Five Books Janet Wants to Own This Spring

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (Random House, $15.00)
Harold Frye receives a letter from Miss Queenie, who he has not heard from since they worked together more than twenty years ago. She is in a hospice on the northern tip of England. Harold is convinced that walking the length of England will keep her alive.

The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce (Random House $25.00)
Waiting for Harold, Miss Queenie "writes" her story, revealing the secrets and the shame that have created the distances between her and her life.

Small Space Container Gardens by Fern Richardson (Timber Press, $19.95)
Even a tiny house with a postage size yard can be made into an alluring site of colors, smells, and edibles.

Before After by Anne-Margot Ramstein (Candlewick Press, $19.99)
This is a children's book so beautifully and simply illustrated that it belongs out on the coffee table. An egg becomes a chicken. A caterpillar becomes a butterfly. A calf becomes a cow, and what else?

Poems to Learn by Heart, compiled by Caroline Kennedy with paintings by Jon J. Muth (Hyperion Books, $19.99)
A collection of classic poetry for children, beautifully illustrated with Jon Muth's watercolor paintings.

Janet Elfant, April 2015

Mt. Airy Kids' Literary Festival 2015 -- April 23-26

The 9th Annual Mt. Airy Kids' Literary Festival -- four days of authors, illustrators, games, parades, parties, music, and more -- begins tonight, Thursday, April 23!

Schedule and event information:
- Festival schedule on our website (and summarized below).
- Facebook festival event page.
- Link to the bookstore's listing of events on Facebook, which includes most (though not all) of the festival's individual events.
- Link to our most recent events newsletter.

Interviews here on the blog with two of the attending authors:
- Amy Ignatow, author of The Popularity Papers
- Elisa Ludwig, author of Pretty Crooked.


Festival Schedule Summary:

All Weekend

Special Door Prizes! Winners will be randomly selected throughout the entire weekend to win free books, promotional goodies, and more. Stop by with your family and get a chance to go home with all kinds of special treats.

Thursday, April 23

7:00pm - Big Blue Young Adult Book Discussion with Jen Sheffield.
An open discussion group for adults who read YA and teens who like to talk about books.
April's book: the verse novel Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate.
We'll be joined by a special guest, former staffer and Writer-in-Residence Cordelia Jensen, whose own YA verse novel, Skyscraping, will be coming out at the beginning of June!

Friday, April 24

11:00am - Festival Storytime. Led by Monique Curry, author of In My Eyes.
(Ages infant-4)

6:30pm - Family Book Party! Music with Ecoman, pizza, fun and games, and bedtime stories!
(All ages)

Saturday, April 25

11:00am - Picture Book Celebration.
(Ages 2-6)

• Monica Carnesi, author of Sleepover with Beatrice and Bear
• Polly Kanevsky, author of Here is the Baby, Sleepy Boy
• Valerie Lang, author of Andy Takes Action

1:00pm - Middle Grade Author Panel.
A free-ranging discussion of middle-grade books and audiences!
(Ages 8-12)

• Amy Ignatow, author of The Popularity Papers
• Andy Myer, author of Henry Hubble's Book of Troubles

2:00pm - Mad Lib Treasure Hunt!
Led by Cordelia Jensen and kids from the Mt. Airy Musers writing community.
(Ages 8 and up)

3:00pm - Same Family, Different Colors. Join Tanya Hutchins, author of Born Beautiful Biracial: A Compilation of Children's Essays, and Mt. Airy author Lori Tharps, creator of ?RU! t-shirts (for sale in the bookstore!), as they lead a discussion with kids and parents on living in multi-racial families and answering the question "What are you?"
(Ages 6 and up)

7:00pm - Harry Potter Trivia Contest! Bring It On, Wizards and Muggles!
(Ages 8 and up)

Sunday, April 26

10:30am - Music with EcoMan.
(Ages 2-6)

11:00am - Picture Books!
(Ages 3-8)

• Artie Bennett, author of Belches, Burps, and Farts - Oh My!
• Nancy Viau, author of City Street Beat
• Alison Ashley Formento, author of These Rocks Count
• Jonathan Needham, author of Meet My Fantastic Friend Floyd

1:00pm - Magical Creature Costume Parade for Kids, Adults, and Pets.

1:00pm - The YA World, featuring six young adult authors!
(Ages 12 and up)

• Heather Anne, author of Escaping Wonderland
• Elisa Ludwig, author of Pretty Crooked Trilogy
• April Lidner, author of Love, Lucy
• Mya Kay, author of A Song for Jordan
• Victoria Leese, author of Invisible Stardom
• Alison Ashley Formento, author of Twigs

Hope to see you this weekend!

Novel Journals!

