Windows of Wonder

Northshire Books in Manchester Center, Vt., has won this year’s Children’s Book Week Display contest. The winning display included books with time-travel and adventure themes, and plenty of steampunk in the mix: classics like The Phantom Tollbooth and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Scott Westerfeld’s Goliath, and Catherynne M. Valente’s The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. Displays were judged based on several criteria, including effective use of space, creativity, and adherence to the Children’s Book Week theme: “Books can take you anywhere (or anytime).” Extra points were awarded for those displays that incorporated Brian Selznick’s Children’s Book Week poster and the authors that he honors in the image, Maurice Sendak and Remy Charlip. Northshire Books will receive a visit from a Children’s Choice Book Awards-winning author to be named later.

When Life Gives You Lemons…

On May 21, Jacqueline Davies (r.), author of The Lemonade War, about siblings who run rival lemonade stands, visited Savannah Christian Preparatory School in Savannah, Ga. The school recently won its own lemonade war, in the name of fighting childhood cancer. A nationwide contest sponsored by philanthropic foundation Alex’s Lemonade Stand, which raises money to fight cancer, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which publishes The Lemonade War series, asked students to raise money for cancer research by creating their own lemonade stands, mounting art shows, or engaging in other fundraising pursuits. Dozens of schools took part, collecting more than $50,000 for the cause; Savannah Christian Prep led the pack, pulling in $6,392. In addition to winning a visit from Davies, students received autographed copies of book four in the series, The Candy Smash.

Friendly Feud: Authors vs. Editors

This time it has nothing to do with line edits. Recently, authors Michael Buckley (The Sisters Grimm series, Abrams), Lisa Graff (A Tangle of Knots), C. Alexander London (An Accidental Adventure series), Matthew Cody (The Super series), and M.M. Vaughn (The Ability) teamed up against editors Ruta Rimas (S&S); Maggie Lehrman (Abrams); Michele Burke (Knopf), and Andrew Harwell (HarperCollins) for a middle grade-themed game of Family Feud at Soho’s McNally Jackson Books. Jordan Brown, senior editor at HarperCollins, hosted the event. Shown here (from l. to r.), Cody and Buckley appear confident as Brown (far r.) asks the group to name a children’s book that's set in New York City.