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It's back to school time!    September promises to be filled with fun theater, exhibitions, and mo'! EXHIBITS! ATLANTA, GA SERIOUSLY SILLY: THE ART & WHIMSY OF MO WILLEMS is on view at the HIGH MUSEUM in Atlanta, GA! The exhibit is based on the 2013 solo show at the Eric Carle Museum, with added original work and cool interactive stuff. Don't miss it! I'm very excited about the

It's SUMMER time!  That means lots of vacation and fun, but also a whole bunch of appearances and theater and exhibits and movies and stuff to do. BOOKS! June 2 sees the publication of a brand new Elephant & Piggie adventure, I WILL TAKE A NAP! Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can. Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to. Gerald and Piggie are

MAY is a busy month of appearances, theater, and a big exhibition.  I look forward to seeing you if you're in the area. EXHIBIT! The big news this month is the opening of SERIOUSLY SILLY: THE ART & WHIMSY OF MO WILLEMS at the HIGH MUSEUM in Atlanta, GA opening on MAY 23 and running through January of 2016.   The exhibit is based on the 2013 solo show at the Eric Carle Museum, with added

Join us for a
Family Open House
Saturday, November 22
11am-2pm 

1911 Pacific Avenue
Tacoma, WA 

 Hope to see you on Saturday!

November is going to be a busy month, with a new book plus appearances in Amherst, MA, Northampton, MA, & Brooklyn, NY. So let's get to it. NEW BOOK! November 4th, 2014 will see the release of Elephant and Piggie's newest adventure, WAITING IS NOT EASY!   Gerald is careful. Piggie is not.Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can.Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have

During a recent weekend in New York City I had some time between brunch and a Broadway show. I was able to spend a leisurely few hours exploring The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter (curated by kidlit historian and frequent Horn Book contributor Leonard Marcus), an engaging exhibit at the New York Public Library.

The exhibit is a winding journey of children’s literature that follows its history from early readers such as Dick and Jane to the phenomenon of Harry Potter. As I wandered through the exhibit, the books on display led me down the memory lane of my childhood favorites. On one wall was Charlotte’s spider web, complete with her written words aptly describing Wilbur. An interactive component consisted of the author E.B. White reading aloud chapters from his classic novel, Charlotte’s Web. As I listened I was instantly transported back to my youth. Around the corner I found the original stuffed animals of A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the Pooh looking very worn and loved in a glass case.

from left: the original Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga, Piglet, and Pooh stuffed animals

Each turn I took throughout the exhibit brought me to another special book that had been meaningful in my childhood. I next encountered my all-time favorite character, Mary Poppins. It is well known that P.L. Travers was very protective of her beloved Mary Poppins and was less than thrilled with Disney’s musical version. While the magical nanny in the book is somewhat more bitter than in the “spoonful of sugar” movie, Julie Andrews will always be my vision of the character. P.L Travers’ own parrot head umbrella is on display next to a Mary Poppins doll. The interactive exhibit also includes video of a musical number from the movie.

A theme found throughout the exhibit is how the history of children’s books parallels the evolution of thinking on child development. As you go through the exhibit you find the works of such children’s literature icons as Margaret Wise Brown, Eric Carle, and Maurice Sendak.

the great green room of Goodnight, Moon

The books of these authors/illustrators speak to various aspects of children’s development. Society’s understanding of how children grow and learn is reflected in the stories created for them. “Behind every children’s book,” we read on the exhibit wall, “is a vision of childhood: a shared understanding of what growing up is all about.”

illustrations from William Blake’s Songs of Innocence

The books in the exhibit reflect not only childhood, but also the times in which the books were written. One fascinating fact that I was not aware of: the book The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf was considered by some as political propaganda when it was published in 1936. I have always thought of it as a sweet story of a bull that didn’t want to fight — I had no knowledge of the controversy that originally surrounded it. Of particular interest to me was the section of the exhibit dedicated to censored books throughout the years, ranging from such popular titles as Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn to Judy Blume’s Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret. The topic of censorship remains crucial as current books such as Harry Potter as well as perennial titles continue to be questioned and censored.

The exhibit, which closed on September 7th, offered a thoughtful tour of both children’s literature and societal conceptions of childhood.

