A World of Wonder
News & Reviews for Kids, Teens, and Families
June 2018   
A Letter from Bethany ............. Ongoing Events
Ah, summer. Swimming. Hiking. Camping. And....reading! Reading by the pool. Reading on the mountain. Reading by the campsite. There's nothing better! (Except maybe reading by a fireplace during a snowstorm. But I'm getting distracted.)

There are so many fabulous books to keep you (and your kids) occupied all summer. A couple of my new favorites are  Be Prepared  by Vera Brosgol (our last month's V.I.B.)--a graphic novel all about summer camp;  Head in the Clouds  by Abby Hanlon--the latest in the Dory Fantasmagory chapter book series (five-year-old Dory is the MOST imaginative character I've read about in a long time); and coming out on June 5 is one of my favorite picture books of the summer:  Drawn Together  by Minh Lê and illustrated by Caldecott winner Dan Santat (it's a wonderful story about a young boy bridging the gap with his immigrant grandfather). 
Don't forget to come to story time at Tattered Cover Colfax, Aspen Grove, and Historic LoDo, which continues all summer long, and includes lots of reading, a little singing, a fun activity, and a delicious snack.  

Also, our Harry Potter party has been moved to Colfax Avenue! Join us on Saturday, July 28, 6:00 pm to 9:00 for our event Celebrating 20 years of Magic. The event is now free, but you must register here .

 Finally, check out our  Booked for Summer  promotion--we all the know the importance of summer reading, and we want to thank you for choosing Tattered Cover as your partner in encouraging lifelong readers! 
Tattered Tales Storytimes
Young children are invited for a half hour of stories and fun.

Everyone is welcome!

Colfax Avenue :
Tuesdays at 10:30 am
Aspen Grove :
Mondays at 10:30 am
Historic LoDo :
Saturdays at 10:30 am
Meet Barrie!
Bookseller
My name is Barrie McComas and I have been a bookseller since I was 16. Books have always been a part of my life. My dad read to me every night and when my mom told me I needed to go outside, my brother and I would read together on the porch.

A few of my favorite books are Treasure Island , Alice in Wonderland , Fox in Socks , and Frog and Toad . They are also family favorites! Besides reading, I crochet and enjoy watching anime and Masterpiece Theatre .
Local Author Spotlight!
Meet Kathleen T. Pelley
Author of Happy Mamas , Happy Papas , & many more!

1. What inspired you to write books picture books like Happy Papas and Happy Mamas?

I wrote Happy Mamas as a way of exploring the myriad ways human and animal mamas love their babies over the course of a day and to show how mothering and happiness are inextricably entwined. Any mother will tell you that what she wants most in all the world is for her child to be happy--and that happiness is completely and absolutely related to GOODNESS, to the evolving of a soul. And of course, once we had Happy Mamas, then it was only natural that my publisher, CWLA, Child Welfare League of America, whose mission is to help children and families at risk, wanted to have a follow up book that featured all kinds of happy papas.

2. Why is Happy Papas important to you?

It is dear to my heart, as is Happy Mamas , because both books encourage parents to ponder all the different ways the act of parenting brings us happiness. When I present at Family Literacy nights, I always share this beautiful African proverb: “What we teach a child to love is more important than what we teach a child to learn.”
3. What is the hardest part about writing books for children? The easiest part?

Because this is a very competitive market for picture books, authors need to be very careful about what they choose to write about. From the outset, we need to know our book is going to be “marketable,” and so it can be a challenge to be aware of marketing trends, while also staying true to my own heart and vision. After I have done several rough drafts, and I am happy with my characters or plot or concept, then it is easy for me to do the final revisions--I love playing with words on the page and crafting sentences that are fun to read out loud.
4. What was your favorite book (or fairytale!) when you were a kid?

I loved all kinds of fairytales, especially ones that featured giants, like Jack and the Beanstalk or The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde. My favorite book was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe .

5. What are you reading now?

Just finished The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott and just starting Swing Time by Zadie Smith. Oh, and latest children’s picture book, Blue Corn Soup by a dear friend, the late, Caroline Stutson.

