As librarians, booksellers, educators, and journalists arrived, we chatted over a delightful spread of goodies. Introductions were made, acquaintances renewed, and friendships caught up.

Our host, President and Publisher Margaret Quinlin, welcomed the crowd to her home and kicked off the program. Everyone settled in to hear about some of our most vibrant titles from the Spring 2016 list.

Vicky, our Senior Editor, began with The Sound of All Things by Myron Uhlberg, illustrated by Ted Papoulas. She said afterward that The Sound of All Things is such a dynamic book that she could have taken the whole evening to delve into each of the aspects she highlighted to our listeners. The beautiful artwork and touching story held everyone in close attention, and there were many excited murmurs when Vicky revealed that the illustrator had hidden his daughter’s name, Sally, in each spread. We know what everyone will be doing when they get their own copy!

Next up, our Associate Publicist, Niki spoke about the bright and mischievous Little Red by Bethan Woollvin. We got a brief history lesson on the origins and evolution of the Little Red Riding Hood story. Between grimaces and giggles at some of the older versions of the classic tale, everyone eagerly awaited to see what Little Red would be. Niki emphasized that, although the children’s tale has been historically used as a warning for children, Little Red repurposes the premise to teach children about facing their fears boldly.

Finally, Kathy, our Vice President and Associate Publisher, presented Child of Spring by Farhana Zia. Kathy spent some time talking about the beginning of her relationship with Farhana’s writing through her first book The Garden of my Imaan. She explained that what struck her about Farhana’s first book was the way that it dealt with religion, not as a problem, but simply as another part of the life and identity of the young Muslim protagonist. Kathy also revealed that Child of Spring, which explores social class through the experience of a working child, expanded her understanding of diversity in literature, which piqued everyone’s interest in experiencing a similar revelation.

Our headliner, and the absolute highlight of the evening, was author-illustrator Henry Cole, who spoke about his personal story and some of what went into his latest book, The Somewhat True Adventures of Sammy Shine. Given the setting, it would have been easy for Henry to simply talk about his book as something he wished to promote and sell, so his presentation was both refreshing and entertaining.

Henry spent the majority of his presentation talking about relationships. His mother, his siblings, his teachers—all people who had helped shape him into the author and illustrator he is today. He had the room in stitches with his childhood stories of growing up on a dairy farm in Virginia. A moment later we were welling up as he gave tribute to so many of his teachers who truly understood and knew him. Speaking in particular about his 8th grade teacher, he said, “She changed me because she knew me.” Each relationship encouraged him in his drawing, in his creative sensibility, and in his character.

Ever the entertainer, Henry ended with a live illustration. A blank, white pad was set up on an easel beside him, he switched on “I Love Being Here With You” by Peggy Lee, and he drew. For two minutes and forty-five seconds, the music swelled in the room, and we all held our breath and watched. As the song ended and Henry signed his name with a flourish at the bottom of the sweet and simple sketch, the crowd couldn’t help but burst into applause.

With his formal presentation finished, Henry spent the rest of the evening talking to our guests, signing the archival prints of his work that were won in the raffle, and personalizing copies of The Somewhat True Adventures of Sammy Shine.

Of course, after Henry’s inspiring talk and hearing about all of the new titles, everyone had more to say and questions to ask, so we stuck around eating and talking, as ever, about books. As the evening came to a close, we sent everyone home with copies of our spring frontlist and promises of another party in the fall.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1963 Birmingham Children’s March and so many other important events in the Civil Rights Movement. As we look back over the movement and the progress that’s been made in the past 50 years, we also invite you to look specifically at this once seldom-known event in which thousands of Birmingham students voluntarily went to jail in the name of freedom.

1. A lot of food mysteriously disappeared from your kitchen around the same time someone shrunk all of your pants. How did that happen?
2. Rather than busting it through all the Black Friday sales, you spent Friday blissfully unconscious in a series of naps with a note taped to your face: “If you attempt to wake me or otherwise ruin this glorious day off by asking me to be productive, bad things will happen. Back away slowly. You were never here.”
3. The Sunday night blues set in as you realized that in a few short hours it would be Monday and this year’s Thanksgiving would soon be no more than a memory.

Marietta Square is pretty close to where I live and has a lot to offer—the historical markers are really interesting, the Strand presents great plays (I saw a production of “Hairspray” there last year!) and the shops and restaurants have something for everyone. Every weekend there is a farmers market and every now and then there are concerts in the square as well!

The following photos are courtesy of the Marietta tourism website (when I went, the weather wasn’t nearly as nice):

Image from Marietta.com

Image from Marietta.com

Image from Marietta.com

Image from Marietta.com

Image from Marietta.com

I always have a fun time when I go to Marietta Square. There’s a lot of history to take in and it’s a beautiful place to spend an afternoon, even if it’s rainy! I found a spot near the square (a lot of the parking is metered, but you can also find parking lots around the area and walk to the square) and walked along the sidewalks, window shopping and getting ideas for Christmas gifts. After a while, I met some friends for lunch at the Marietta Pizza Company—yum! It was a great day, despite the weather, and I can’t wait to go back soon!

• a map, GPS coordinates and transportation and parking tips
• information about distance covered, terrain and difficulty
• seasonal events
• local background, historical marker locations and notable sites
• other available activities and nearby walks

For more information on this book, click hereand have fun out there!