Award winning author, Kate DiCamillo is coming to Lemuria! She is an acclaimed author of many books for young readers and the recipient of a Newbery Medal; a Newbery Honor Book and was named a National Book Award finalist. She is a very big deal and we are thrilled that she is coming!

I picked up a really cute book by her this morning called, Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken. Louise is a most unusual chicken in that she longs for adventure and seems to be able to leave the hen-house whenever she wants! The book is divided into several chapters each telling of a different adventure.

In one story, she goes to sea in search of real adventure and has an exciting encounter with pirates! In another, she runs away to the Circus and becomes a tight rope walker and in the last chapter, she visits a far away land with an exotic market where she finds herself in a bit of trouble all in the name of adventure! But, in the end, Louise realizes the same truth that Dorothy learned in the Wizard of Oz, “There’s no place like home!”

A precious book with a BIG heart and a BIG lesson. Check out Diane’s blog here and Emily’s blog here! And then don’t forget to come out tomorrow, Sunday, May 15th at 1:00 and meet Kate DiCamillo!

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate Dicamillo is a beautiful book that all of us here at Lemuria love. From Bagram Ibatoulline’s beautiful illustrations to the distinct way Kate DiCamillo inspires all of us to be a little better than our original selves, what’s not to love about this beautiful book?

I fell in love with Edward on the first read. For me, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane represents the journey that many of us take in life. At the beginning of the story, Edward has more love than any china bunny, or person, can expect — he is loved selflessly and unconditionally. However, Edward has no regard for all this love and appreciation. Again, as in life, change is waiting to happen, and for our selfish little bunny, this change comes in the form of an accident at sea. This event becomes the catalyst for about twenty years of life adventures — most are full of love and happiness, but a few reveal to Edward all that he had taken for granted. At one point Edward is feeling pretty low and realizes that to be loved you must open your heart, and that to fully be happy you must give love in return. As you all know, opening the heart brings risk. Can Edward open his heart? Get the book and find out!

You will definitely enjoy not only the book but meeting the amazing person who gave us this beautiful story. Kate DiCamillo will be here this Sunday, May 15th at 1:00. We hope you will come out and meet her. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Also, check out Emily’s blog on Kate’s signing here!

Kate, Michael, and Emma P. have lived in an orphanage for as long as they can remember. They don’t even know what their last initial, P., stands for. These siblings stick together through every orphanage, and every failed adoption attempt. In fact, they work very hard not to get adopted. They believe that their parents are still out there and that people who have a mother and a father should not be adopted.

It’s been ten years since Kate, the oldest, remembers her mother telling her goodbye with the promise that they will be together again someday, and this faith gives all of the children hope. After ruining their chances to get adopted again, the P. children end up on an island that isn’t on any map, at a old house that resembles no orphanage they have inhabited, with a grouchy cook, a frightened groundskeeper, and quite possibly a wizard. Upon exploring the large, musty rooms of the old house, the children stumble across a book with a green cover. Michael is sure that it is an empty photo album, but when he slips a picture inside the books pages, all three kids are immediately transported somewhere else in time and space.

And thus begins The Emerald Atlas, the first book in The Books of the Beginning trilogy. First time author John Stephens has created an authentic and colorful world where, much like the history of the Lord of the Rings world, beings with magical powers have hidden themselves from the race of man as humankind became more powerful and thirsted for the power that magic could give an ordinary man.

Many of us at Lemuria have been devouring The Emerald Atlas, and I haven’t heard so much excitement about a fantasy series since the rise of Harry Potter. When I first heard of this book last fall, I fell in love with the siblings witty banter and the time travel aspects of the book (yes time travel!).

I got to meet John Stephens when Candlewick so graciously sent me to the Winter Institute in Washington D.C. in January. You could tell he was just blown over by all the praise and attention his book was getting.

He was so humble and really just a lover of children’s literature. All this to say that when Random House offered us a chance to host a signing with John, I was ecstatic, and I knew it would be a part of our budding Oz First Editions Club. I have no doubt that as this series grows in popularity, signed firsts of this book will be treasured by those of us here at Lemuria.

The Emerald Atlas is our Oz First Editions May pick, and John will be here signing on Thursday, April 21st at 4:30, the Thursday before Easter. I really hope you will come talk to John about his new book and become a part of something that will no doubt be great.

I’ve moved to the children’s room! When I first began working at Lemuria over three years ago, I started out in the fiction room. A bit later, I was moved into the main room where I have stayed for quite some time. Now, I am beginning an entirely new journey into the children’s department, known as Oz, and I am loving it! I really enjoy getting to know this last frontier and I am amazed at how much the world of children’s books has changed since I was reading to my own children.