6. What is your favorite word?

Cannot possibly choose just one! Flummoxed, Higgledy piggledy, or Peely-wally, which is Scottish slang for pale or unwell.
Upcoming Events
TODAY: Sunday, June 3, 2:00 pm, Colfax Avenue

Author Sudi "Rick" Karatas will discuss and sign  Rainbow Relatives: Real-World Stories and Advice on How to Talk to Kids about Lgbtq+ Families and Friends   ($16.99 Skyhorse Publishing). Karatas will be joined by Trisha Ventker, author of  Internet Dates from Hell .
Tuesday, June 5, 7:00 pm, Aspen Grove

Tara Altebrando will discuss and sign  The Opposite of Here   ($17.99 Bloomsbury UK). Natalie's parents take her on a cruise and she meets a guy on the first night and sparks fly. Until he goes missing. Jeff Giles will discuss and sign  The Edge of Everything  ($10.99 Bloomsbury YA). When their worlds collide, X and Zoe are pushed to the edge of everything in this much-buzzed-about tour de force fantasy.

Carolyn Mackler will discuss and sign the follow-up  The Universe Is Expanding and So Am I   ($17.99 Bloomsbury UK). Sarah Tolcser will discuss and sign  Whisper of the Tide   ($17.99 Bloomsbury UK), about shipwrecks, lost treasure, old and new enemies, dark magic, and a breathtaking romance.
Wednesday, June 6, 7:00 pm, Colfax Avenue

Sandhya Menon, the  New York Times  bestselling author of  When Dimple Met Rishi , will discuss and sign  From Twinkle, With Love   ($18.99 Simon Pulse), a young adult romantic comedy about an aspiring teen filmmaker who finds her voice and falls in love.
Wednesday, June 6, 7:00 pm, Aspen Grove

Marisha Pessl will discuss and sign  Neverworld Wake   ($18.99 Delacorte Press), about a realm where fears are physical and memories come alive. A group of friends live the same several hours over and over again until they are forced to make one harsh decision.
Thursday, June 7, 7:00 pm, Aspen Grove

Author Sam Miller will discuss and sign  A Lite Too Bright   ($17.99 Katherine Tegen Books), a stirring, thought-provoking debut novel about a loss shrouded in mystery with twists and turns down every railway.
Friday, June 8, 10:30 am, Colfax Avenue

Tom Booth, author and artist of  Don't Blink! , will discuss and sign  Don't Tell!   ($17.99 Feiwel & Friends). Once again Tom Booth breaks the fourth wall to delight and entice readers young and old in this sweet and funny, experiential picture book.
Tuesday, June 12, 7:00 pm, Aspen Grove

Zoraida C ó rdova is the award-winning author of  The Vicious Deep  trilogy and the  Brooklyn Brujas  series. She will discuss and sign  Bruja Born   ($17.99 Sourcebooks Fire), the second book in her  Brooklyn Brujas  series.

Dhonielle Clayton is an author, COO of  We Need Diverse Books , and co-founder of  Cake Literary.  She will discuss and sign  The Belles   ($17.99 Freeform).
Saturday, June 16, 2:00 pm, Aspen Grove

Author Kathleen Pelley will read from and sign her upcoming picture book  Happy Papas  ($14.95). This book is the perfect follow-up to  Happy Mamas  and just in time for Father's Day.
Saturday, June 23, 2:00 pm, Aspen Grove

Colorado artist and author Donna L. Cook will discuss and sign   The Tara Tree  ($10.00), a timely tale of adventure, imagination, and friendship that puts the plight of our planet at the top of the list. It is the first in the Earth-friendly series called  Tales of the West Wind .
Wednesday, June 27, 7:00 pm, Aspen Grove

Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows, authors of the  New York Times  bestselling  My Lady Jane , will discuss  My Plain Jane   ($17.99 Harper Teen), an irreverent spin on Jane Eyre--a tale of mischief, romance, and supernatural mayhem.
Saturday, June 30, 2:00 pm, Colfax Avenue

Author and illustrator Suzanne Kaufman will read from and sign  100 Bugs!: A Counting Book   ($17.99 Farrar Straus Giroux). In this picture book, little explorers will learn 10 different ways to count to 10, using 10 different kinds of bugs, and get all the way to 100 by the end of their adventure.
Friday, July 6, 7:00 pm, Colfax Avenue

