Roll Out the Red Carpet!

The Newbery and Caldecott awards are the highest recognition bestowed upon authors and illustrators of children’s literature – it's truly an incredible achievement. Books of Wonder is thrilled to host a group of this year’s recipients of both medals and honors for these prestigious awards. Join us to hear from ERIN ENTRADA KELLY, author of The First State of Being, REBECCA LEE KUNZ, illustrator of Chooch Helped, GRACEY ZHANG, illustrator of Noodles on a Bicycle, YUKO SHIMIZU, illustrator of Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains, and C.G. ESPERANZA, illustrator of My Daddy is a Cowboy.

*Important Note*: Due to the anticipated high turn out for this event we are limiting 3 books per person and only permitting 1 book from home (with one book purchase) for the signing line. Time permitting, those with additional books may re-join the signing line at the end.

The First State of Being by ERIN ENTRADA KELLY

It’s August 1999, and with the Y2K crisis looming over him, twelve-year-old Michael Rosario has only one desire: to be prepared. If he’s not pining over his babysitter, he’s stockpiling supplies, and it’s in between doing these things that he sees a teenage boy appear out of nowhere. His name is Ridge and he’s everything Michael wishes he could be – carefree, confident, bold. And, as he soon reveals, a time traveler. Ridge has a book detailing the events of the next twenty years, and while he might be more fascinated by microwaves and basketball, Michael needs that book. But how far will he go to get it?

Chooch Helped illustrated by REBECCA LEE KUNZ

Sissy’s younger brother, Chooch, isn’t a baby anymore – and yet he always makes a mess of things. No matter what a member of the family is doing, Chooch “helps”, whether it’s with painting a mural, making grape dumplings, or gigging for crawdads. When Chooch “helps” with Sissy’s clay pot, she yells at him. What follows is a beautiful, quiet moment between brother and sister, and a lesson about being a good sibling.

Noodles on a Bicycle illustrated by GRACEY ZHANG

When the deliverymen set off in the morning, the children wait for the flicker of pedal and wheel. It's the demae-- delivery men-- setting off to deliver steaming trays of noodles to hungry customers all over the city. They are acrobats: whizzing past other bicycles, soaring around curves, avoiding the black smoke of motorcycles. When the children see them, they want to be them. And so they practice with bowls of wobbling water stacked on trays. The day passes, and, finally, exhausted, the demae return home, to their families, and, yes, to steaming bowls of noodles. This beautifully crafted, visually exciting story by a powerhouse author and illustrator team is sure to be adored by food lovers, young and old.

Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains illustrated by YUKO SHIMIZU

When the world said that women couldn’t climb mountains, Junko Tabei said no. When the gear was all designed for men, she made her own, and when none of those men would go with her, she organized the first all-women expedition of Everest. From making her way to the tallest peaks to cleaning and protecting those same wild spaces that she loved so much, if Junko wanted to do something, nothing and nobody could stop her. This is the beautiful tale of her trailblazing life.

My Daddy is a Cowboy illustrated by C.G. ESPERANZA

In the quiet, sleepy hours before dawn, a young girl goes horseback riding with her daddy. She learns all about when he was learning to be a cowboy and gets to ride her horse on the street – all before anyone’s even awake! She sees the city, and herself, from a new vantage point, and realizes that she too is a cowboy. This wonderful book captures the joy and magic of riding a horse and of spending time with a parent.

Monday, June 30th at 6pm at Our 17th St Store!