Are you an aspiring writer? Having trouble getting started? Need inspiration? Then you need A Novel Journal! Big Blue Marble Bookstore has a variety of these marvelous journals, where the blank pages are actually lined (in tiny text) with lines from famous novels. Write between the lines of Jane Austen or Charles Dickens, absorb the genius of Charlotte Bronte as you journal your thoughts and dreams!

Each journal is a different novel. Don't see your favorite author? We can order it! Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, the brothers Grimm all await your pen.

A Month Full of Events for National Poetry Month!

Along with our 2nd annual Peeps Diorama Contest, which provided much hilarity and thought, and our 9th annual Mt. Airy Kids' Literary Festival later in the month, we have LOTS of poetry events for you this April. For more details on the events below, visit our website's Events page.

Updated: April 14, 2015.

Wednesday, April 1, 7:00pm.       National Poetry Month Event
Three Humorous Poets on April Fool's Day.
Hal Sirowitz, Amy Barone, and Ron Kolm, all known for injecting humor and candor into their poetry and story-telling, will entertain guests at the Big Blue Marble Bookstore on April 1.

Wednesday, April 8, 7:00pm.       National Poetry Month Event
Red Dashboard Press Reading Series.
Elizabeth Aiken Stelling, editor of Red Dashboard Press, brings friends Marion Deutsche Cohen and Barry Gross for a great evening of poetry to Big Blue Marble.

Thursday, April 9, 7:00pm.       National Poetry Month Event
The Women's Writing & Spoken Word Series presents Michele Belluomini (originally scheduled for January).
The Women's Writing & Spoken Word Series (Est. 2002) is a nurturing environment that celebrates women in the craft of multi-genre writing.

Friday, April 10, 7:00pm.       National Poetry Month Event
Back to Its Roots: Poetry as Music with the bands Words In Flight, SHEEP, and Attractive Nuisance.
Join us as we welcome three area acoustic bands driven by the power of poetical lyrics.

Sunday, April 12, 11:00am.       National Poetry Month Event
Publishing for Poets.
In this 2 hour workshop, Elliott will introduce you to the world of poetry publications. Preregistration required.

Thursday, April 16, 7:00-9:00pm. ***Date change from April 9.***
The Art of Craft: A series of craft classes for poets, poetry fans, and writing teachers.
First of six sessions, though you can sign up for them separately.

Thursday, April 16, 7:00pm.       National Poetry Month Event
Poetry with Elvis Alves & Bernadette McBride.
Join us for an evening of two, very different, rich poetic voices. Elvis Alves just moved to the Philadelphia area from Brooklyn; Bernadette McBride is the director of the Poets Reading Series at Farley's, our sister independent Bookshop in New Hope, PA.

Friday, April 17, 7:00pm.       National Poetry Month Event
Earthly Rituals: Women in Celebration of and Dialogue with Earth.
In honor of both Poetry Month and Earth Day, five area poets, Hila Ratzabi, Therese Halscheid, Amy Small-McKinney, Alison Hicks, and Catherine Bancroft, will be reading work about the earth and its myriad representations: from myth and ritual to observation and witness.

Saturday, April 18, 4:00pm.       National Poetry Month Event
Book launch with Barbara Crooker for her two new books, Small Rain and Selected Poems .

Saturday, April 18, 7:00pm.       National Poetry Month Event
Book & Arts Press Reading with Liz Chang, Helen Mirkel, and Amy Small-McKinney.

Sunday, April 19, 4:00pm.       National Poetry Month Event
Four Poets: Facets of Their Jewish Journeys, with B.E. Kahn, Hal Sirowitz, Hila Ratzabi, and Cathleen Cohen.

Thursday, April 23, 7:00pm.       National Poetry Month Event
Big Blue Young Adult Book Discussion with Jen Sheffield.
Opening event of the Kids' Literary Festival! An open discussion group for adults who read YA and teens who like to talk about books. April's book: The verse novel Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate.

Wednesday, April 29, 7:00pm.       National Poetry Month Event
Poetry Liberation Front with Sekai, Jennifer Hook, Fran Gilmore, Janet Fishman, Alina Macneal, and Cassie MacDonald.

Thursday, April 30, all day!       National Poetry Month Event
Poem in Your Pocket Day.
It's national Poem in Your Pocket Day! Come read us a poem from your pocket (or recite a poem from your head) and get 10% off an item. Don't have a poem? Visit our handy poetry vending machine! You also have the option of standing before our big open window on the second floor and declaiming your favorite poem to the store at large.

Friday, May 1, 7:15pm.       National Poetry Month Event
Poetry Aloud & Alive. Featured reader: Megan Gillespie.
Everyone's favorite neighborhood poetry gathering. Hosted by local poet Mike Cohen, with a featured reader and an open reading to follow. For more information, please contact the Mad Poets Society.