Thursday, August 23, 7:00 pm, Aspen Grove

Friday, October 5, 6:00 pm, Aspen Grove

Monday, October 8, 7:00 pm, Colfax Avenue

Friday, October 12, 7:00 pm, Colfax Avenue

Tuesday, October 16, 7:00 pm, Aspen Grove
Tattered Cover's
Picture Book
Bestseller List  
Based on May 2018

1. The Book with No Pictures  by B. J. Novak

by Jon Klassen

3. How to Babysit a Grandma  by Jean Reagan, illustrated by Lee Wildish

Emily Winfield Martin

by Adam Rubin, illustrated by Daniel Salmieri

by Jessie Sima

7. Rosie Revere, Engineer  by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts

by Jon J. Muth, Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy

by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts

10. How to Babysit a Grandpa  by Jean Reagan, illustrator by Lee Wildish
Tattered Cover's
Middle Grade
Bestseller List  
Based on May 2018

1. Space Case (Moon Base Alpha)  by Stuart Gibbs

2. The Changelings  by Christina Soontornvat

3. The Kindness Club: Chloe on the Bright Side   by Courtney Sheinmel

4. The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson

5. Sky Raiders (Five Kingdoms #1)  by Brandon Mull

6. Stella Diaz Has Something  to Say by Angela Dominguez

Stacy McAnulty

8. The Rose Legacy  by Jessica Day George


10. Spy School  by Stuart Gibbs
Purchase 10 kids' books from Memorial Day, May 28, to Labor Day, September 3, and redeem the completed bookmark for a $15 gift card! Booked for Summer Bookmarks are available in the Children's section of each Metro Denver Tattered Cover store. View a PDF of the Booked for Summer Bookmark  HERE .
The party has moved to Tattered Cover Colfax Avenue!

Join us on Saturday, July 28, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm at Colfax Avenue for Celebrating 20 Years of Magic! This event is now free, but you must register here .

Don't want to miss out on the magic! Email us at  [email protected]  to join the party's mailing list
Winners of
the 30th Annual Bookmark Contest have been announced!

We are half way through the year! How many books have you read so far?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31+
Results from May's poll:

What is the best drink to sip on while reading?

Hot Chocolate
57.1%

Other
28.6%

Water
14.3%

Juice
0%
Rereading Little Women in its 150th Anniversary Year

It was 1994, and I was in my first-ever book club, reading Little Women with three of my fellow sixth graders in anticipation of the brand-new movie version, which would be in theaters a few days after Christmas.

Read more
lithub.com
kids' vib logo

The Tattered Cover Kids' V.I.B. highlights real stand-outs among new children's books or series because every now and then we’re so excited about a book we want to broadcast it from the rooftop!
kids' pick...
by Leah Gilbert

"Do you want to be the first to know about an amazing new talent from right here in Denver? Pick up  A Couch for Llama ! This delightful picture book features one of the cutest and most expressive animals I've ever seen, talks about dealing with change, highlights a truly relatable family (no perfectly clean living rooms in this book)--and shows a llama bouncing joyfully on a sofa! What more could you want? Kids will laugh, and adults will, too." -- Bethany Strout, Children's Book Buyer
More books we love
On shelves 6/26...
by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Matt Myers

"Doug is a dog who loves to dig. And boy can he dig! Rhyming lines and hilarious pictures help readers follow Doug all over the world - from the White House lawn to the other side of the world, Doug just keeps digging. Fans of  Walter  and  Pig the Pug  will enjoy this new furry character and his adventures." -- Suzanne, School Librarian at Kyffin Elementary in Golden, CO
On shelves 6/12...
by Cindy Chambers Johnson, illustrated by Daniel Suncan

"I liked when he was being nice and kissed Grammy. He was being creative and finding new moves. 5 star book!" -- Tyler B., Eldorado Elementary
On shelves 6/5...
by Katrina Leno

"Georgina and her twin sister Mary have never left their tiny island town, but they're gearing up to leave for college at the end of the summer. Georgina thinks that's enough to deal with, but it turns out this is the summer that everything will change. There's a strong Gilmore Girls feel here, mixed with a little Practical Magic , and the book is not afraid to tackle the darkness the #metoo movement is bringing to light. A charming read, with depth." -- Bethany Strout, Children's Book Buyer
Community Bulletin Board
Pop Culture Classroom has created a  FREE, bi-weekly comic strip  called Colorful History, with the goal of educating students about significant and diverse characters and events from Colorado’s history.
tc logo
 
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