All in a Day’s Work

Abrams staffers enjoyed some quality time with giraffes at the Six Flags theme park in Jackson, N.J., during a VIP visit on August 6. The publishing company has partnered with all of Six Flags' U.S. theme parks to promote the forthcoming ninth book in Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, The Long Haul, which releases on November 4.

Going Nuts

Author and musician Eric Litwin, who partnered with illustrator James Dean for the first four Pete the Cat books, performed songs from his picture book, The Nuts: Bedtime at the Nut House (Little, Brown), illustrated by Scott Magoon, at the St. Louis Public Library in St. Louis, Mo., on August 1. The event, which was part of Litwin’s 12-city tour for the book, drew a crowd of 550 people. Kids in attendance were invited to wear their pajamas to reflect the book’s bedtime theme.

Feeling the Love

Cold cocktails on a hot summer night were just the ticket at a pre-pub event for Rebecca Serle’s YA novel Famous in Love (Little, Brown). Guests met and mingled with Serle (r., with her editor, Farrin Jacobs) at Manhattan’s Reunion Surf Bar – a fitting location since much of the book’s action unfolds on the beaches of Maui. Attendees received leis, drink cozies, and sunglasses, all branded for NOVL, Little Brown’s website directed at a book-loving teenage audience.

Meet Me at Camp Divergent

Camp Divergent in Naperville, Ill., was in full swing when YA author Ilsa J. Bick (White Space) stopped by to visit with attendees, talk about writing, and sign copies of her novels for fans. Camp Divergent is based on Veronica Roth’s dystopian series, and are held in week-long day camp sessions. The camp is run by Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville.

Muck-Makers

It was a sunny day in Portland, Ore., so author Elizabeth Rusch and illustrator Mike Lawrence brought their own mud during an event to promote their middle-grade graphic novel Muddy Max: The Mystery of Marsh Creek (Andrews McMeel/AMP!). The event was held outside A Children’s Place bookstore during the Fremont Street Festival; Lawrence and Rusch invited kids in attendance to take part in muddy activities. Here, they display some of the key ingredients: worms and dog poop (thankfully, both fake).

If You Build It…

Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by John O’Brien, was featured on July 30 as part of the U.S. Department of Education’s Let’s Read! Let’s Move! summer series. The goal of the program is to encourage both learning and physical activity among kids throughout the summer. Washington, D.C., and Virginia-area students attended the event, during which guests (from l. to r.) U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, acting Surgeon General Boris D. Lushniak, Pati Jinich from the TV series Pati’s Mexican Table, and NFL quarterback Warren Moon took turns reading from the book; Boyds Mills also supplied free copies for children in attendance to take home.