Winter and Spring Events for Young Readers!

We’d like to say that PSB has a super sophisticated big-data driven method for scheduling author events, but really, we just respond to publishers and request the authors we like or think would do a great job. Sometimes patterns emerge in that somewhat chaotic process and this winter and early spring a pattern of fantastic events for young readers has emerged. So here’s what all you young readers and fans of writing for young readers can look forward to.

Friday, January 23, 7 pm YA: Kate Axelrod & Wendy Wunder, The Law of Loving Others and The Museum of Intangible Things

Two local novelists share their newest books about family, growing up, and making sense of the world.

Kate Axelrod was born and raised in New York City. She has a B.A. in Creative Writing from Oberlin College and a Masters in Social Work from Columbia University. She has written for Nerve.com, Salon and various other publications. She lives in Brooklyn and works as an advocate in the criminal justice system. This is her first novel. Margo Rabb, author of Cures for Heartbreak, says “The Law of Loving Others is a poignant, powerful, and insightful novel about love, loss, and growing up. Kate Axelrod has written a wise and wonderful debut.”

Wendy Wunder is the author of The Probability of Miracles, which was called "beautiful" in a starred review from Kirkus and a "graceful balance of comedy and tragedy" by Publishers Weekly. When she's not writing or spending time with her family, she teaches yoga in Boston. Alexandra Coutts, author of Tumble and Fall says this “The Museum of Intangible Things is the best kind of joyride: exhilarating and hilarious and full of heart. A must-read for anyone who has ever had - or longed for - a true best friend.”

Perfect for: Fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, Stephanie Perkins, and contemporary YA.

Thursday, January 29, 7 pm PICTURE BOOK: Mary Lundquist, Cat & Bunny 

Two costumed children star in this debut picture book from a local artist.

From the heartwarming text to the adorable illustrations of little kids dressed as animals, there's so much to love about Mary Lundquist's debut picture book, Cat & Bunny. Cat and Bunny. Bunny and Cat. It's always been just the two of them -- daydreaming, having adventures, playing their special game. Until the day someone else asks, "Can I play?" Mary Lundquist captures all the charm and magic of first friendship in her winning debut picture book.

Mary Lundquist grew up in Massachusetts and is the youngest of seven children. She graduated with a BFA from Mass College of Art and Design in Boston in 2008 and moved with her husband to England for three years. They now live with their son Calvin in Los Angeles where they enjoy the endless sunshine and visit the beach almost every week.

Perfect for: Preschool and early elementary readers—and anyone who likes dressing up.

Monday, February 9, 7 pm MG: N. Griffin, Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of Room 11

When the classroom hamster disappears, Smashie is on the case! (Even though she’s not a fan of hamster feet.)

N. Griffin is the author of The Whole Stupid Way We Are, for which she was named one of Publishers Weekly’s Flying Start Authors of 2013. She received her MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and lives outside Boston. Publisher’s Weekly says this, “Griffin uses humor to tackle issues most children grapple with at some point, and Hindley’s loose b&w sketches play up the madcap energy at Rebecca Lee Crumpler Elementary School. Smashie’s ... positive energy and determination are impressive. Readers will be learning and laughing heartily as Smashie dons her "Investigator Suit" and uses "thinking power" to try to prove herself.”

Perfect for: Elementary school readers who enjoy The World According to Humphrey and Sideways Stories from Wayside School.

Friday, February 13, 7 pm YA: Gareth Hinds, Macbeth

Our favorite graphic novel creator is back with his take on the Scottish play.

Shakespeare's classic story of dark ambitions, madness, and murder springs to life in a masterful new graphic novel by Gareth Hinds.

Set against the moody backdrop of eleventh-century Scotland, Gareth Hinds’s captivating, richly illustrated interpretation takes readers into the claustrophobic mind of a man driven mad by ambition. An evil seed takes root in the mind of Macbeth, a general in the king’s army, when three witches tell him he will one day be king. At the urging of his wife, he resolves to take the throne by the most direct path: a dagger in the heart of King Duncan. But "blood will have blood," and when others grow suspicious of his sudden rise to power, is Macbeth prepared to commit more murders to keep the crown?

Gareth Hinds is the acclaimed creator of the graphic novels The Odyssey, Beowulf, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, and King Lear. He lives near Washington, D.C.

Perfect for: Shakespeareans, comics fans, anyone who has to read the play for high school English.

Tuesday, February 17, 7 pm YA: MarcyKate Connolly, Monstrous

A YA novel from a local author who turns fairy tales into something more.

