booksinckids's blog

It's Children's Book Week!

Children's Book Week 100th Anniversary

What is Children’s Book Week and how can you join in the celebrations?

Children’s Book Week is the annual celebration of books for young people and the joy of reading.
Established in 1919, Children’s Book Week is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. Every year, events are held nationwide at schools, libraries, bookstores, homes — wherever young readers and books connect!

The 100th anniversary of Children’s Book Week will take place all year long with a dedicated week of celebrations, April 29 – May 5, 2019, and another week this fall, November 4-10!

Books Inc. is proud to celebrate Children's Book Week with local and visiting authors! See our schedule below:

 

Tuesday, April 30th 

Judd Winick at Books Inc. Palo Alto

Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Children's Book Week with the hilarious and talented New York Times-bestselling author & illustrator Judd Winick sharing his latest action-packed book, HiLo Book 5: Then Everything Went Wrong. (Ages 7+)

Books Inc. Palo Alto at 6:30PM

 

Wednesday, May 1st

Gareth Hinds at Books Inc. Mountain View

Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Children's Book Week with acclaimed and award-winning graphic novelist Gareth Hinds sharing his masterful new adaptation, The Iliad.

Books Inc. Mountain View at 7 PM  

 

Storytime with K-Fai Steele & Andrea Tsurumi at Books Inc. Alameda

Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Children's Book Week with a Storytime featuring not just one, but two critically-acclaimed special guests! Illustrator K-Fai Steele reads from her hilarious & delectable new book, Noodlephant; and Andrea Tsurumi shares her playful under-the-sea romp, Crab Cake: Turning the Tide Together. (Ages 4+)

Books Inc. Mountain View at 6 PM 

 

Saturday, May 4th 

Storytime with Christie Matheson at Books Inc. Laurel Village

Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Children's Book Week with critically-acclaimed author & illustrator Christie Matheson sharing her engaging and educational new book, Bird Watch. There are treasures hiding in the trees! Can you find them? From the author of the acclaimed and bestselling Tap the Magic Tree, this stunning picture book merges basic math concepts with elements of a treasure hunt. (Ages 4+)

Books Inc. Laurel Village at 11AM

 

Storytime with Mariam Gates at Books Inc. Campbell

elebrate the 100th Anniversary of Children's Book Week with Mariam Gates, director and founder of KidPower Yoga, for a storytime reading of her fantastic & fun new book, Breathe with Me: Using Breath to Feel Strong, Calm, and Happy. In additon to a read-aloud, Mariam will be leading a fun Yoga session! (Ages 4+)

Books Inc. Campbell at 11AM

For the Little Fans of The Avengers!

The world has been gripped by Avenger's Fever! The final installment of the Avengers' story arc, Avengers Endgame, hits theaters today, Friday April 26th! If you have little ones that love The Avengers then Random House and The Little Golden Books have you covered:

The Mighty Avengers The Might Avengers: Lights Out!
The Big Freeze by Billy Wrecks Marvel Avengers: The Threat of Thanos
Avengers Adventures 3 Books in 1! Marvel Spiderman: Night of the Vulture!
Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy: Rocket to the Rescue! Marvel Thor: Thunder Strike!
The Amazing Spider Man:Trapped by the Green Goblin! Marvel Black Panther: Warriors of Wakanda

And this is just a small sample! Stop by your local Books Inc. to see what they have available for you and your little Avenger! 

Mo Willems' Thank-O-Rama-Join the Fun with Books Inc!

Mo Willems' Elephant & Piggie Thank-O-Rama

 

The Thank-o-Rama! Tour is pulling up to Books Inc. in Campbell! From 4:30 to 6:30 PM, join us for a fun-filled afternoon featuring photo ops with Elephant & Piggie, a cozy Reading Corner perfect for perusing the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! series, including the latest installment Harold & Hog Pretend For Real!, and a Craft Station supplied with spectacular themed activities. Plus, don't forget to spin the Thank-o-Rama Prize Wheel for a chance to win a premium prize! (Ages 5+)

It's Poetry Month!

Happy National Poetry Month!

Looking for books to read along with your kiddos in celebration? Check out these new and recommended titles:

 

1. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mister Rogers

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mister Rogers by Fred Rogers and Luke Flowers

For the first time ever, the beloved songs from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood are collected here in a charmingly-illustrated treasury.
Mister Rogers instilled the values of kindness, patience, and self-esteem in his viewers, and most of all, taught children how loved they were, just by being themselves. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhoodreimagines the songs from the show as poetry, ranging from the iconic ("Won't You Be My Neighbor?") to the forgotten gems. 

Perfect for Ages 6+

 

2. We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices

 We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices Edited by Wade and Cheryl Willis Hudson

Fifty of the foremost diverse children's authors and illustrators--including Jason Reynolds, Jacqueline Woodson, and Kwame Alexander--share answers to the question, "In this divisive world, what shall we tell our children?" in this beautiful, full-color keepsake collection, published in partnership with Just Us Books.