Emily has created a wonderful atmosphere in Oz and I am drop-jawed at all she has going on in this one fairly small room. She has truly ushered in a new era and if it has been awhile since you visited Oz, come on in and we can learn it together.

We have a signing coming up with a special children’s author and artist, Alex Beard. Emily sent me home with his books so I could study up. First off, he and Emily were made for each other. He exudes energy and a grand love and enjoyment of children and loves hands on interaction. In addition to his reading and signing at Lemuria, she is taking him to several schools in Jackson for a wonderful time of “playing.”

His first book came out in 2009 and is entitled The Jungle Grapevine. It is a great take on that old game, “Gossip” where someone whispers a phrase into another ear and it is then passed all around the circle until it comes back to the beginning and said out loud to see how close it remained to the original phrase! In this book, all sorts of things get misheard and miscommunicated much to the dismay and delight of all involved.

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In his latest book, Monkey See Monkey Draw the charming story is filled with monkeys and elephants etc all playing quite happily until a ball rolls into a dark cave that the monkeys have always been too afraid to enter. Elephant isn’t afraid so he walks right in and discovers all sorts of wonderful pictures of animals drawn on the walls, all made from footprints and handprints!” It’s a great story about fear and exploration.

Both of these books are based in Africa where Beard himself has been a frequent traveler. His many journeys there have obviously affected his work both as a writer and as an artist. In reading up on him, I found this:

“Beard was born in 1970. His father was a philanthropist. His mother, Patricia Beard, was an author and former editor for Town & Country, Elle, and Mirabella magazines. He is the nephew of photographer Peter Beard. As a teenager, he was able to travel parts of the world like Panama, Africa, China, India, and Belize. Alex grew up among some of the world’s most interesting and influential people — Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, and their Pop World cohorts were familiar faces in the Beard household.”

Beard divides his time between New York and New Orleans where he has a gallery in the French Quarter. He is married with two children.

He is a part of a new breed of children’s writer–young, talented and with a huge respect for children but a desire to also broaden and educate through his writings and art. He sounds like so much fun, I can’t wait to meet him!

Alex Beard will be at Lemuria on Tuesday, April 12th. Bring your little ones! The reading for young and old will begin shortly after 4:oo with a book signing to follow.

Monkey See Monkey Draw is our April Oz First Editions Club Selection. (Read more about OZ FEC here.)

Click here if you would like to reserve a signed first edition of Monkey See Monkey Draw.

We also have a small number of first editions of The Jungle Grapevine. Click here if you would like to reserve a copy.

More of Alex Beard’s paintings can be viewed at The Alex Beard Studio.

I’m new to the Lesley M. M. Blume fan club, and I have Emily and Ellen to thank for it.  In December, knowing of my love for all things relating to magic and fairy kingdoms, Emily placed a copy of Modern Fairies, Dwarves, Goblins & Other Nasties in my hands and shortly after Ellen introduced me to Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters. I was delighted and intrigued by both of these whimsical, well-written books and wanted to find out more about what Blume was all about, and here’s what I found:

In addition to being an author of four children’s books (Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters, The Rising Star of Rusty Nail, Tennyson, and Modern Fairies, Goblins & Other Nasties), Lesley M.M. Blume is a journalist whose work has been published in Vogue, Vanity Fair, Slate, The Daily Beast, The Big Money and on CNN.com.  She is also the contributing style editor for The Huffington Post. Her column “Let’s Bring Back” was adapted into a full-fledged cultural encyclopedia on nostalgia in 2010.  And if you love nostalgia (I’m talking about vintage clothing, old-fashioned courtships, etc.), Let’s Bring Back is certainly the book for you. Personally,I, like Blume, wish that I could bring the days of discretion, aesthetically-pleasing train stations, and wearing gloves evening and night, so this book has a prominent place on my nightstand.

But back to Modern Fairies and Cornelia and the world of children’s literature, Blume makes this comment:

Our memories of our favorite children’s books are evocative and layered with associations.  As the author of three (and soon four) middle-grade books, I am staggered by the idea that my work might help shape the subconscious of my young readers.  This is an awesome responsibility, and therefore nothing can be taken for granted when writing for this audience.  It is extremely important to me, for example, to offer up strong female protagonists, who prioritize intellectual curiosity over appearances.  I try to emphasize the importance of friendship and de-emphasize the allure of trends.  Language, travel, and music all play central roles in my books.

Isn’t that wonderful? I, for one, am delighted to count such a wonderfully talented woman as a role model and I hope many other girls (whether they be 5 or 25) will enjoy Blume’s whimsical, intelligent take on life and literature.

If you’d like to hear another Lemurian’s take on Blume, read Ellen’s blogs here and here.

And if you’d like to know more about Lesley M.M. Blume and her work, check out her delightful website here.  -Kaycie