The city of Bryre suffers under the magic of an evil wizard. Because of his curse, girls sicken and disappear without a trace, and Bryre's inhabitants live in fear. No one is allowed outside after dark. Yet night is the only time that Kymera can enter this dangerous city, for she must not be seen by humans. Her father says they would not understand her wings, the bolts in her neck, or her spiky tail—they would kill her. They would not understand that she was created for a purpose: to rescue the girls of Bryre. Despite her caution, a boy named Ren sees Kym and begins to leave a perfect red rose for her every evening. As they become friends, Kym learns that Ren knows about the missing girls, the wizard, and the evil magic that haunts Bryre. And what he knows will change Kym's life. Reminiscent of Frankenstein and the tales of the Brothers Grimm, this debut novel by MarcyKate Connolly stands out as a compelling, original story that has the feel of a classic.

MarcyKate Connolly is an author and arts administrator living in New England with her husband and pugs.

Perfect for: Upper-elementary and middle school readers, fans of Shannon Hale’s Princess Academy series, and monster aficionados.

Friday, February 27, 7pm PICTURE BOOK: Matt Tavares, Growing Up Pedro

A new picture book biography just in time to celebrate Pedro Martinez’s election to the Hall of Fame!

Before Pedro Martínez pitched the Red Sox to a World Series championship, before he was named to the All-Star team eight times, before he won the Cy Young three times, he was a kid from a place called Manoguayabo in the Dominican Republic. Pedro loved baseball more than anything, and his older brother Ramon was the best pitcher he’d ever seen. He’d dream of the day he and his brother could play together in the major leagues—and here, Matt Tavares tells the story of how that dream came true. In a fitting homage to a modern day baseball star, the acclaimed author-illustrator examines both Pedro Martínez’s improbable rise to the top of his game and the power that comes from the deep bond between brothers.

Matt Tavares is the author-illustrator of Henry Aaron's Dream, There Goes Ted Williams, and Becoming Babe Ruth as well as Zachary's Ball, Oliver’s Game, and Mudball. He is also the illustrator of Doreen Rappaport's Lady Liberty and Alicia Potter’s Jubilee!, among others. Matt Tavares lives in Ogunquit, Maine.

Perfect for: Baseball fans of all ages who enjoy great illustrations.


Saturday, March 14, 7 pm YA/BEST OF BOTH WORLDS: Camille DeAngelis, Bones & All 

A girl with a tendency to devour people goes looking for the father she never knew.

Maren Yearly is a young woman who wants the same things we all do. She wants to be someone people admire and respect. She wants to be loved. But her secret, shameful needs have forced her into exile. She hates herself for the bad thing she does, for what it’s done to her family and her sense of identity; for how it dictates her place in the world and how people see her--how they judge her. She didn’t choose to be this way.

Because Maren Yearly doesn’t just break hearts, she devours them. Ever since her mother found Penny Wilson’s eardrum in her mouth when Maren was just two years old, she knew life would never be normal for either of them. Love may come in many shapes and sizes, but for Maren, it always ends the same—with her hiding the evidence and her mother packing up the car.

Camille DeAngelis is the author of the novels Mary Modern and Petty Magic and a first-edition guidebook, Moon Ireland. A graduate of NYU and the National University of Ireland, Galway, Camille currently lives in Boston.

Perfect for: YA paranormal fans who like Laini Taylor, Lauren Oliver, and Alaya Dawn Johnson.

Friday, March 27, 7 pm MG: Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks in Spring

The Penderwick sisters return for the fourth book in the series with Batty, now in fifth grade, keeping the family in line. (Really, we can’t say enough about this staff favorite!)

Filled with all the heart, hilarity, and charm that has come to define this beloved clan, The Penderwicks in Spring is about fun and family and friends (and dogs), and what happens when you bring what's hidden into the bright light of the spring sun.

When Jeanne Birdsall was young, she promised herself she’d be a writer someday—so that she could write books for children to discover and enjoy, just as she did at her local library. She is the author of The Penderwicks, which won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street, and The Penderwicks at Point Mouette.

Perfect for: Elementary and middle school readers who enjoy the classics, from All-of-a-Kind Family to The Moffats.

Sunday March 29, 5 pm PICTURE BOOK: Mariam Gates, Good Night Yoga

Try out some bedtime yoga exercises and learn how to make the end of your day relaxing.

For kids in early to middle childhood -- and the lucky people who have to get them to bed -- Good Night Yoga is both a bedtime story and a series of simple poses for following the natural world as it comes to rest at day's end.

Join us for combination reading and demonstration of yoga at its most soothing.

Mariam Gates is the founder of the Kid Power Yoga Program. Although she has left us for the West Coast, she spent many years teaching in Boston, and served as the director of Citizen Schools.

Perfect for: Preschool and elementary children (and their parents), from yoga novices to the pros.