The post The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter appeared first on The Horn Book.

COMIX! One of the real fun things about my last year in Paris was being able to share sketches, gags, and photos from the trip on uclick as a comic strip called PARIS DOODLES. In fact, it was so fun, I've decided to keep sharing drawings and ideas on uclick with a new strip called FROM THE MO WILLEMS SKETCHBOOK.   I'll be sharing drawings from my sketchbook, dining room dinner doodles,

From time to time, we try to give you a glimpse into work in our offices around the globe, so we are excited to bring you an interview with Erin Hathaway, a Marketing and Exhibits Coordinator at Oxford University Press. We spoke to Erin about her life here at OUP — which includes organizing over 250 conferences that our marketers attend each year.

When did you start working at OUP?
I started working at OUP in May 2012.

What is your typical day like at OUP?
I spend most of my day working with our Exhibits Management System (EMS), our database that helps us coordinate and prepare for the over 250 conferences that our team manages each year. Our work also involves closely monitoring conference budgets and making sure we’ve covered all the bases in regards to our booth set up, attendance, AV needs and book lists. In those few months out of each year when the conference load lightens up, I do some fiscal analysis and create training documentation to help our conference stakeholders.

What is the strangest thing currently on or in your desk?
It’s a three-way tie between a Transformer, a painted skull, and a Wonder Woman metal poster.

What’s the first thing you do when you get to work in the morning?
Read my email to check for any conference emergencies or time sensitive deadlines. Then I go get a cup of tea.

What’s your favorite book?
The Black Company by Glenn Cook.

What is the most exciting project you have been part of while working at OUP?
We recently transitioned the storage of our journals from a third party warehouse into our warehouse in Cary, North Carolina. While difficult at times, the move has saved us both financially and logistically by allowing us to combine our books and journals onto one pallet for a given conference. This project allowed me to work closely with people from different areas of OUP, from the Journals Production team to the Cary warehouse staff. Everyone was extremely helpful in getting this transition underway and it was exciting to see a project long imagined come to fruition.

What is your favorite word?
I like the word “tactile.”

What’s the most enjoyable part of your day?
I love strategy meetings with the Exhibits team where we dream up ways to make our systems more efficient.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what three items would you take with you?
A Kindle filled with many books, my chainmail jewelry kit (a side business of mine), and a comfortable pillow. I’m assuming basic necessities have been covered, otherwise my choices are not very smart.

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve found about working at OUP?
After working here for over six years, I’m constantly amazed by how much things have changed. In the moment, it feels like change comes so slowly. Yet, when I look back on how OUP was organized and the systems we were using when I started in 2008, I’m amazed by how committed OUP is to making our company more efficient and incorporating new technology.

Headline image credit: Oxford University Press by George Sylvain. CC-BY-2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The post Getting to know Exhibits Coordinator Erin Hathaway appeared first on OUPblog.

        

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COMIX! I'm on sabbatical for the year.  While I will be making various appearances in Europe and beyond, mostly I'll be spending time at the home base in Paris, France drawing and doodling.   You can check out my experiments over at Universal U-Click for a comic-strip-doodle-thingie called PARIS DOODLES . The strip runs drawings, dining room dinner doodles, and photos on weekdays.

COMIX! I'm on sabbatical for the year.  While I will be making various appearances in Europe and beyond, mostly I'll be spending time at the home base in Paris, France drawing and doodling.   You can check out my experiments over at Universal U-Click for a comic-strip-doodle-thingie called PARIS DOODLES . The strip runs drawings, dining room dinner doodles, and photos on weekdays.

If you’ve never been to a convention before, the Exhibit Hall can be a bit overwhelming. Trust me, I’ve done ComicCon’s enough to know how to get the most out of the time you have and, really, the strategy can be applied to any convention or conference you go to. Here are some of my tips on being as efficient as possible when navigating the exhibits at Annual this year:

What Is the Exhibit Hall?

At any conference or convention there are hundreds of companies renting out booths to try and pitch their products to you, and with thousands of people rushing by, many will try almost anything to get you to stop at their specific booth. Some will offer freebies, some have raffles for awesome items like iPads and free airfare to next year’s conference and others will have author signings with some big-name people. In between all the speakers, panels, division meetings and professional development trainings you’re interested in going to, how do you manage to make the most of your time in the Exhibit Hall?

