Springing Forward Into Celebration

Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!' 

- Robin Williams

Spring is the best season, and I will have none of your rabble rousing about "opinions" vs. "fact". It's simply the truth. Spring is full of flowers, warming weather, the freedom from boots, and my birthday. Spring is truly the best season.

But you're not here to hear me talk about those boring things, you want to know about books. Well fear not, because spring is also a great season for books. Full of great awards like our very own SEUSS Awards, birthdays celebrated by the likes of Ezra Jack Keats, Lois Lowry, and Shakespeare. Most importantly, spring is full of celebrations of the written word and the infrastructure in place to share it. Let me briefly acquaint you with some of the best, or my favorite, springtime celebrations of books and those who love them.

It's also National Music Week!

There’s been a lot of talk this week about Children’s Book Week, but did you also know that it’s National Music Week? First observed in 1924 and sponsored by the National Federation of Music Clubs, this week is marked by concerts, festivals, and musical events of all sorts in libraries, businesses, and schools across the country. In the words of National Music Week’s founder, Mr. Charles M. Tremaine,

“Music Week is, to some extent, different from all the other special ‘weeks.’ It is a ‘drive’ for music by the friends of music, but is also the occasion for participation in and receiving of pleasure, thus making it independent of any propelling force from behind. It gathers its momentum as it goes along from the enjoyment it brings…. Music, permeating the atmosphere, enters many new places where it is welcome.”

In celebration of National Music Week, we thought it only fitting to provide some fun facts about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the most influential composers in history. It’s also especially fitting because Mozart happens to be featured prominently in Pendred Noyce’s upcoming book, Ice Castle. In the latest book of the Lexicon series—out this August from our Scarletta Junior Readers imprint—Daphne and Ivan, along with their cousin Lila, travel to the Land of Winter where social status is based on musical talent. The three children must endure slavery, hunger, illness, and injustice before they can spark a revolution to return spring to the Land of Winter.

Celebrate Children's Book Week!

In case you haven't heard, it's Children's Book Week! And we're celebrating with a Nalah and the Pink Tiger event this Saturday at Boneshaker Books in Minneapolis. Local puppeteer and children's book author/illustrator Anne Sawyer-Aitch will read from her new book, Nalah and the Pink Tiger. Afterward, everyone will make wild and crazy animal puppets, and Anne will sign books. The event starts at 11:30 am.

If you're interested in finding more Children's Book Week events, you can check out the Children's Book Council's official events list here.
Back in March, we blogged about the decline of picture books in favor of young adult books (you can read it here) and about how sad that made us feel. So, we're proud to announce that Scarletta Kids will be releasing two more picture books in the near future.
The first is a storybook that focuses on lake activities for children. It uses sensory and rhyming techniques to describe a typical day at the lake. The second book is for a slightly older age group (6 to 10) and is about a grandfather sharing his love of baseball with his granddaughter.
We're also excited to announce that a musical is being created about our first children's book Lost in Lexicon, and we hope to see it performed as early as spring 2013 at Meadowbrook School in Massachusetts. The first song of the Lost in Lexicon musical has already been produced. Watch our Twitter during Children's Book Week (May 7-13) to find out how you can receive a free download of the song "Girls Can't Do Math."