Bookloft's blog

Children's Summer Reading Bingo

This summer we've merged our Children's Summer Reading Challenge with Reading Without Walls' Bingo!

Will you meet the challenge?

Come in to get a Bingo sheet (or print one by downloading it here) to get started. Then, get reading and start winning!

Complete as many rows as you want (diagonals included!) and win a prize for each one. Multiple Bingos are allowed. Complete the whole card to get an extra special prize! Please bring your card in by September 1st to claim prizes.

Plus, get 15% OFF any five books that you buy here at The Bookloft that let you complete a row for Bingo!

Find Waldo in Great Barrington

This July, The Bookloft will be hosting an exciting month-long scavenger hunt to find Waldo in 17 participating local businesses throughout Great Barrington.

Throughout the entire month of July, Great Barrington is playing host to a citywide Find Waldo scavenger hunt. Seventeen local businesses are participating. The Bookloft will be your Find Waldo Local Headquarters, where you can collect your prizes, and join up for a Waldo Party at the end of the hunt!

Don't live in the area?

Use this interactive map to find a host bookstore near you!

How To Play:

Each player gets a “Find Waldo Local in Great Barrington!” passport to help them find Waldo and log their search. A player may start at any business listed on the passport; the list travels with the player. Waldo is hiding - somewhere - in all the listed businesses. He's six inches tall, and he might be in any public part of the establishment.

Instructions:
  1. When you spot Waldo at any one of the participating businesses listed on your passport, collect a store stamp or signature.
  2. When you spot at least one of the following lost items at The Bookloft, collect a store stamp (or signature): Waldo’s key, Woof’s bone, Wenda’s camera, Wizard Whitebeard’s scroll, and Odlaw’s binoculars.
  3. When you’ve collected at least 10 different store stamps/signatures, bring them to The Bookloft, your FIND WALDO LOCAL headquarters, to claim an “I Found Waldo” button and a “$1 Off” coupon (limited to first 125 Waldo spotters).
  4. If you collect at least 20 of the possible store stamps/signatures, bring your passport to The Bookloft to get a button and a coupon PLUS be entered in a drawing for a deluxe set of Waldo books and other great prizes.

Plan to attend the Waldo grand celebration and prize drawing on July 28th here at The Bookloft!

Summer Listening Challenge

It’s summer time! The Libro.fm Summer Listening Challenge is back in 2018, and this year you could win a year’s supply of free audiobooks.

There are so many fun things to do during the summer, and audiobooks can be a great companion for art projects, exercise, gardening, and car trips—we like to call it #handsfreereading. And with Libro.fm, each audiobook purchase means supporting US, your local bookstore, and investing in your community!

Listen to 5 audiobooks or the equivalent of 20 hours of audiobooks between June 15th and September 4th and track your progress using this Listening Challenge Worksheet. Either email a picture of your completed worksheet to bookstores@libro.fm or fill out this online form, and you will be entered to win free audiobooks for a year!

Need some awesome listens to queue up for summer? Libro.fm has plenty of fantastic playlists including our Summer Listening Challenge playlist, curated by independent bookstores around the country. Looking for great titles recommended by the experts (booksellers)? They have recommendations from us and other indie bookstores. If you already know the titles you’re looking for, just head over to Libro.fm and search for the ones you want!

Happy Listening!

Storytime with Momo!

Every last Sunday of the month, at 2:30, we will be hosting a children's Storytime with Momo! Momo is our special guest-star, who will be reading fun stories of love and acceptance.

About Momo:

Moamer (Momo) Alsaedi is a student at Bard College at Simon's Rock, where he is studying neuroscience, psychology, and social change. Momo's studies focus on understanding the development of children and how their environments impact their neurological and psychological processes. Wherever he is, Momo strives to be as positive, caring, and supportive as he can possibly be. 

Dates:

Sunday, May 27th at 2:30pm
Sunday, June 24th at 2:30pm
Sunday, July 29th at 2:30pm
Sunday, August 26th at 2:30pm
Sunday, September 30th at 2:30pm

Children's Book Week 2018

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!

Vote for Children's Choice Book Awards Vote for Teen Choice Book Awards

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.

 

Introducing: Audiobooks for Cats

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 Bookstore Day 2018

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!

World of Mouth

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.

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
    This Lebanese-American writer & literary performer has participated in women's invitational slams as well as local & regional shows.
  • Tuesday, July 10th, 6:00pm  -  featured poet: Sarah Masse
    As an activist and slam poet, Sarah Masse is outspoken about issues such as mental health, gender equality & social policy. Masse has performed in the Women of the World Poetry Slam, as well as the National Poetry Slam. She coaches youth slam poetry in Boston.
  • Tuesday, Aug. 14th, 6:00pm  -  featured poet: Jon Sinson
    Jon Sinson, a Berkshire-based writer and slam poet, has been a contributor to numerous poetry shows and festivals for many years.
  • Tuesday, Sept. 11th, 6:00pm  -  featured poet: T.B.A.

Celeste Ng Is Author Ambassador for Independent Bookstore Day 2018

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)

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