Author Mac Barnett and illustrator Shawn Harris recently hit the road to celebrate the release of The First Cat in Space and the Baby Pirate’s Revenge (HarperAlley), the fourth installment in their First Cat in Space graphic novel series. The duo enjoyed a two-week tour across the U.S., where they shared the new book with readers via bookstore appearances and school visits filled with drawing demonstrations and sea shanty singalongs. We’ve gathered some highlights from their travels.
On November 4, Harris (bottom) and Barnett (third row, r.) made an appearance at Parnassus Books in Nashville. Here, staffers at Parnassus Books joined the creators in front of the moon backdrop that traveled with them on tour for photo ops.
Harris (l.) and Barnett (r.) take a bow after kicking off their tour with an event on November 2, hosted by Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, Calif.
At a November 7 event in New York City held by Brooklyn bookstore Books Are Magic and the Brooklyn Public Library, Harris (l.) and Barnett performed “Pirate Shanty” from their album of music they created to accompany the new book.
Harris and Barnett welcomed fans dressed up as series characters on stage during their November 9 event at the Fearrington Barn in Pittsboro, N.C., hosted by McIntyre’s Books.
Following their event at Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul, Minn., on November 11, Barnett and Harris took a photo with the bookstore staffers, including a staff member dressed as the toenail-clipping robot LOZ 4000.
Barnett and Harris dropped by Wild Rumpus Books in Minneapolis on November 11 to meet fish named after them and to sign stock.
Poppy Books and Gifts in Spanish Fork, Utah, hosted an event for the duo on November 12. Here, a young fan dressed as First Cat receives an exclusive prize offered to attendees who showed up in costume.
On November 13, Third Place Books in Seattle welcomed the pair for an event, Here, a fan holds up their homemade cutout of CheckMate, the villain from book three in the series.
Barnett and Harris paid a visit to students at Jacob Wismer Elementary School in Portland, Ore., on November 14, a trip organized by Barnes & Noble Hillsboro.
The tour concluded with a sold-out show at Freight and Salvage in Oakland, Calif., on November 15 hosted by local bookstore Mrs. Dalloway’s. Here, audience members selected to join the pirate orchestra gather on stage to perform a song.
