Greetings!

Welcome to a special all-kids edition of the Boswell email newsletter. We have a fantabulous fall selection of events lined up, with authors appearing at libraries all over metro Milwaukee. Before we get to the stars of the show, I'd like to tell you how this works. Publishers tour most authors for children and teens differently from the way they send out authors for adults. The focus of their tours are school visits.

Perhaps your kids have been lucky enough to see D. J. MacHale, Michael Grant, Lisa Yee, or one of the other wonderful writers we've brought to town. Sometimes (as happened recently with Gail Carson Levine), there is no public event component, but other times there's enough time in the schedule for the author to appear publicly. I love public events for several reasons, but mostly because this way, everyone who wants to see the author can do so. I'm still reeling from the wonderfulness of our recent visit from Mo Willems.

The big news is that we've gotten so many authors this fall that we're looking for more potential school venues. There are some requirements. We need at least 120 kids to attend. We need to sell the books "book club" style, meaning the kids order the books beforehand and the school or PTO handles the sales. The sales are a very important component that keep us on publisher tour schedules. Note that this does not preclude less-financially-flush districts from participating--some schools have used grants to subsidize the cost of the book. Quality is also important--authors pay attention to how the events are organized. And finally, we don't like to poach, so if you are working with another bookstore, we ask you to keep and nourish that relationship.

These events require one or more champions to be successful. We've found that showing a video trailer in the classroom really helps build enthusiasm. Luckily this is a stupendous collection of authors this fall, with wonderful books that range from grade school to high school reading levels. And if you're wondering, the school does not have to pay an honorarium or travel costs. Want more info on our school event program? Please contact contact Pam at Boswell.

But enough about the school events, here are our wonderful library events that everyone can come to.

Peter Brown at the Shorewood Public Library, Thursday Sept. 8, 4 pm.

You Will be My Friend! is the command of the fun new picture book from Peter Brown. Lucy, a darling bear in a pink ribbon and a tutu, wanders around the woods near her home looking to make a friend, but it's harder than it looks.  Her intense enthusiasm and friendliness begins to come across as overbearing and she wonders if she'll ever be able to find friends.  Surely, someone out there wants to be her friend?

Peter Brown's cheerfully colored drawings of animals in people-like situations are guaranteed to make anyone's day brighter. Brown is the author and illustrator of six previous books for kids, including Flight of the Dodo and The Curious Garden His 2010 bestseller Children Make Terrible Pets, was a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book selection and recipient of the E.B. White Read Aloud Award for Picture Books.

This event will be held at the Shorewood Public Library, located at 3920 N. Murray Avenue, east of Oakland Avenue and just south of Capitol Drive, in Shorewood. The Shorewood library phone number is (414) 867-2670 and starting time is 4 pm.

Margaret Peterson Haddix at the Franklin  Library, Mon., Sept. 19, 5:30 pm.

Margaret Peterson Haddix has been thrilling kids for years with books like Among the Missing and the first two books in the Missing Trilogy, Found and Sent. Now Torn, the third volume, is out and Jonah and Katherine have arrived in 1611, still reeling from their experiences in Roanoke (in the year 1600). Just after arriving, there's a mutiny on Henry Hudson's ship in the icy waters of James Bay. But things are messed up: they've lost the real John Hudson, and they find what seems to be the fabled Northwest Passage--even though they are pretty sure that that route doesn't actually exist. Will this new version of history replace the real past? Is this the end of time as we know it?  With more at stake than ever before, Jonah and Katherine struggle to unravel the mysteries of 1611 and the Hudson Passage...before everything they know is lost.

Peterson Haddix, also author of the Shadow Children series and Just Ella, was a reporter in Indianapolis and lectured in Illinois before settling in Ohio to write kids books. This event takes place at the Franklin Public Library, 9151 W. Loomis Rd., east of Highway 100, just off Drexel. Their phone is (414) 425-8214. This event starts at 5:30 pm.

Lisa McMann at the West Allis Public Library, Thursday, Sept. 22, 4 pm. 

Lisa McMann, author of the teen-level Wake trilogy, was inspired to write her new middle grade dystopian novel, The Unwanteds, after contemplating the implications of art and music being cut from schools around the country.

Patrick Carman at the Greenfield Public Library, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 4 pm.