Make a Schedule

Check back on the official webpage for Annual about a month prior to the conference to see the Scheduler. You can browse, search, and select the specific programs you’d like to see and make a nice list of everything you’re interested in. The Scheduler can be a little hard to sort through but if you use the limiters such as Meeting Type, Sponsoring Divisions, and Subject you can find what you’d like to see. Once you know what your days will look like, take the time in between to visit the Exhibit Hall. And don’t feel like you have to see everything all at once. Stagger your time in the Hall throughout the conference so you have time to visit all the booths you’re interested in.

All the Free Swag

You won’t understand just how much free stuff there is until you see the Exhibit Hall when it opens. It can make librarians go mad, so use your head. At the 2013 conference, there were people with book trucks literally running inside to be the first to grab all the awesome freebies. I got caught up in it too, blindly grabbing things from each booth as I passed by, though I learned from my experience that it’s a good idea to take an extra moment to determine if you really want or need what you’re picking up or you might end up with more stuff than you’re able to get home. Be sensible, and you’ll be fine.

There are limited quantities of the best swag and those tend to disappear quickly. The booths limit how much product they put out each day though, so if it’s “sold out” when you go, ask the representative at the booth what time they’ll put out the next batch of items. It’s usually at opening the next day, so if you’ve got some time before your panel, I suggest stopping by early.  Also, if you can make it to the ribbon-cutting ceremony on opening night, you’ll see exactly what the booths have to offer.

Author Events

Every publisher you can think of will be at the conference hoping to sell you their books and to pull you in. The best way of doing this is to bring the authors for book signings, a great ploy because it gets you to buy their book and you get to meet some of your author celebrities. For example, last year I met Laurie Halse Anderson, Marie Lu, Patrick Ness, Veronica Roth, Tamora Pierce, Francesca Lia Block, and David Levithan, and my mind was blown! I mean these are rock stars in my opinion! You can use the Scheduler to see who’s coming this year and plan ahead by buying your own books, though usually the publishers will have their books discounted for the signing. Be sure to carry cash on you though, just in case they don’t accept cards.

Some of the big, big name authors have limited spots, so you have to pick up a wristband or a ticket to attend their signing.  It’s at the publisher’s discretion and is not always listed on the Scheduler so if there is someone big you want to see, find out which publisher they’re going to be with and on opening night for the Hall, visit their booth ASAP to see if you need a ticket to attend.

Raffles and Giveaways

A lot of the booths will have other incentives to get you to stop by, including raffles and giveaways.  This usually requires your filling out an entry form or leaving a business card so they can contact you, but this also means they have your contact info and will be sending you emails throughout the year. Do keep in mind, if you don’t want a million spam emails, that you can unsubscribe from their mailing list when you get back home. One of the easiest ways to find out what booths are raffling off is to look at the ALA Conference Guide handed out at registration. There is a coupon book with most of the Exhibit Hall promos that you can complete before you go so you can quickly submit your entries for all of the drawings you’re interested in.

Networking Opportunities

If you are in a position high enough where you have the purchasing power to actually invest in publishers, new technologies, or furniture then do take advantage of talking with the reps at each booth to see what they have to offer. You might get some deals if you chat them up and make a new associate.

Getting Everything Home

So you went crazy and picked up way too much swag to actually take back home. What do you do? Brilliantly, there is a USPS Post Office in the Exhibit Hall for all your shipping needs. And the best part about shipping books is that you can use Media Mail which is infinitely cheaper than regular postage. Just make sure you only have books in those boxes and pack your posters, stuffed animals and other trinkets separately because the mail carriers do open up Media Mail to check that only books are inside and will charge you the difference if you have any other items in it.  Also, to avoid long lines don’t wait until the last day to ship your loot.

