King of the Road
It’s been a whirlwind few days for Tom Angleberger – as well as for the star of the author’s most recent addition to the Origami Yoda series, The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett (Abrams/Amulet). Over the course of five days, author and puppet visited eight states and 10 bookstores. But even with the tight schedule, the pair managed to soak up some of the sights. At Graceland in Memphis, Jabba paid his respects to Elvis – and, as shown here, now has a permanent home on the mansion wall. Angleberger appreciates The King, too: “Sure, I'm an Elvis fan!” he said. “His slogan, ‘Taking Care of Business,’ fit our go-go book tour pretty well. And then, after all that rain in Kentucky, guess what came on the radio? Elvis singing ‘Kentucky Rain’ !” Next up: fans will get the chance to make their own Jabbas by tuning into a virtual stop on Angleberger’s tour taking place at 7 p.m. Eastern time on August 15.
Olivia Visits Summer in the Square
Fans of Ian Falconer’s Olivia braved the drizzling rain for an event at Union Square in New York City, part of the Summer in the Square series. The 250 attendees each received a copy of Olivia Takes Ballet (Simon Spotlight), which ties in to an episode of the Olivia TV series, and could enter a drawing to win an Olivia-themed gift basket. But the highlight of the day was when Olivia herself appeared, wearing her trademark overalls and red and white stripes. Storyteller LuAnn Adams (r.) joined Olivia onstage to perform an interactive reading of a second tie-in title from Simon Spotlight, Olivia the Ballerina, which will be released September 3.
Big Love
On August 11, Books of Wonder in NYC celebrated the launch of David Ezra Stein’s Dinosaur Kisses (Candlewick), about an exuberant dino named Dinah who wants to give kisses, but inadvertently stomps and bites instead. At the event, Stein read from the story and treated the audience to a drawing lesson. After signing copies of his newest title, the author-illustrator posed in front of the store’s window display, which features art from the book.
