Last week was one of the all-time best (and busiest) in Square Books Jr. history
Posted September 15th, 2011
We were honored by five best-selling authors/illustrators visiting during the week which, incidentally, led up to the celebration of the thirty-second birthday of Square Books!
Back to School Bash with Square Books, Jr.
Posted August 2nd, 2011
Don't miss the Back to School Bash this Friday night, August 5th from 5-8 p.m. at Off Square Books. We'll have treats, music, and books with sweets from Holli's and pizza from Larry's. Come party down one last time before school is back in full swing.
SBJ Book Society picks THE EMERALD ATLAS by John Stephens
Posted June 13th, 2011
The newest pick for the SBJ Book Society is The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens. The book is 10% off for all SBJ Book Society members. The meeting to discuss the book will be the second Friday of every month from 6 - 7 p.m.
About the Author: JOHN STEPHENS spent ten years in television, and was executive producer of Gossip Girls and a writer for Gilmore Girls and The O.C. He holds an MFA from the University of Virginia and was inspired to write novels for children after reading Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.
About the book: Kate, Michael, and Emma have been in one orphanage after another for the last ten years, passed along like lost baggage.
Yet these unwanted children are more remarkable than they could possibly imagine. Ripped from their parents as babies, they are being protected from a horrible evil of devastating power, an evil they know nothing about.
Until now.
Before long, Kate, Michael, and Emma are on a journey to dangerous and secret corners of the world...a journey of allies and enemies, of magic and mayhem. And—if an ancient prophesy is correct—what they do can change history, and it is up to them to set things right.
The Emerald Atlas brims with humor and action as it charts Kate, Michael, and Emma's extraordinary adventures through an unforgettable, enchanted world.
Starred Review, School Library Journal, June 2011:
"Unfolding
magic and secrets deepen the story and build excitement as it reaches
its complex and time-bending climax....Echoes of other popular fantasy
series, from “Harry Potter” to the “Narnia” books, are easily found,
but debut author Stephens has created a new and appealing read that
will leave readers looking forward to the next volumes in this
projected trilogy."
Announcing the Square Books, Jr. DIY t-shirt contest!
Posted June 7th, 2011
Don't worry about staying in the lines. We're up for anything. The contest is for ages 16 and under. The shirts are available now at Square Books, Jr. and include one white t-shirt with the Square Books, Jr. logo, 5 assorted fabric markers, and directions for the coloring process. To enter the contest you must purchase a shirt and then post a photo of your finished design on the Square Books, Jr. Facebook page. Three winners will be selected to receive prizes based on their shirt designs. One lucky winner may have the chance for their design to be printed as a limited edition shirt for Square Books, Jr. Judging will occur throughout the summer and the three finalists will be selected at the Square Books, Jr. Back to School Party on Friday, August 5.
YOU CAN VOTE ON THE WINNER TOO! Just go to the Square Books, Jr. Facebook page and "like" your favorite design. The design with the most "likes" at the end of the summer will receive an extra vote in the final selection process.
So don't miss out. Go by Square Books, Jr. today and get your shirt and start coloring.
Prizes:
1st place: $25 Square Books gift card.
2nd place: $15 Square Books gift card.
3rd place: $10 Square Books gift card.
Kate DiCamillo comes to Oxford and Square Books
Posted May 16th, 2011
Saturday dawned gray and gloomy, but that did not deter Oxford visitors from seeing baseball, softball, Ole Miss graduation -- and Kate DiCamillo! Over one hundred-fifty of Square Books Jr.'s favorite readers and their parents gathered at Off Square Books to hear Kate DiCamillo read from and talk about her award-winning books for children.
Ms. DiCamillo, or Kate, as anyone who has met her will feel comfortable calling her, began by reading from the Josette Frank Award winner and Newbery Honor book BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE. As fond as we are of that book and the movie made from it, hearing Kate read the first chapter was a thrill and seemed even funnier than we remember.
Taking questions from the audience, Kate paraphrased Ray Bradbury in saying that writing a novel is like "...jumping off a cliff and building your wings on the way down." She added that in writing one of her most recent books, THE MAGICIAN'S ELEPHANT, she learned that one could also, by writing, "..build your own ladder out of the pit."
Her advice to aspiring writers? "Read, read, read." What she would say to all young people? "Read, read, read." Where she got her ideas and how she started? "Reading." She indulged her enthusiastic audience by reading from her Newbery Award winner, THE TALE OF DESPERAUX, and TIGER RISING when asked.
Kate patiently signed books for everyone who asked, and returned after lunch (she was thrilled to dine at City Grocery) to sign orders for those who could not be there and for Jr. stock. All went away happy, hoping she will return to Oxford with her next book, and, more importantly, hoping that she will keep writing her magical stories. Thank you Kate DiCamillo, and thank you Jennifer Roberts, from Candlewick, for coming, too!