One Hidden Small-but Fun-Activity

While walking around last year’s conference, I noticed that many attendees had these cool ribbons on their badges saying what division or round table they were in, if they were a first-timer, or even cute funny ones like “Library Superhero,” and I wanted to know where these ribbons were coming from! The division and round table ones are almost all located in the ALA Membership Pavilion in the Exhibit Hall, or sometimes near registration, and you can pick and choose which ones you’d like.  Then there are the fun ones put out by different booths and it’s like a random scavenger hunt to find them. If you see someone with one you like, the best way to find it is to ask them where they got it. Otherwise while you’re exploring, take a second to see if the booths have any quirky ones that you’d like. My friend and I made it a goal to see who could get the most and the coolest ones and ended up with five-foot long ribbons.  (photo from facebook.com/farm4.static.flickr.com)

Having Fun and Relaxing

To be honest, I was exhausted by the end of the conference last year.  Between running around to all the panels, joining up with colleagues and meeting new ones, and finding time to eat and rest, hanging out in the Exhibit Hall was actually quite relaxing and fun after the free-swag madness was over. Sometimes just taking some down time to stroll around and browse or wait in line for author signings was a nice little break from everything. I definitely advise taking time visit the Hall and enjoy what’s going on. Overall, don’t stress, have a good time, and try to pick up some good freebies or meet some authors if you can!

Submitted by Soraya Silverman, YALSA Local Arrangements

 COMIX! I'm on sabbatical for the year.  While I will be making various appearances in Europe and beyond, mostly I'll be spending time at the home base in Paris, France drawing and doodling.   You can check out my experiments over at Universal U-Click for a comic-strip-doodle-thingie called PARIS DOODLES . The strip runs drawings, dining room dinner doodles, and photos on weekdays.

click to enlarge. I've just returned from a fun holiday.  While I was away, Universal Syndicate ran the comics I pinch hit for pal Richard Thompson's Cul De Sac.  It was great fun to play around with his characters.  You can see the work starting here (then click onto the arrow for the next day). Thanks again to Stacy Curtis for inking them. There's still as Sunday strip of mine coming

Are you new to Midwinter or the ALA conference scene? Wondering what the exhibits are really like? Check out Heather Botelho’s quick video from the exhibits floor here in Dallas.

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By: Mo Willems, on 1/11/2012
Blog: Mo Willems Doodles (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Go See, exhibits, Add a tag

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By: Jarrett J. Krosoczka, on 10/20/2011
Blog: the JJK blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  book tour, exhibits, 10 years, Add a tag

Here's a preview of the exhibit. Please come on by on Sunday, I'll be signing books from 1 - 4 pm, with proceeds benefiting the Joe and Shirl Scholarships. 

Worcester Art Museum 

55 Salisbury Street 

Worcester, MA 01609 

508.799.4406

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By: Jarrett J. Krosoczka, on 10/14/2011
Blog: the JJK blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  exhibits, Add a tag

Here are some pictures from my opening at Imago Dei in Houston!

It was a great evening, filled with book lovers and great friends. Big thanks to everyone at Imago Dei for hosting the event and to Blue Willow Bookshop for selling books!

Stop by Imago Dei at 2525 Robinhood St in Houston to check out the show.

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By: Jarrett J. Krosoczka, on 9/19/2011
Blog: the JJK blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  exhibits, Add a tag

 

Imago Dei cordially invites you to a showing of:

The Art of Story: A decade of original works by J.J.K.

Opening Reception and Book Signing

Friday, September 30, 2011 | 5-9pm

Children’s Story Time 6-7pm

Please contact [email protected] with any questions

2525 Robinhood St.

Houston, Texas 77005

www.imagodeigallery.com

Blue Willow Bookshop will be on hand to sell books. While Ollie the Purple Elephant won't be published yet, advanced copies will be raffled off throughout the evening!

RSVP on Facebook

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By: Mo Willems, on 8/12/2011
Blog: Mo Willems Doodles (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Doodles, My Checkered Past, pals, press, exhibits, bestseller, chalk, Add a tag

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By: Betsy Bird, on 7/20/2011
Blog: A Fuse #8 Production (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Uncategorized, NYPL, exhibits, Todd Parr, The Children's Center at 42nd Street, Add a tag

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By: Darcy Pattison, on 6/27/2011
Blog: Darcy Pattison's Revision Notes (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  ALA, American Library Association, New Orleans, publishers, exhibits, book marketing, 2011, Add a tag

Just back from ALA, that great gathering of 25,000 people devoted to archiving and disseminating the best of the best of our culture. Walking around the massive exhibit hall, it is a bewildering and humbling mixture of businessmen hawking library furniture or the latest software, the old-timers and the newcomers signing books with the hope of generating interest in their project amidst the thousands of new books, the authors meeting–pressing the flesh–of the gatekeepers to vast audiences out there somewhere in the US, the editors and marketers and salespeople hoping that decisions made months earlier were the right ones which will give their publisher–not to mention their individual careers–a boost.

