when we moved to Shelburne, and the kids (let’s call them Julia and Izzy) are the kind of joyful best friends who remind us how it was to be that young ourselves. They must have spent nearly two hours at the store, wandering around the various sections, comparing books they’d read and wanted to read, looking at comics and puzzles and coin purses and games, chatting together all the while and occasionally coming to the counter to engage us in their conversations. Their ease and familiarity with the bookstore made me so happy. They didn’t buy any books that day; we were simply a favored destination, a neighborhood home away from home.
Just before they left, Izzy turned to David and me and said, “You know, books aren’t my whole world when I’m out in my real life. But when I’m here, it feels as though they are.”
Ahhhhh.

We had two really wonderful events this fall. Each reminded me how lucky we are to have such talented authors and illustrators share themselves with us and our community.
The first visit was Phillip and Erin Stead, the team behind the Caldecott winner, A Sick Day for Amos McGee. We rented Shelburne Town Hall to accommodate the 100+ school kids who came to the morning story hour. We smartly sent home order forms for all the kids. We learned something, too, that might just sound elementary, but giving the teachers a set of books to share increases book sales. And, by getting the order form back in a timely way, we had a chance to add a few more of the most popular title: Creamed Tuna Fish & Peas on Toast. Who knew? It’s a lovely book, just not that we were necessarily expecting to be such a hit with the second-graders.
The room was packed and then Erin and Phillip read. Erin is quite shy but held her own quite nicely with the kids. Philip told the crowd about his wife’s shyness and asked them, “If you’re really shy, close your eyes and raise your hands.” This loveliness set the tone for a great visit. Phillip and Erin each explained how they worked. The kids were leaning in during this. Erin’s description of using woodcuts and only eight colors for A Sick Day for Amos McGee was just fascinating. And all the kids could relate to Phillip’s use of collage in Hello, My Name Is Ruby. 
I love how these two handled kids’ questions. When asked how long it took to finish a book, and a little girl’s hand shot up and shouted, “Ten hours!” Neither of them laughed out loud, as the rest of the adults did. They seemed to know that ten hours feels like a lifetime to kids. 


Erin clearly has had practice at signing lines. The stamps were a great idea and help speed the line of over 100 kids along. Very smart for line management as well as for protecting herself from overuse injuries.

Dayna Lorentz came back in September to present No Easy Way Out, the sequel to No Safety in Numbers. What I love about events with Dayna are the cupcakes and the insight into the complex mind of a writer. Dayna spent a lot of time explaining how she crafts the books.
Writing mystery/thrillers is a complex work. Dayna explained that the books work on the tension between the expected and the unexpected. Each book builds from one to the next. She created elaborate mind maps for all the characters, major and minor, represented by a different color Post-it. She had to keep track of lots of details and this helped her to remember all the things that had already happened with the characters and the government. She shared that she trashed the entire first draft. The whole thing! And then she started over.
I loved these three coming to the store and sharing so honestly about aspects of their craft that often remain unspoken. A little peek into the studio or office is always a treat that’s almost as good as cupcakes.
 
 

Before we get started, big congratulations to the National Book Award finalists in young people’s literature, announced yesterday! Kudos to Kathi Appelt (The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp – Atheneum); Cynthia Kadohata (The Thing About Luck – Atheneum); Tom McNeal (Far Far Away – Knopf); Meg Rosoff (Picture Me Gone – Putnam); and Gene Luen Yang (Boxers and Saints – First Second). The winners of the National Book Award will be announced on November 20. Wonderful, worthy books, all!
And now, on to NEIBA. I blogged a little about it here and here, and have just a little more to share with you. It’s hard to celebrate all the best things about a trade show without risking boring one’s readers who weren’t there, so I thought I’d give you a blog post in photos and captions for easy skimming. From breakfast speakers to bonfires, the New England Independent Booksellers Association show in Rhode Island was a blast. Okay, there weren’t bonfires; I just wanted some alliteration. How about boots? Illustrator Melissa Sweet sported a great pair of cowboy boots. Yes, that’s it: From breakfast to boots, it was a great show!
Author breakfasts are a highlight of the show. On the children’s side, Robert Sabuda, David Wiesner, Maggie Stiefvater, and DJ MacHale wowed, amused, informed, and inspired listeners. They were all so absorbing I took no photos. Speakers at the adult breakfast were also terrific; shown below is the luminous Ishmael Beah, whose talk wove life and literature and storytelling into a bright tapestry.

