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Celebrate with us April 30th – May 6th!

 

As part of the longest-running national celebration of books for young people and the joy of reading, over 750 schools, libraries, and bookstores will celebrate Children’s Book Week from April 30 to May 6 from coast to coast in all 50 states. This May marks the 99th anniversary of Children’s Book Week; the theme for this year’s celebration is “One World, Many Stories.”

Here's how The Bookloft is celebrating:

• Bookmark Design Contest
• 10th Annual Children’s & Teen Choice Book Awards Voting station
• Prizes for Book Reviews

 

We will have free activity sheets available (while supplies last), and kids from home can have access to original bookmarks created by five of today’s most innovative children’s book illustrators at Every Child a Reader!

BOOKMARK DESIGN CONTEST

Here's how you can design our next official Bookloft bookmark!

Come to The Bookloft Sunday, May 6, between 2-4pm and create your bookmark design.

Or, here's how to make it at home:

• Get a Bookmark Template:  Download it here to print, or stop by the store to pick one up.
• Draw your original artwork inside the box on the template.
• Turn it back in to The Bookloft by Sunday, May 7.

We will select our favorite and make that our next official Bookloft bookmark!

VOTE FOR THE CHILDREN'S & TEEN BOOK AWARDS

Voting for the 11th Annual Children’s & Teen Choice Book Awards, the only national book award voted on solely by kids & teens, has been in progress since March 1, and you can be a part of it! Stop by The Bookloft and cast your vote before May 6, or use either of the buttons below to vote online now!

 

REVIEW A BOOK AND EARN A PRIZE

Write a review for a book you've read recently, bring it to The Bookloft, and we'll give you a free prize! Make sure to include your first name, your age, and the title of the book you read, along with your review.

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Children’s Book Week is a cornerstone program of Every Child a Reader, a 501(c)(3) literacy charity dedicated to inspiring a lifelong love of reading in children and teens across America. Other national programs include the Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards, Reading Without Walls, the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, in partnership with the Library of Congress, and new to us this year, Get Caught Reading.

 

April 1, 2018

Audiobooks for dogs, sure, they'll listen to anything—easy to please, happy to oblige, tail wags galore. The real challenge? Audiobooks for cats. Those who view cats as challenging or hifalutin are right: the feline is selective, loyal, and highly discerning when it comes to literature. That’s why Libro.fm has created and curated an audiobook selection proven to put a purr into even the most cantankerous of kittens!

Check out new release A Tail of Two Kitties by Mr. Bigglesworth and read in the original Cat!

A Tale of Two Kitties

https://libro.fm/audiobooks/5184389278146

Independent bookstores all across America are having a party on Saturday, April 28th. Come on out to The Bookloft for a fun day of exclusive books and literary items that you can only get on this day at a store. Not before. Not online. Not after they run out.

Chat with Author Kathline Carr

Author Kathline Carr will be here from 1-3pm to meet & greet all you Indie Bookstore Day supporters! She'll be signing Miraculum Monstrum, a contemporary feminist fairy tale, and you will have a chance to ask her what "hybrid poetics" means. And then tell us, please, because we're dying for a good answer!

Here's the List of Exclusive IBD Items:

• "Fight the Power" Utility Pouch -  Handy 100% cotton canvas zippered pouch featuring a quote from Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad.
• $6 Story: A Book on the Table - This year's collection features flash fiction from great short story writers including A.M. Homes, Etgar Keret, and Amy Bloom.
• “Bad Citizen” Graffiti Stencil - This year’s stencil features a quote from Margaret Atwood: DON’T LET THE BASTARDS GRIND YOU DOWN.

• A Literary Map of the Universe - A giclee print. The 25 titles featured on this beautiful literary map of the universe are a mix of modern classics and obscure science fiction titles.
• Redlands, Vol. I - A special SIGNED edition of this acclaimed feminist comic with an exclusive cover and signed by BOTH creators!
• Literary Tea Towels - This year’s flour sack tea towels feature two food-related literary quotes from Julia Child and Anthony Bourdain.

• Dragons Love Books! Onesie - A super-soft onesie for bookish babies based on Adam Rubin’s Dragons Love Tacos books illustrated by Daniel Salmieri.
• “Read with Me” Maisy plush - A plush featuring everybody’s favorite preschool mouse Maisy wearing an exclusive READ WITH ME t-shirt with pride!
• “Read with Me” Horton plush - A plush featuring Dr. Seuss’s Horton wearing a pro-reading, indie message on his t-shirt!

• golden thread signed print - Exclusive print honoring Pete Seeger SIGNED by author Colin Meloy and illustrator Nikki McClure.
• Ungrateful mammals (SIGNED edition) - Special editions of Ungrateful Mammals with a unique cover hand drawn by Dave Eggers.

 

...and more!

The Bookloft is holding a new monthly youth spoken word and poetry event on the second Tuesday of every month.  Poets 25 and under are welcome. The first open mic will be on Tuesday, April 10th, at 6:00pm. 

There will be a new featured poet at every event, and regular attendees will be given a chance to participate in an official spoken word slam that will be recorded as an audiobook on Libro.fm and published as a chapbook. 