Perfect for Ages 8+

 

3. Sakura's Cherry Blossoms

Sakura's Cherry Blossoms by Robert Paul Weston and Misa Saburi

A warm, gorgeous exploration of a little girl's experience immigrating to a new country and missing her home and her grandmother, who still lives far away. Sakura's Cherry Blossoms captures the beauty of the healing power of friendship through Weston's Japanese poetry-inspired text and Saburi's breathtaking illustrations.

Perfect for Ages 3+

 

4. Poetree 

Poetree by Shauna LaVoy Reynolds

A girl writes a poem to a tree, but then is surprised when the tree writes back in this wondrous and warm picture book about friendship, nature, and the power of poetry.

Perfect for Ages 4+

 

5. Song for a Whale

Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

Poems can appear in surprising forms – Iris uses the shape of her hands to create visual poems with her grandparents in his modern day classic about the connection between a girl and a whale who both want to be heard.

Perfect for Ages 8+

 

OR

Teach the kids more about the world's greatest poets with the Who Was Series:

Who Was Maya Angelou? by Ellen Labrecque Who Was Edgar Allan Poe? by Jim Gigliotti Who Was William Shakespeare? by Celeste Mannis

 

And then of course, there's always the classic favorites:

The Giving Tree By Shel Silverstein, Shel Silverstein (Illustrator) Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9780060256654
Availability: In Stock Now - Click Title to See Store Inventory. Please allow up to 48-hours for Curbside Pickup orders to be processed.
Published: HarperCollins - February 18th, 2014

Falling Up By Shel Silverstein, Shel Silverstein (Illustrator) Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9780060248024
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: HarperCollins - January 24th, 2006

Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings By Shel Silverstein, Shel Silverstein (Illustrator) Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9780060256678
Availability: Backordered-Could Take 2-4Weeks
Published: HarperCollins - February 18th, 2014

Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys By Bob Raczka, Peter H. Reynolds (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Bob Raczka, Peter H. Reynolds (Illustrator)
$6.99
Unavailable, Out of Stock, or Out of Print
ISBN: 9781328869302
Published: Clarion Books - March 27th, 2018

Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan By Ashley Bryan, Ashley Bryan (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Ashley Bryan, Ashley Bryan (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9781481456906
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books - September 13th, 2016

The Real Mother Goose By Blanche Fisher Wright (Illustrator), Grace Maccarone (Editor) Cover Image
By Blanche Fisher Wright (Illustrator), Grace Maccarone (Editor)
$12.99
ISBN: 9780590225175
Availability: In Stock Now - Click Title to See Store Inventory. Please allow up to 48-hours for Curbside Pickup orders to be processed.
Published: Cartwheel Books - September 1st, 1994

Green Eggs and Ham (Beginner Books(R)) By Dr. Seuss Cover Image
$9.99
ISBN: 9780394800165
Availability: In Stock Now - Click Title to See Store Inventory. Please allow up to 48-hours for Curbside Pickup orders to be processed.
Published: Random House Books for Young Readers -

Happy National Unicorn Day! - April 9th!

National Unicorn Day Banner

Let's be honest, every day should be Unicorn Day, but this Tuesday, April 9th, is the actual EXTRA SPECIAL SPARKLY NATIONAL UNICORN DAY!! 

Publishers, authors, and booksellers all over the country will be celebrating and we'd like YOU to join US! 

Unicorn Kate

Stop by Books Inc. Campbell on Tuesday for  ALL DAY readings of Unicorn-centric stories, an in-store scavenger hunt (Ages 2+), and a special gift to anyone (of all ages) who swings by the store dressed up like a Unicorn! 

If you'd like continue the celebration into the month, stop by Books Inc. Palo Alto on Thursday, April 25 at 6:30pm and meet Dana Simpson, creator of the Pheobe and Her Unicorn Graphic Novel series! 

Dana Simpson

Dana will be celebrating the newest book in the series: Unicorn Bowling! 

Fun Unicorn Facts!:  

1. The unicorn is the national animal of Scotland.

2.  Unicorn hunters may obtain a Unicorn Questing Licence from Lake Superior University, Michigan.

3. According to Pliny (a Roman author way way back in the day), a unicorn had the body of a horse, the head of a deer, the feet of an elephant, and the tail of a lion, with a black horn projecting ‘two cubits’ from the middle of its forehead. 

(I'm glad we let that one go. Hey, here's an activity idea: Have your kid draw that... see how long you can keep it up on the fridge...)

Or you can always stop by your local Books Inc. and grab a copy of any of these wonderfully beautiful and fun Unicorn books. 

