October 6 Releases

Today, October 6, is a big day for book releases. Many favorite authors and well-known politicians have books coming out today--for both kids and adults. Here are a few of the most anticipated.

This new edition of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcer's Stone (Scholastic, $39.99), illustrated by Kate Greenaway-award winning artist Jim Kay, features over 100 full-color illustrations. Dedicated Harry Potter fans will be delighted to receive this--and you'll have holiday gifts for the next seven years, as they plan to continue with illustrated editions of the rest of the series! I can think of several people who'd appreciate it.

Rick Riordan has a new series, eagerly anticipated by fans of his Percy Jackson books. This one features Magnus Chase, a homeless Boston boy who is the son of a Norse god. In The Sword of Summer, the first book in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series, Magnus is tracked down by an uncle his mother warned him was dangerous, who tells him that the Viking myths are true, and the Gods of Asgard are preparing for war, a war in which Magnus will soon be involved. (Disney Hyperion, $19.99). 

Pete the Cat and the Bedtime Blues by Kimberly and James Dean (HarperCollins, $17.99) is a fun addition to the series. Pete needs his sleep. His friends aren't ready to settle down--until Pete thinks to read them a bedtime story! I love the messages of the Pete books, and I love the fact that they're conveyed in ways that aren't at all preachy. This is as fun as the others.

Carry On, new from Omaha author Rainbow Rowell (St. Martin's Griffin, $19.99), is the story of Simon and Baz, who were introduced in Fangirl. Baz is a vampire, Simon the worst "chosen one" ever, and they're roommates at a magical school. Sounds vaguely familiar, but with Rainbow's unique twist--plenty of romance, mystery, and monsters for an entertaining read.

Hard as it is to believe, this is the tenth anniversary of Stephanie Meyer's sensation, Twilight. To commemorate the anniversary, Little Brown has released a special edition of Twilight ($21.99) that features the original novel as well as bonus content, which includes a new re-imagining of the story that's upside down and back-to-back with the first novel. It's called Life and Death and is a reworking of the Twilight story in which, "Beaufort Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edythe Cullen." Sound intriguing? It's available today!

We enjoyed a Skype visit with Sheila Turnage when her first book, Three Times Lucky was brand new, even before she won her Newbery Honor. Today, The Odds of Getting Even (Kathy Dawson Books, $16.99), her newest book about Mo and Dale, releases to great reviews. Middle grade fans of mystery and quirky characters and books with a good dose of humor and heart will enjoy all three books in the series. Plus, Sheila's just a nice person, so we should all read her books!

For adults, there's a good variety in today's new releases. One of my all-time favorite authors, Geraldine Brooks, has a new book. The Secret Chord (Viking, $27.95), the story of King David (yes, that King David), in all his glory and remorse, told through the eyes of the people who knew him. The Survivor by Kyle Mills (Atria, $28.00) continues Vince Flynn's thrilling Mitch Rapp series. And finally, Ben Carson has a new book, A More Perfect Union (Sentinel, $26.95), in which he explains the principles of the American Constitution and the freedoms guaranteed in the Bill of Rights and how they relate to our daily lives.

These titles--and nearly a million more--are available through our online store, www.sewardchapters.com
Regular shipping is always FREE. Or, stop in and pick them up in store and let us know what you think of them!

 

Jan Brett is coming to Seward!

Meet Jan Brett!

 

We are very excited to announce that the beloved children's book creator Jan Brett is coming to Seward as part of her 2015 tour. Her visit is sponsored by the Plum Creek Children's Literacy Festival and Chapters Books & Gifts and will be Tuesday, December 8 at 6:00 p.m. in Weller Hall on the Concordia University Campus.

Chapters will have Jan's books for sale at the event, including her forthcoming book The Turnip, which will be available November 3, 2015. If you purchase a book before the event, please bring it in a bag with your receipt. The number of books Jan will sign per person depends on the number of people attending the event. For those books that she's not able to sign, she will provide free signed bookplates featuring her artwork.

The presentation and signing are open to all ages. Since her books are for kids, we hope to see many children at the event--but we know adults love her, too!

Before the signing, Jan will do a fifteen minute illustration presentation, which will begin at 6:00 p.m. in Weller Hall. In addition, her tour bus, which will be wrapped in scenes from The Turnip, will be parked in front of Weller at 5:00 p.m. and families are welcome to take pictures in front of the bus. Hedgie, the beloved character from The Mitten and The Hat, will also be available for photos and hugs.

Tickets are FREE but required. Participants will go through the signing line based on ticket number, and your ticket will provide for a seat in Weller. Tickets are anticipated to "sell out," and nearly one third are already gone. Tickets are available first come, first serve at Chapters and through Dylan Teut at Concordia. For more information, email chapters@windstream.net or dylan.teut@cune.edu.

Wine and Words

What could be better than books and wine and the chance to enjoy both at the same time, in a beautiful setting, with other people who also enjoy books and wine?

All that AND two authors!