I know, I know. Food photos are gauche. But I had to highlight this crazy exception to the usual trade show author event breakfast (normally, stale rolls and coffee). Assuming the usual, I’d had breakfast at my hotel first. Mistake! Above is a bookseller pal’s NEIBA brunch — a veritable feast I didn’t get to eat because I gambled wrong. Sob!
Abrams hosted a lovely dinner celebrating Ross MacDonald’s Henry’s Hand, a charming picture book whose artwork pulls me in strongly. Love the palette, love the quirkiness, which puts me in mind of the green pants story in The Lorax. I got to finally meet the marvelous, boot-wearing illustrator Melissa Sweet that evening, as well as catch up with the amazing Peter Reynolds, whose bright spirit and art bring out the awkward fangirl in me. Apologies to Peter, congratulations to Ross, a delighted hello to Melissa, and thanks to Abrams!

It’s always a pleasure to catch up with indie pals. Suzanna Hermans is the fantastic, young, energetic, ridiculously gifted bookseller (from Oblong Books) who just became NEIBA President! Woot!

Encountered some new items at the show. Here are a couple of titles I definitely wasn’t expecting to see. Cannot carry these for fear of them ending up mis-shelved in board books; break out in cold sweat at that scenario. Ends with me run out of town on a rail.

Continuing my swag-impaired record, here I ogle the FABULOUS tote bag from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt that bookseller Kenny Brechner is taunting me with. No, he didn’t taunt. But he could have!

The very best thing about NEIBA, of course, is the wonderful people in this field. On the show floor, I was so happy to run into fellow Vermonter, friend, and writer of beautiful, powerful novels, Jo Knowles, signing her newest, Living with Jackie Chan.

It was a great three days, reinvigorating and helpful. Next up: Winter Institute, if I get off the waiting list. Fingers crossed!

Every day we get promotional mailings. They range from postcards to posters and of course books, but every once in a while we get awesome mailings. The best things to get in the mail are books you actually want that are surrounded by food, preferably chocolate and ideally all of it is delivered with a sense of humor.
Last week, Kids Can Press hit a grand slam home run with their mailing for the new Scaredy Squirrel book, Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Halloween. First off, it was a great reminder to reorder the book, which is classic Scaredy Squirrel. The book is full of great information about how to safely get ready for a holiday that can be a real challenge for a fearful squirrel. The promo kit arrived in a large box, which is always a good sign that there could be something really great in there. Booksellers are a simple lot who often don’t eat lunch until four, so anything with sugar tends to be very well received.

Imagine how happy I was when I opened the box and discovered this trick or treat jack o’lantern filled with a copy of the book and lots of candy! I took out all the candy and started reading the tags that were attached to them and couldn’t stop laughing. The tag on the sour candy says: Pros: Awakens taste buds. Cons: Causes silly faces. The illustrations on the tags are adorable and we all had a good time with this. I did wonder why the toilet paper was included (it was for a mummy costume). There was just so much packed in the pail. Sour candy, dental floss, jelly candy, sugar-free gum, and more!

Oh, and because Kids Can Press is based in Toronto, all the candy was Canadian. I’ve always wanted to have Smarties, and now I have – thanks to a squirrel with caution on his mind!

Hello there!  It’s resident New-Girl-at-the-Bookstore Laura, guest blogging for my lovely bosses Josie and Elizabeth. I’ve been working at the bookstore for two and a half months now and I thought it would be fun to share my bookstore expectations vs. bookstore experience with all of you.  Here are a number of observations I’ve made:
1.  People Want to Talk About What’s New
I recently graduated from college with a degree in English Literature and Creative Writing and I was thrilled to find a job in my field of study. But it turns out that my degree has nothing to do with bookselling at all! For what feels like my whole life, I’ve been studying the works emphasized in most curriculums—that have withstood the test of time. I haven’t had time to read new releases because I’ve been immersed in Ovid, the Bible, Thoreau, the original (and delightfully strange) Beauty and the Beast etc. If you try to convince a customer that she should purchase a copy of Gawain and the Green Knight because the poet’s subversive portrayal of gender and homoeroticism is so ahead of his time she will likely not be convinced that it is the right book for her. Of course! And while I didn’t think I would be selling copy after copy of Beowulf (though we do have the late Seamus Heaney’s wonderful translation on the shelf) I did sort of think that I was well on my way to reading many of the Great Works that people might come into a bookstore wanting to talk about. It turns out that people who are interested in classics have already read them—or at least don’t need my recommendation to know why they’re great. People want to know what’s new—what they couldn’t possibly have an opinion on yet—which brings me to my next point:
2.  It is Useful for Publishers to Send Free Books
Hallelujah! There are so many galleys in the back room that they’re stacked in double rows on the shelf. And while it feels a little bit like I’ve cheated the system or something, it turns out that I am much better at recommending a book if I’ve read it, and that I’m much better at reading it if it’s free and sent to me without my having to ask. I shouted for joy when the advance copy of the new Mollie Katzen cookbook came in the mail—and after trying it out, I’ve recommended it to everyone I’ve seen poking around the cookbook section. I think the technical term is symbiosis.
3.  There Are a Thousand Tiny Ways to Disappoint People
It turns out that much of the job is crisis-aversion. I told a customer who finds it difficult to read small print that I would order a book for her and later found out that it is published only in mass market. I’ve given a teacher a quote on a discount only to later discover that the particular book she was interested in purchasing couldn’t be discounted. I have looked up books in our inventory for customers over the phone and discovered that the copy is missing once they drive to the store. And worst of all is when you haven’t read any of the books a customer is interested in asking about. Once, after a customer asked me about three mysteries in a row that I had not read, she said “You haven’t read that either? Don’t you live in a bookstore?” much like a child might assume his teachers live in their classrooms. Having not read any mysteries since Nancy Drew, I struck out book after book after book. It seems like there are a thousand things to learn, and about a billion books to read and it can all be overwhelming, but it’s okay because:
4. People Are Generally Very Nice
People are really quite patient with me. When I’ve charged someone’s credit card for the incorrect amount and I have to call them up to fix it, or when the computer is taking a thousand years to look up the book they’re trying to order, or when I forget a customer’s name for the millionth time, everyone seems cheerful and ready to forgive me. And not only ready to forgive me but excited to talk to me about the talk that Billy Collins gave, or that hilarious interview we both saw on Jon Stewart. Despite all the chaos, and my being woefully underprepared for many aspects of the job, there is something very exciting about working here: I think it is the potential of all those beautiful sentences sleeping in their books waiting to be read by the person who will take them home.

