Tomes and Tinsel
This Yuletide season sees a bevy of new books and events for children
Compiled by Brian Lampkin
Bring on the holidays! This year, yes, this year, you’ll be ready before the stores have emptied of anything resembling your loved one’s true desire. To that end, we’ve compiled a list of new children’s books and when they’ll be coming out this holiday season, along with a few events that will surely delight even the most difficult nieces and nephews on your list.
October 16: Construction Site on Christmas Night, by Sherri Duskey Rinker & A.G. Ford. The trucks are gearing up for Christmas by building a special gift! But there’s a surprise waiting for each of them, too! Presents await for Excavator, Bulldozer, Crane, Dump Truck and Cement Mixer as each finishes its part of this big, important job and rolls off to a sweet and sleepy goodnight.
November 13: Bold & Brave: Ten Heroes Who Won Women the Right to Vote, by Kirsten Gillebrand and Maira Kalman. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is one of New York’s Senators and a passionate advocate for women’s rights — like her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother before her. Maira Kalman is the author and illustrator of numerous books for children, including Looking at Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Everything. She is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker, and illustrated Strunk and White’s classic The Elements of Style.
December 4: Little Owl’s Snow, by Divya Srinivasan. Divya’s illustrations have appeared in The New Yorker magazine, and she has done work for This American Life, They Might Be Giants, Sundance Channel, Sufjan Stevens and “Weird Al” Yankovic, among others. Divya was also an animator on the film Waking Life. She has written and illustrated many picture books, including Little Owl’s Night, Little Owl’s Day, and Octopus Alone.
EVENT: December 5: Tony Diterlizzi, author of The Broken Ornament. Scuppernong Books, 304 S. Elm St. 6 p.m. Free. More! More lights, more presents, more cookies, more treats. More. More. More! So, when Jack breaks a dusty old ornament, he’s not sure why his mom is so upset. They can always get more ornaments, so what’s the big deal? Turns out the ornament was an heirloom, precious for more reasons than one. And Jack has a lot to learn about the true meaning of Christmas.
December 11: I Wish It Would Snow, by Sarah Dillard. Winter has just begun, and one little bunny wants it to snow, hopes it will snow, and wishes it would snow. And, finally, the fluffy flakes begin to fall from the sky. First one flake at a time, then more and more until little bunny finds himself up to his ears in a blizzard and then — whoops! — he rolls downhill in a gigantic snow ball, right through the front door of his treehouse. Home and cozy at last, he wakes up next morning and ready to play outside with his forest friends. Sledding down a snowy hill, his frolicking comes to an abrupt halt when he hits the grass! Oh, no! Now there’s not enough snow! A perfect book for Greensboro’s spotty snow events!
EVENT: December 22: Stacy McAnulty, author of SUN! One In a Billion, LOVE and Dear Santasaurus. Scuppernong Books, 304 S. Elm St. 11 a.m. Free. Stacy McAnulty is the Triad’s tireless gift to the children’s book world. A Kernersville resident, she’s now published 20 books, with more on the way. Perfectly timed for getting the kids out of the house as the holiday energy surges to overload! OH
Brian Lampkin is one of the proprietors of Scuppernong Books.