New York Times Bestselling author Alex Kava will be in Seward on Friday, August 21, to promote her new book Silent Creed with a book discussion and signing. At the same event, Omaha author Brock Car will be signing copies of her debut thriller, Dead Behind the Eyes.

We'll have two opportunities for you to meet Alex and Brock. The first will be the "Wine and Words" discussion group at Junto Winery from 5:00-6:00 p.m. There, you'll meet Alex and Brock, share your thoughts on the Ryder Creed series, and have them sign books. And, you'll get wine, really good wine (purchase by the glass), at a beautiful venue! Because Alex loves dogs as much as we do, we will also be accepting donations to benefit Blue River Pet Rescue.

Pre-registration is requested for the "Wine and Words." Please call Junto at 402-803-0587 or Chapters at 402-643-2282 to let us know you're coming.

Following the discussion at Junto, we'll be hosting the authors at Chapters for an informal signing from 6:15-7:00 p.m., also on August 21. We'll have all of Alex's books, as well as Brock's debut, available for purchase and signing. No registration is required.

Alex Kava, originally of Silver Creek, Nebraska, now lives in Omaha and Pensacola, Florida. Her Maggie O'Dell books and other thrillers have been published in over thirty countries and have been on bestseller lists in the UK, Australia, Germany, Japan, Italy and Poland as well as the US. Stranded was a Nebraska Book Award recipient. Silent Creed is the second book in her new series featuring Ryder Creed. 

 Brock Car grew up in Omaha. After a long career in corporate communications, she established her own advertising/public relations firm and wrote for magazines and literary journals. Dead Behind the Eyes is her first novel.

To pre-purchase books, register, or if you have questions, contact us at Chapters.

It's All Fun and Games at Chapters

Last week, as I was baking sugar cookies at 10:00 at night, Joel asked me why we host our summer camp at Chapters. That night I told him it was because I like to punish myself, and because I need a good excuse to make cutout cookies in July. 

Of course, those aren't the real reasons. The obvious purpose of camp--to get people into the store and sell more books and toys--is an important benefit, but it's only part of our motivation. The real reason we host our summer camps is to build relationships with the families who participate. Cheryl, Kelley and I are all former teachers, and every year during camp, we're reminded why we decided to become teachers all those years ago.

It's because we love the kids! Every summer we savor the opportunity to read to groups of kids, sharing their enthusiasm for a good story, and we remember how much fun it can be to play a simple game of "Penguin, Penguin, Walrus" or create something unique out of grapes and a tortilla--and then eat it!

Tara and Grace in 2015

Grace and Tara in 2013

Many of our campers have attended our events for several years. As I scroll through photos from previous years, I recognize several who have grown up spending a week at Chapters every summer. Some of them started as preschoolers and now are heading to middle school in the fall. Some have younger brothers or sisters who now attend camp. Some of our teenage volunteers have returned year after year, too. We treasure our ongoing relationships with these families--and, of course, with the families of kids who come for only a year or two as well. It's fun to see "our" kids' photos in the Seward newspaper and run into them at local restaurants, at church, around town, and when they return to the store.

So, thank you for sharing your children with us. We appreciate your trust in us and your support of our programs. We hope your families enjoy attending camp as much as we enjoy hosting you!

And a big thank you to everyone who helped with camp--Cheryl, Kelley, and Amalia; our volunteers Haley, Molly, Zoie and Morgan; our special guests Brian Albright and Holly Schindler; Chris Grabenstein for the author video; and anyone I may have neglected to mention by name. We appreciate you all!

Below are a few photos of this year's camp activities, and even a video made specially for us by author Chris Grabenstein. Many more photos are posted on our Facebook page. Our theme for the week was "It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Gets Lost in a Book." After I read Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein, a fun middle grade novel about a group of kids locked in a fantastic library to solve puzzles and win prizes, I knew I had to build our camp around the book. The author graciously agreed to make a video, just for us, and we used it to kick off our week. We spent the week making and playing games and getting lost in books (and finding others, including Waldo, a couple of mice, a walrus, a penguin, and a snake, who were themselves lost in books). In case your child came home talking about a book we read that they especially enjoyed, here's a list of the books we read at camp this year:

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce (I highly recommend the Oscar-nominated animated film version; find it on YouTube)

Where's Walrus? and Penguin? by Stephen Savage (Available Aug. 25, 2015)

Hide and Snake by Keith Baker

We Are in a Book by Mo Willems

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

I Spy! by Jean Marzollo

Where's Waldo by Martin Handford

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein

The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman

The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky by Holly Schindler

 
A highlight of the week was a SKYPE visit with author Holly Schindler, who wrote The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky, a fabulous book about finding beauty in unlikely places and turning trash into treasures. Holly very graciously answered all our questions, and she loves to hear from readers. Young readers can visit her website, which is designed for kids ages 8-12, at http://hollyschindlermiddles.weebly.com/

And we can't forget to mention that Waldo, of the Where's Waldo books, is hiding all over Seward during July. Find him in 21  businesses in town to earn a chance to win $100 in Chamber Bucks. 

For details and to download your search list, visit www.sewardchapters.com

Thanks for coming to camp!