This week, an Arizona school is named a literary landmark; Jarrett J. Krosoczka honors lunch ladies; Adam Rubin kisses a dragon; Gerald and Piggie close out Children’s Book Week; teachers welcome Victoria Kann; and Robert Beatty offers a dramatic reveal of his new book.
A Landmark Celebration
In observance of Children’s Book Week (May 1–7), the United for Libraries division of the ALA and the Literary Landmark Association named Cherokee Elementary School in Paradise Valley, Ariz., a literary landmark in honor of the late author Barbara Park. The entire school attended the dedication ceremony, which took place on May 5, and many of the students dressed up as Park’s titular protagonist from her Junie B. Jones series. Park was inspired to write Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus after seeing a Cherokee Elementary student walking home after missing the bus.
Have You Hugged Your Lunch Lady Today?
Jarrett J. Krosoczka visited the Trotter Innovation School in Dorchester, Mass., on May 5 to celebrate School Lunch Hero Day, inspired by Krosoczka’s Lunch Lady series. Krosoczka teamed with the School Nutrition Association to create the annual celebration, as a way of honoring school lunch staffs—like these ladies—nationwide. Krosoczka lived in Boston when he began writing the Lunch Lady series. Wondermore, a nonprofit literacy organization in Boston, donated Lunch Lady books to students at the school.
Dragon Breath!
While on tour for Dragons Love Tacos 2: The Sequel, author Adam Rubin visited Hicklebee’s Children’s Books in San Jose, Calif., on May 5. Rubin greeted a surprise guest dragon with a big love for tacos. Rubin's tour also took him to bookstores in the Midwest and South. He will pair up with illustrator Daniel Salmieri for events in New York City on May 15 and 16.
You Do the Higgie-Piggie
Copperfield’s Books in Petaluma, Calif., wrapped up Children’s Book Week with a party that drew more than 150 guests. Attendees listened to stories, danced the “Higgie-Piggie,” and took part in an impromptu parade around the block. Here, five-year-old Branson Garner meets guests Gerald and Piggie (from Mo Willems’s Elephant & Piggie books). Little did Branson know that his older brother, Jackson, was the actor playing Gerald at the event (his mother doesn’t plan to tell him until he turns 20).
Tutu-Riffic!
Victoria Kann recently concluded her five-city tour for her latest picture book, Peterrific. Kann is accustomed to meeting excited readers, but those who greeted her at Gullett Elementary School in Austin, Tex., on May 8 were somewhat taller than her typical fans. Teachers at the school came dressed in pink and purple—several with tutus—in honor of Peter’s pink-loving sister, Pinkalicious.
High Drama
Robert Beatty gave a sneak peak of the latest title in his Serafina series, Serafina and the Splintered Heart, at the Masonic Temple Theater in Asheville, N.C., on April 30. Beatty revealed the book’s cover and performed a dramatic reading, along with costumed actors, including his two daughters: (from l.) Evan Anderson, Camille Beatty, Robert Beatty, Genevieve Beatty, and Bode Lizarralde.