You may have read about the extraordinary Golden Books gown created by the gifted young designer, Ryan Jude Novelline (how do you like that last name for a man who creates beauty from books?). Novelline was only 20 years old in 2010, when he used illustrations from discarded Golden Books, stitched together with gold thread, to fashion the paper skirt. He made the bodice from the iconic golden spines of the books, and added puffed sleeve accents (shown in the photo below) filled with packing peanuts. Novelline is considered a “green” designer for his use of recycled and sustainable materials; this gown proves that green fashion can provide as rich a fantasia as can be imagined.
Two years ago, I contacted Ryan Jude Novelline to ask if I might blog about his glorious gown. We corresponded for a little while before I discovered that School Library Journal had already run an article about the gown, so I shelved it for a while.
Now, his gown is actually on display at Drift Contemporary Art Gallery in Portsmouth, N.H., as part of its Last Word exhibit through November 2, and I think ShelfTalker readers would LOVE to see it in person! I know I would.
Ryan graciously remembered our email correspondence and invited me to debut a new photograph of himself with the live model from the show opening. I unveil for your delight…

Below is my interview with Ryan from our first round of correspondence in 2011, updated with tidbits from our most recent round of emails. I am in awe of his imagination and talent, and thoroughly enjoyed his thoughtful responses to my questions. Please enjoy his words and, if you find yourself in New Hampshire, admire his gown up close!
Hi, Ryan. Can you tell ShelfTalker readers a little about yourself?
I am a fine artist and designer based out of Boston. I have worked as a Disney Imagineer and have also made pieces exclusively for GAP and Harvard University’s fashion show, Eleganza.
[Ed. note, an update: Novelline has also designed for Diane von Furstenberg. The Brazilian publishing house Editora Moderna is showcasing his work in Art Project – Vol. 5, a forthcoming book scheduled for release in 2014 designed to introduce children to the world of contemporary art.]
How did you come up with the idea for the Golden Book Gown?  
My mother and I were sitting in her writing room talking about how children’s books have such unfortunately short life spans. Books read at such a young age leave such long-lasting impressions on a person’s character, yet the physical books themselves barely last beyond one or two generations of use. The Golden Books series in particular was one that was passed down to me from my mother that heavily influenced my artistic identity. As a small child, I would tuck myself away and in silence passing hours attempting to perfectly replicate characters on printer paper to hang on my bedroom wall. Until I had conversation with my mother about the books, I had not reflected upon the many hours I spent admiring them as a child.
Can the emotional impact of these books endure beyond their initial use? This became my challenge. I was told I could never achieve such volume with paper, but in this case, I was stubborn and ignored arbitrary restrictions. Having said that, constructing the dress was a physically and emotionally exhaustive process unlike any other I have yet experienced as an artist. Creating the dress elapsed nine days around the clock from the newspaper mockup to the final piece.
The gold thread was a true challenge. It is regular cotton thread wrapped into a tiny metal-coil that caught itself in the machine every 10 inches or so and needed to be rethreaded about every 45 seconds. The whole ordeal was a massive undertaking that I never analyzed formally until much later. If I did not take the process photos myself, I would not believe I even created it. My body was so numb by the end, but the reactions immediately vindicated the effort. I am overwhelmed.
The skirt is made entirely out of the actual pages of the books, ~3000 that were sorted by color and ~2000 of the most vibrantly colored were sewed together using ~2200 yards of golden thread. There was no transfer process of the images onto fabric. The viewer is simultaneously seeing the inside of hundreds of actual Golden Books. When choosing which pages I wanted to include, I had to hold up the illustration and imagine it from 15 feet away at optimum viewing distance averaging at evaluating one page per second. Similar to how a painter must step away from his canvas to see the entire image he creates, I was imagining this illusion of distance as I worked. Each page was like a 5.5″ square tile in an epic paper mosaic. The covers themselves were not used in the dress beyond the foil spines that were pressed together against duct tape to form the bodice.
Has anyone ever worn it to an event and is it for sale?