Rainbow over the Mississippi River

You get a sense of the vast reach of publishing industry, of how the latest new piece of technology can excite–and yet how Greek mythology can be made new for a new generation. It’s both about innovation and about rebirth of old stories, about the newest author and about the venerated pro.

Observations During ALA 2011

There are still some family owned publishing companies. Yes, in today’s economy and world, some families still carry on the family business: for example, Lerners, Erdmans, John Briggs of Holiday House. I walked through the aisle of small and independent publishers and wondered if any would rise to this type level? It has happened, it can happen again.

On the other end, the big publishers are big. And diverse. And in that sprawl, they almost lose any type identity. Individual imprints actually have a personal stamp of an Editor in Chief; but most publishers have one marketing department, so that individuality is blurred at a large convention like this, where Macmillan displayed together the books from Feiwel & Friends, Henry Holt, Macmillan Children’s Books, FSG and Square Fish. You can never be sure what you’ll get with a Macmillan book, because there’s so much variety.

How to Get Noticed in New Orleans: Join the Santa Parade

It’s hard to get noticed. 25,000 people attending. Probably 3000+ new books for children and who knows how many for adults. Thousands. And you want to catch the attention of , well, thousands. Impossible. I spoke as part of a 10-person panel, Nonfiction Book Blast, of nonfiction authors. We were given the unfortunate time slot of 8 am on Sunday morning. Still–we drew about 80-90 people. For two hours, those librarians listened to presentations on non-fiction from
these authors: April Pulley Sayre (Rah, Rah, Radishes), Kelly Milner Halls (In Search of Sasquatch), Deborah Heiligman (Charles and Emma), Loree Griffin Burns (The Hive Detectives), Carla Killough McClafferty (The Many Faces of George Washington), Christine Taylor-Butler (Magnets), Shirley Duke (You Can’t Wear These Genes), Darcy Pattison (Prai

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By: Tara Chang, on 4/18/2011
Blog: Silver Apples of the Moon (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  exhibits, Star Wars, Pacific Science Center, Add a tag

Today we ventured into Seattle to see the Star Wars exhibit, amongst other things at the science center.

 To commemorate, I give you my all-time favorite musical snippet from the first Star Wars movie-

(And while there was very little that I liked about the latest three (other than the eye-popping visuals), but the music was worthy....) 

Seattle Center in the ephemeral PNW sunshine....

Pacific Science Center arches....

Area-appropriate sculptures in the surrounding pools...

More sculpture-of-whale -

and more exhibit pics for you tomorrow!

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Rebecca Bush said, on 4/19/2011 12:36:00 AM

Aha! You were at the Seattle Center today. Weren't the clouds lovely? Great yet freezing spring day. How was the exhibit?

Soozcat said, on 4/21/2011 11:56:00 PM

I gotta go see this.

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By: Mo Willems, on 2/24/2011
Blog: Mo Willems Doodles (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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By: Pinky, on 1/28/2011
Blog: Pinky's Please Touch Museum (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  play, exhibits, visitor experience, Add a tag

We just opened a new exhibit here at Please Touch Museum!

It’s called “Access/ABILITY” and it presents people living with disabilities as participants in the world. The exhibit features fun and engaging activities that show similarities and differences in how each of us go places, communicate, have fun and learn.

Some of the things you can do:

· Going Places: Visitors can explore a wheelchair obstacle course and a multi-sensory City Walk.

· Talk with Me: Visitors learn phrases in American Sign Language, type their names in Braille and communicate using pictures.

· Just for Fun: Try a hand-pedaled bike and create art using sight, touch and sound.

· Think about It: Visitors test their attention and memory skills.

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