Laurel Village Unicorn Display

Phoebe and Her Unicorn By Dana Simpson Cover Image
$12.99
ISBN: 9781449446208
Availability: In Stock Now - Click Title to See Store Inventory. Please allow up to 48-hours for Curbside Pickup orders to be processed.
Published: Andrews McMeel Publishing - September 2nd, 2014

Bad Unicorn (The Bad Unicorn Trilogy #1) By Platte F. Clark Cover Image
$7.99
ISBN: 9781442450134
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Aladdin - March 11th, 2014

I'm a Unicorn (Little Golden Book) By Mallory Loehr, Joey Chou (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Mallory Loehr, Joey Chou (Illustrator)
$5.99
ISBN: 9781524715120
Availability: In Stock Now - Click Title to See Store Inventory. Please allow up to 48-hours for Curbside Pickup orders to be processed.
Published: Golden Books - January 9th, 2018

Uni the Unicorn By Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Brigette Barrager (Illustrator) Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9780385375559
Availability: In Stock Now - Click Title to See Store Inventory. Please allow up to 48-hours for Curbside Pickup orders to be processed.
Published: Random House Studio - August 26th, 2014

Uni the Unicorn and the Dream Come True By Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Brigette Barrager (Illustrator) Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781101936597
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Random House Books for Young Readers - August 29th, 2017

The Unicorn Quest By Kamilla Benko Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9781681192451
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Bloomsbury USA Childrens - January 30th, 2018

Bella's Birthday Unicorn (Unicorn Magic #1) By Jessica Burkhart, Victoria Ying (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Jessica Burkhart, Victoria Ying (Illustrator)
$6.99
Unavailable, Out of Stock, or Out of Print
ISBN: 9781442498228
Published: Aladdin - August 5th, 2014

A Unicorn Named Sparkle By Amy Young (Illustrator), Amy Young Cover Image
By Amy Young (Illustrator), Amy Young
$9.99
Unavailable, Out of Stock, or Out of Print
ISBN: 9780374308728
Published: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) - September 11th, 2018

Unicorn Day By Diana Murray, Luke Flowers (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Diana Murray, Luke Flowers (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9781492667223
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky - June 4th, 2019

Not Quite Narwhal (Not Quite Narwhal and Friends) By Jessie Sima, Jessie Sima (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Jessie Sima, Jessie Sima (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9781481469098
Availability: In Stock Now - Click Title to See Store Inventory. Please allow up to 48-hours for Curbside Pickup orders to be processed.
Published: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers - February 14th, 2017

Monthly Bookseller Feature: In April, Rachel Loves....

The Moon Within by Aida Salazar

I love The Moon Within by Aida Salazar! It focuses on Celi, an 11 year old mixed girl living in Oakland, as she struggles with her changing body and balancing friends, family and crushes. It’s written in verse, and you really get a sense of Celi’s emotions with Sala­zar’s beautiful poetry describing her thoughts! I also really enjoyed how The Moon Within tackles the topic of menstruation and how it impacts girls hitting puberty, which I don’t think an author has done for this age since Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret., which was almost 50 years ago! I’m so excited for mothers and daughters together to discover this book, as well as kids to find it themselves in book­stores and libraries across the country.

The Moon Within feels like it’s written for a kid of now. There’s sec­tions about rediscovering lost heritage, exploring alternative gender and gender norms, and talking to crushes through texting. Despite being writ­ten in poetry, it’s super easy to get yourself into Celi’s world, particularly the sections where she talks about her love of dance. Honestly, this book feels like it’s going to stick around for years to come!


About Rachel: Before becoming a bookseller, I worked in libraries and was a teacher, so you could probably say I’ve been working with books for a while. I’ve been working at Books Inc. as a chil­dren’s specialist for about 3 years and run the Flashlight Readers Book Club (Ages 8-12) at Books Inc. Berkeley. When I’m not read­ing, I love playing board games!

 

Bookseller Rachel

 

A Quirky Book for ALL Ages- Rumple Butter Cup

Rumple Buttercup by Matthew Gray Gubler

Rumple Buttercup has five crooked teeth, three strands of hair, green skin, and his left foot is slightly bigger than his right.

Join him and Candy Carl (his imaginary friend made of trash) as they learn the joy of individuality as well as the magic of belonging.

 

Author Matthew Gray Gubler

Matthew Gray Gubler is a storyteller from Las Vegas, Nevada, who directs, paints, writes, acts, and knows magic. He also loves to voice cartoon characters, looks for ghosts, and wear soft pajamas.

(And yes, he's THAT GUY from Criminal Minds.)

Rumple Butter Cup out April 2nd!

Get your copy of Rumple Buttercup in stores on April 2nd! 

 

Coming Soon! The Sad Little Fact by Jonah Winter and Pete Oswald

The Sad Little Fact Promotional from Schwartz and Wade Books

A New York Times bestselling author and the illustrator of The Bad Seed deliver a perfectly timed, humorous read-aloud to prove that the truth is out there, just waiting to be discovered. In this spare, ingenious story that reads like a modern-day parable, follow a sad little fact that is locked away for telling the truth. Pre-order your copy now!

Pages