This week, Jeff Kinney “Doubles Down” in D.C.; M.T. Anderson and Gregory Maguire take part in a musical engagement; readers in Grand Rapids are seeing cats; and Henry H. Neff tours for his new middle-grade fantasy.

Next Stop … the World

Jeff Kinney kicked off his global tour for Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down on November 1, with events in Kinney’s hometown of Washington, D.C., including stops at the Library of Congress and at Politics & Prose. Here, he greets two Wimpy Kid fans in view of Capitol Hill.

A Rural Reading

M.T. Anderson (l.) and Gregory Maguire read from works by E.B. White, Robert Frost, Sherwood Anderson, and others, at The Chapel at Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier, Vt., on October 30, as part of an event sponsored by Bear Pond Books in Montpelier. They read as part of a program called Music for Barns, which is devoted to the celebration of rural life and the music it inspires. The Aurea Ensemble from R.I. also performed for guests.

Very Good Things

Good Things Happen to Readers, a donation program managed by the Grand Rapids Student Advancement Foundation, recently provided copies of Brendan Wenzel’s They All Saw a Cat to students in 26 Grand Rapids public school classrooms. On November 1, volunteers picked up cartons of books from the local independent bookstore Schuler Books & Music, to drop them off at the participating schools. Every student in the classrooms was given a copy to take home.

Back in the (Classroom) Saddle Again

Author Henry H. Neff is currently on tour for Impyrium, the first book in his new middle grade fantasy series. Neff, a former teacher, is making stops at schools in Chicago, Houston, Memphis, New York City, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and Philadelphia. In Houston, Neff visited Westchester Academy for International Studies. Here, Neff is pictured with teachers (from l.) Silvia Urteaga, Kelly Kiehnoff, and Nichole Nakadate.