A musician did contact me about borrowing it for an awards ceremony in New York City but ultimately could not wear it due to scheduling conflicts. While it is more a piece of sculpture, I designed it to be functional. The dress is not currently for sale. There is a plan in the works to display it, but the details are still top secret. Several people have tweeted me recommending that I donate it to the Metropolitan Museum where it could be properly stored and displayed long-term. I would love for it to be preserved for the enjoyment of future generations. It is currently in a storage facility outside of Boston away from the heat and sun where I do not need to worry about it. As of yet, the dress has no protective coating and the raw pages are exposed, so it would easily be ruined in the rain. When it comes back out of storage, I will spray a matte finish to assist preserving the colors. [Ed. note: at the time of this article, the gown is on display in New Hampshire at Drift Contemporary Art Gallery.]
The model in the photos, Emma Safir, is a printmaker friend of mine and was a great sport about wearing it. She had one fitting early on so I could properly adjust my form to her measurements, and I worked off that. Then she came once again for a muslin bodice fitting, and then once last time after the skirt was finished. “Wow! That was fast,” she said at the final fitting at the sight of the finished, strapless dress. It takes only a few minutes to put on, weighs about 15 pounds, and is held on entirely at the waist. I would hold the skirt up by the hip ties while she ran underneath and slid up through the opening. Then I would tie the back and stick on the bodice with velcro.
She wore the dress for about a half hour when we took the photos. We experimented with a lace crown that tied into a braid in her hair, but I chose not to develop it into a more finished piece. There are several unfinished Golden Books paper gloves lying on my studio floor that never made it to the runway. They may have been too gaudy. Although I feel like the fun of a piece like this one is it gaudiness, so maybe I will revisit them. This type of ongoing conversation with myself is always going on in regard to the work. It’s a living, breathing process.
Here is a link to the YouTube video, the only real footage I have of the dress.
The dress was also just showcased by Hewlett Packard in the promotional materials for the Frankfurt Book Fair happening this week. It has been fascinating to see how the piece has waltzed across different circles of interest and truly appealed to people of all ages. In the meantime, I am working on a new gown, a larger one, also inspired by classic literature. That is expected in spring 2014. I will keep you posted.
Thank you, Ryan! We look forward to that.

There’s so much booky goodness to share from the New England Indie Booksellers Association trade show, I’m going to parcel it out into a couple of posts. I need a little more time to gather my thoughts about the inspiring speakers we heard, so today, you get to hear about shopping. Not shopping for me, but a much more fun adventure: shopping for newfound treasures on the trade show floor.
I always find something different, unusual, and exciting for my store when I go to a trade show. NEIBA is tiny compared to BookExpo, and yet there were still new vendors (and vendors that were simply new to me).

Liberty Graphics has been around in Maine for quite a while, but we’ve never seen or carried their T-shirts before. This year, their table caught my eye first with a lovely Miss Rumphius tee (a perfect teacher gift!), and then with the glorious Robert McCloskey graphics gracing toddler and youth tees and onesies made of organic cotton, with a parade from Make Way for Ducklings quacking across the front. These designs are so new to the company, I don’t think they’re even on the website yet. They are wonderful! Please excuse the poor quality of my phone photos.
 
Another discovery was almost hard to wrap one’s brain around: entire literary texts, printed onto an artistically designed poster you’d want to frame for your home. They’re so handsome! Created by a recent Penn grad, Danny Fein, and his brother, Corey, these Litographs posters (and soft cotton T-shirts and tote bags) are a brilliant idea, beautifully rendered. Bookselling pal Kenny Brechner (DDG Booksellers in Maine) and I spent way too long leafing through the folio of posters, guessing books from the graphics. I’m sure you can identify the books featured below. (Note: many of the books fit entirely on the 18″x 24″ posters, but those that do not are available in full on larger posters. War and Peace, not surprisingly, needed a larger home.) It continues to astonish me that entire BOOKS are contained in the posters and totes, and yet we are assured by Fein that they are indeed.




Those were two of my new discoveries. What literary treats have you discovered lately?