The ABC Children’s Institute at BEA
The American Booksellers Association presents The ABC Children’s Institute schedule of events at Book Expo America.
8 – 9:30 am
BEA Children’s Breakfast
10 – 10:45 am
2012 Bowker – PubTrack Children’s Books Study
Presented by Kelly Gallagher, Bowker Vice President of Publishing Services
11 am – 12 pm
BEA Middle Grade Buzz
12:15 – 1:45 pm
Speed Dating Lunch With Children’s Authors, co-sponsored by the CBC
At the 90-minute Speed Dating Lunch, frontline booksellers will meet authors who will provide a very personal perspective on their new works. The authors will make their way from table to table during lunch.
Participating authors are:
Jeffrey Bennett, Max Goes to the Moon (Big Kid Science)
Tonya Bolden, Emancipation Proclamation (Abrams)
Shirin Yim Bridges, Horrible Hauntings: An Augmented Reality Collection of Ghosts and Ghouls (Goosebottom Books)
Gina Damico, Croak (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Barbara deRubertis, Animal Antics: A to Z (Kane Press)
Patricia Reilly Giff, Hunter Moran Saves the World (Holiday House)
Tim Green, Unstoppable (HarperCollins)
Oliver Jeffers, This Moose Belongs to Me (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
J.J. Johnson, Random (Peachtree)
Dan Krokos, False Memory (Hyperion)
Mike Mullin, Ashfall (Tanglewood Press)
Scott Nash, The High-Skies Adventure of Blue Jay the Pirate (Candlewick)
Carmen Rodrigues, 34 Pieces of You (Simon & Schuster)
Marilyn Singer, The Superheroes Employment Agency, Tallulah’s Tutu, and The Boy Who Cried Alien (Early Light Books)
Obert Skye, Potterwookiee: Book Two (Macmillan Children’s)
John Stephens, The Fire Chronicle (Random House)
Raina Telgemeier, Drama (Scholastic)
Tyler Whitesides, Janitors, Book 2: Secrets of New Forest Academy (Deseret Book)
2 – 3:15 pm
Reaching the “Middle Grade Reader”
“Middle grade reader” is a term that spans a huge range of ages and abilities, and children’s booksellers face the challenge of addressing these readers’ varied needs. With the help of a group of industry professionals, this session will present an overview of the developmental stages of middle grade readers—detailing the issues and conflicts they are facing—and provide ideas about how independent booksellers can curate and promote a collection that addresses these issues effectively.
Meeting the Literacy Needs in Your Community
Children’s booksellers wear many hats, and one of them is that of a literacy advocate. This session will detail how booksellers can begin to examine the literacy needs and efforts in their own communities and bring books and literacy to the children who need them the most.
3:30 – 4:45 pm
ABA/CBC Tea With Children’s Authors and Illustrators
At the 60-minute Author and Illustrator Tea, co-sponsored by the Children’s Book Council, booksellers will join their peers at a table with an established author or personality of their choice for a discussion of the author or illustrator’s newest work.
Participating authors are:
Mac Barnett, Chloe and the Lion and Oh No! Not Again! (Disney-Hyperion)
Michael Buckley, The Sisters Grimm: Book Nine: The Council of Mirrors (Amulet Books)
Kristin Cashore, Bitterblue, (Penguin Young Readers Group)
Sharon Creech, The Great Unexpected (HarperCollins)
Shannon Hale, Princess Academy 2 (Bloomsbury)
Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian, Burn for Burn (Simon & Schuster)
Jon Klassen, This is Not My Hat (Candlewick)
Patricia MacLachlan, The Boxcar Children Beginning: The Aldens of Fair Meadow Farm (Albert Whitman)
Sonia Manzano (aka Maria from Sesame Street), The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano (Scholastic)
Patrick McDonnell, The Monsters’ Monster (Little, Brown)
Kadir Nelson, I Have a Dream (Random House)
Chris Raschka, Otter and Odder: A Love Story (Candlewick)
Jerry Spinelli, Third Grade Angels (Scholastic)
Erin Stead and Phil Stead, Bear Has a Story to Tell (Macmillan Children’s)
Rebecca Stead, Liar & Spy (Random House)
5 – 6 pm
Some of Our Favorite Things: Booksellers Share Best Practices
Visit this informal, knowledge-sharing poster fair to discover the secrets behind your colleagues’ store specialties and initiatives. A select group of booksellers will share best practices through creative poster displays. Participants in the Institute can sign up to consult with them one-on-one during this session to learn more.
Focused Roundtables
Join a group of your colleagues for a focused discussion on a specific topic, including “Building Relationships with Teen Bloggers” and “How to Grow Your Graphic Novel Collection.” Roundtable participants will be asked to sign up prior to the day of the Children’s Institute.
6 – 8 pm
Annual Children’s Art Auction and Reception
Presented by the ABC Group and American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression South Concourse
