Children

As schools across the country adopt initiatives to better prepare children for the future, booksellers are facing new challenges as well as opportunities to work more closely with teachers and school librarians.

This past weekend, Staunton, Virginia, the home of Pufferbellies Toys and Books, held its third annual Kids’ Night Out. Sponsored by the local downtown development association, the event featured children’s activities in shops and on sidewalks community-wide.

How booksellers can meet the diverse needs of middle grade readers of a wide range of ages and abilities was the subject of a panel discussion at the first-ever Children’s Institute, presented by the ABC Children’s Group at ABA, at BookExpo America.

Monday, July 2, is last day for booksellers at ABA member stores to submit nominations for the fall 2012 ABC Best Books for Children Catalog.

A panel of booksellers and literacy group leaders at ABA’s Children’s Institute examined how booksellers can begin assessing the literacy needs of children in their communities, as well as efforts already underway to meet those needs, to arrive at a plan that helps ensure books and reading programs reach the children who need them most.

In July, people in cities and towns across the country will head out on scavenger hunts to find Waldo during a month-long series of events spearheaded by their local independent booksellers. The stores are all participants in “Find Waldo Local,” a campaign sponsored by Candlewick Press and ABA that aims to spur local shopping while celebrating Waldo’s 25th anniversary.

Candlewick Press’ new campaign, “We Believe in Picture Books!,” offers booksellers generous CHIRP terms, tools to bolster merchandising, and handselling incentives for frontline staff.

For those who couldn’t make it to last week’s trade show and those who just want a recap, BookExpo America has created an archive of podcasts and videos, and will be adding more material over the next several weeks.

The ABC Children’s Group at ABA is seeking title recommendations from ABA member booksellers for the fall 2012 ABC Best Books for Children Catalog.

ABA educational programming at the first ABC Children’s Institute kicked off with the opening plenary “Understanding the Children’s Book Consumer in the Digital Age,” presented by Kelly Gallagher, vice president, Publishing Work Flow Solutions, R.R. Bowker.