• Tuesday, April 10th, 6:00pm  -  featured  poet: Scribbles 
  Scribbles is a Lowell-based poet, teaching artist, youth poetry coach, and florist. She has represented Lowell's Mill City Slam on local and regional platforms, including the National Poetry Slam in Denver, CO in 2017.
• Tuesday, May 8th, 6:00pm  -  featured  poet: Brumy the Poet
  This bassist, actor, and retired boxing coach moved to the States from Angola and has been performing poetry on regional & national platforms.
• Tuesday, June 12th, 6:00pm  -  featured  poet: Lexi Halaby
• Tuesday, July 10th, 6:00pm  -  featured  poet: Sarah Masse
• Tuesday, Aug. 14th, 6:00pm  -  featured  poet: Jon Sinson
• Tuesday, Sept. 11th, 6:00pm  -  featured  poet: T.B.A.

News from Shelf Awareness:

Celeste Ng, author of Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere, will be the official Author Ambassador for Independent Bookstore Day 2018. Scheduled for Saturday, April 28, the fourth annual Indie Bookstore Day will be celebrated by more than 490 independent bookstores around the country.

"My favorite thing about independent bookstores is that they all have their own distinct personalities: each reflects not just the tastes but also the ideals of its community," said Ng. "From the second you walk in, you get a sense of what the people who shop there know and enjoy--as well as what's currently on their minds, what they want to learn, and what they value: in short, what kinds of people they want to be. Bookstores are more than just repositories of knowledge, they're living, breathing, evolving representations of our best selves."

Ng made her debut in 2014 with Everything I Never Told You, which went on to win the Massachusetts Book Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, the ALA's Alex Award and more, along with being a bestseller. Her 2017 follow-up, Little Fires Everywhere, is a bestseller that will soon be published in more than 20 countries.

"Indie bookstores continue to occupy a special place in the hearts of anyone passionate about books, ideas, freedom of speech, vibrant neighborhoods, and creating community," said Independent Bookstore Day program director Samantha Schoech."We hear lots about their demise, but more than 40 new indie bookshops opened in 2017. In today's fast-changing world, indie bookstores still offer the delight of discovery, the comfort of community, and the tools for reflection, namely a universe of ideas and stories. We can't wait to celebrate indie bookstores and the readers who love them on Saturday, April 28."

 

(Article excerpt from: http://www.shelf-awareness.com/theshelf/2018-02-02/celeste_ng_is_author_ambassador_for_independent_bookstore_day_2018.html)

Loved the Black Panther film? If you loved the layered textures of the universe, and the depth of the Wakandan world, then try some of these novels that are equally rich in wondrous worldbuilding:

Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor 

(Also check out Okorafor's other titles, like the Binti Series)

Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra

Warcross by Marie Lu

Miles Morales by Jason Reynolds

Dread Nation  by Justina Ireland

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

The Black Tides of Heaven by Jy Yang

After the Flare by Deji Bryce Olukotun

The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead

The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu

Jade City by Fonda Lee

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

Kindred by Octavia Butler

(Make sure to check out ANY other titles by Butler, they're all phenomenal!)

While it seems there has always been a lot of books being adapted to movies and television shows, 2018 just feels extra full of 'em. We'll leave it up to you to decide whether you're excited or apprehensive about these. Here's a (by no means comprehensive) list:

	Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn • Release date: July 2018 • HBO is producing a limited series, starring Amy Adams, Patricia Clarkson, Chris Messina, Eliza Scanlen, Elizabeth Perkins and Matt Craven. • Synopsis: Based on the book by the author of Gone Girl: a reporter (Amy Adams) returns home to cover a grisly murder. • Watch the trailer for Sharp Objects.
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple • Release date: May 11 • Richard Linklater will direct Cate Blanchett as Bernadette. Kristen Wiig, Billy Crudup, and Judy Greer are attached as well. See the whole cast here. The screenwriters behind the film (500) Days of Summer are adapting the screenplay.
	Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury • Release date: May 19 at 8pm on HBO • Michael B. Jordan, Michael Shannon, Sofia Boutella, Lilly Singh, and Laura Harrier will star. Directed by Ramin Bahrani. • Watch the NEW trailer for Fahrenheit 451.
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith • Release date: June • The UK series is coming to the U.S. on Cinemax, re-titled "C.B. Strike." • Watch the original U.K. trailer here.
	Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan • Release date: Aug. 17 • Constance Wu and Ken Jeong will star. Jon Chu is directing
Three Seconds by Anders Roslund and Borge Hellström • Release date: Aug. 17 • Rosamund Pike, Clive Owen, Ana de Armas, and Joel Kinnaman will star.
	The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters • Release date: Aug. 31 • Domhnall Gleeson, Ruth Wilson, Will Poulter, and Charlotte Rampling will star.
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken • Release date: Sept. 14 • Amandla Stenberg will play Ruby, and Mandy Moore will also star.
	Boy Erased by Garrard Conley • Release date: Sept. 28 • Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, and Joel Edgerton will star.
First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen • Release date: Oct. 12 • Ryan Gosling has been cast as Neil Armstrong. The actor will be reunited with La La Land director Damien Chazelle. Claire Foy of The Crown is playing Janet Armstrong.
	The Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz • Release date: Oct. 19 • Claire Foy is playing Lisbeth Salander.
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve • Release date: Dec. 14 • Peter Jackson will direct. Hugo Weaving, Jihae, and Robert Sheehan have been cast. • Watch the trailer for Mortal Engines.
	Bel Canto by Ann Patchett • Release date: TBD in 2018 • Julianne Moore, Ken Watanabe, and Demián Bichir will star.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas • Release date: TBD in 2018 • George Tillman Jr. will direct. Amandla Stenberg, Anthony Mackie, and Regina Hall will star.
	The Black Hand by Stephan Talty • Release date: TBD in 2018 • Leonardo DiCaprio will star and produce.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows • Release date: TBD in 2018 • The movie will be titled Guernsey. Michiel Huisman, Lily James, and Glen Powell are starring.
	The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown • Release date: TBD •  Kenneth Branagh is set to direct.
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent • Release date: TBD • Jennifer Lawrence is attached to star.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut • Release date: TBD • Slated as a TV series (with no network yet attached for distribution). • “Happy!” showrunner Patrick Macmanus will produce, and has stated that the series will expand on the world of the novel.
	Catch-22 by Joseph Heller • Release date: TBD • Starring and directed by George Clooney, it will be a six-episode mini-series on Hulu.
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin • Release date: TBD • Written and directed by Barry Jenkins (director of Moonlight). Starring Kiki Layne, Stephan James, Brian Tyree Henry, Dave Franco, Diego Luna, Regina King, and Colman Domingo. • Synopsis: A woman in Harlem desperately scrambles to prove her fiancé innocent of a crime while carrying their first child.
	The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt • Release date: TBD • Written and directed by Jacques Audiard. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly, Carol Kane, Riz Ahmed, and Rutger Hauer. • Synopsis: A ridiculously fun buddy western set in the 1850s that follows two notorious assassin brothers. Much delightful chaos ensues.
The Dry by Jane Harper • Release date: TBD • Reese Witherspoon will produce. (She produced the Gone Girl film adaptation.) • Synopsis: A policeman's childhood best friend is the perpetrator of a murder-suicide. Secrets of the cop’s past rise to the surface.
	I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid • Release date: TBD • Oscar-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) will adapt it for Netflix. • Synopsis: Jake is on a road trip with his girlfriend when an unexpected detour causes tension and sheer terror to erupt.

Projects Due After 2018

	Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson • Leonardo DiCaprio will produce and star. • Adaptation will be undertaken by screenwriter John Logan, whose previous credits include The Aviator,   Genius, Specter, and Skyfall.
Rabbit, Run by John Updike • Four "Rabbit" novels will be brought to television. • Andrew Davies will adapt. (He was the screenwriter behind the BBC’s beloved 1995  Pride and Prejudice mini-series.)  .
	The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer • This is being developed into a TV Show. No air date yet.

 

Previous Releases in 2018

	Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton • Release date: Jan. 19 • The book was re-issued under the title 12 Strong, which will also be the title of the new film. • Chris Hemsworth, Elsa Pataky, and Trevante Rhodes will star. • Watch the trailer for 12 Strong.
The Alienist by Caleb Carr • Release date: Jan. 22 • Ten-episode series airing on TNT • Watch the full first episode here!
	The Death Cure by James Dashner • Release date: Jan. 26 • Watch the trailer for The Death Cure.
Fifty Shades Freed by EL James • Release date: Feb. 9 • Watch the trailer for Fifty Shades Freed.
	Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer • Release date: Feb. 23 • Natalie Portman, Gina Rodriguez, Oscar Isaac, and Tessa Thompson will star.  Directed by Ex Machina's Alex Garland. • Watch the trailer for Annihilation.
Every Day by David Levithan • Release date: Feb. 23 • Angourie Rice, Maria Bello, and Justice Smith will star.
	The War With Grandpa by Robert Kimmel Smith • Release date: Feb. 23 • Robert De Niro will play Grandpa. Uma Thurman and Christopher Walken will costar.
Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews • Release date: March 2 • Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, and Charlotte Rampling will star. • Watch the trailer for Red Sparrow.
	A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle • Release date: March 9 • Ava DuVernay will direct. Mindy Kaling, Oprah Winfrey, and Reese Witherspoon will star as the three witches. See the whole cast here. • Watch the trailer for A Wrinkle in Time.
Murder Games by James Patterson and Howard Roughan • Release date: March 11 • Instinct (previously titled Murder Games) will be a new TV series on CBS starring Alan Cumming.
	Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertelli • Release date: March 16 • Katherine Langford from 13 Reasons Why and Nick Robinson from Everything, Everything will star. Greg Berlanti will direct.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline • Release date: March 30 • Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, T.J. Miller, and Simon Pegg will star. Directed by Steven Spielberg. • Watch the trailer for Ready Player One.
	Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings • This April, BBC America will premiere “Killing Eve” a brand new series based on the Villanelle novels, starring Sandra Oh.