Patrick Carman has not one, but two wonderful books to share when he visits in September. Floors is the first installment of a wonderful middle-grade series, set at the magical Whippet Hotel in New York. Merganzer Whippet, the hotel's architect and owner, has gone missing and someone is out to sabotage the hotel. It's up to Leo Fillmore, the janitor's son, to follow the clues, solve the puzzles, and save the day. 

Then in 3:15 Season One: Things that go Bump in the Night, Carman collects the stand-alone spooky stories that he originally released on apps for Androids and iPhones. Step into the world of 3:15 and you'll meet Cody Miller, a down-on-his-luck teenager whose greed exceeds his respect for the dead; Jamie Hanover, whose after-school job might cost far more than it pays; Dylan Smith, who should know better than to show off his snowboarding skills on a haunted mountain; and more.

Patrick Carman is the author of the bestselling Land of Elyon and Atherton series and owns PC Studios in Walla Walla, Washington.  Our library event begins at 4 pm, and happens at the Greenfield Public Library, 5310 West Layton Ave., just off the 60th street exit of 894, which is open.  More library info at (414) 321-9595.

Lauren Oliver at the North Shore Library, Tuesday, Oct. 11, 6:30 pm.

James Howe at the Cudahy Family Library, Thursday, Oct. 13, 4 pm. 

Catherine Gilbert Murdock at Shorewood Library, Mon., Oct. 17, 6:30 pm.

You may know Catherine Gilbert Murdock from her novels about D.J. Schwenk of Red Bend, Wisconsin. But Murdock also wrote a delightful fantasy novel, Princess Ben, and she returns to the genre in her new novel, Wisdom's Kiss. Told from eight (yes, eight!) points of view, not limited to Princess Wisdom, Tips the soldier, the orphaned maid Fortitude, and the dowager Duchess of Farina, Wisdom's Kiss is a clever and timeless fairy tale complete with a mysterious intelligent cat, unrequited love, a cunning villainess, and a princess who longs for adventure.

Catherine Gilbert Murdock, author of Dairy Queen, The Off Season, and Front and Center, lives in the Philadelphia area with her family, along with the cat who inspired the character Escoffier.  This 6:30 pm event is at the Shorewood Public Library, 3920 N. Murray Ave. Their phone is (414) 847-2670.

James Dashner at the Greenfield Public Library, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 6:30 pm.

James Dashner has been winning fans with his Maze Runner trilogy, continued in The Scorch Trials (now out in paperback) and concluding in The Death Cure. The story of Thomas's adventures in the Glade will appeal to fans of Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games novels. But why listen to me? Here's Jason, our trade book buyer's take:

"I was hesitant to start The Death Cure, what more could WICKED put Thomas through? What horrible, what torturous, what painful journey would Thomas have to complete?  Would it be enough?  In the clutches of WICKED and infected with the Flare, the outlook does not look promising. James Dashner does not disappoint in this bleak and exhilarating finale--I can't wait to see what he comes up with next."

Dashner, also author of the 13th Reality series, was born and raised in Georgia, but now lives in the Rocky Mountains with his family.  The Greenfield Public Library is on 5310 West Layton Ave. and their phone number is (414) 321-9595. Our event starts at 6:30 pm.

And It's Not Too Early to Mark Your Calendars for Next April When the Author is Kate DiCamillo.

Yes, Kate DiCamillo is coming to Milwaukee Public Library's Centennial Hall, our first event booked for a spectacularrific spring!. The beloved author of The Magician's Elephant, Bink and Gollie, Because of Winn-Dixie, and The Tale of Despereaux will be appearing on Tuesday, April 17, at 7 pm.

When a fortune teller's tent appears in the market square of the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchene knows the questions that he needs to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so, how can he find her? The fortune teller's mysterious answer (an elephant! An elephant will lead him there!) sets off a chain of events so remarkable, so impossible, that you will hardly dare to believe it's true. We're hoping we can get as many kids as possible to read The Magican's Elephant before our event next April. The hall holds 700 kids and parents and we want to make sure everyone knows about this special event.

Centennial Hall is located at 733 N. Eighth St. downtown. Their phone is (414) 286-3000.  And don't worry, you'll see plenty more in the future about the exciting event.