This week, Marissa Meyer fans cosplay; Arthur Geisert welcomes guests to his home studio; a pop-up bookstore comes to the Bronx; Madeleine L’Engle’s centenary is celebrated; Nikki McClure sails on the sloop Clearwater; and a classic novel turns 75.
In Character
Marissa Meyer just wrapped up a week of touring for her novel Archenemies (Feiwel and Friends), the second book in her Renegades YA fantasy series. Fans attended the Archenemies launch event in Irving, Tex., on November 5; guests came dressed as characters from the Lunar Chronicles and the Renegades books.
A Home-Based Book Launch
Enchanted Lion celebrated the publication of Arthur Geisert’s picture book, Pumpkin Island, at his studio and home in Elkader, Iowa, where the story is based. Kate Rattenborg, owner of Dragonfly Books in Decorah, Iowa, handled book sales for the event; proceeds were donated to the Friends of the Elkader Public Library. Here, Geisert signs books for attendees, with the help of Elkader Public Library director Lisa Wilke Pope.
Book Boogie
Boogie Down Books, a Bronx-based “bookstore-without-walls,” recently held a “Fall into Reading” celebration of community and literacy at Mottley Kitchen, a café, catering kitchen, and community space. Boogie Down Books provided 250 free books to Bronx-area youth. The books included copies of The Education of Margot Sanchez, written by Bronx native Lilliam Rivera. Here, readers from local middle school C.I.S. 303 share their book selections.
Honoring Madeleine
Library of America and Manhattan bookstore Books of Wonder recently celebrated Madeleine L’Engle’s centenary, with an event and panel discussion featuring children’s literature historian Leonard S. Marcus (second from r.), author of Listening for Madeline: A Portrait of Madeleine L’Engle in Many Voices. Pictured (from l.): Peter Glassman, Books of Wonder owner; Charlotte Jones Voiklis, author and L’Engle’s granddaughter; Tracy Baptiste, author; Stefanie Peters, Library of America associate editor; and (front), Léna Roy, author and L’Engle’s other granddaughter.
A Common Thread
Illustrator Nikki McClure recently set sail aboard the sloop Clearwater, the signature vessel of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, an environmental advocacy organization founded by the late folk singer and activist Pete Seeger. McClure illustrated the picture book biography The Golden Thread: A Song for Pete Seeger (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray), written by Colin Meloy, author and front man for The Decemberists. While on the Hudson River sail (which was open to the public), McClure read from the book and offered an artist workshop for attendees.
Brooklyn Grown
Guests attended a celebration for the 75th anniversary of Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Leonard Branch on November 14. Guests included Amy Lyons (second from l.), illustrator of the anniversary edition cover, and Betty Smith’s family members, including her daughter Nancy Pfeiffer (third from l.)
