Kids Heart Authors

Mark your calendars--Valentine's Day, 2009 is going to be a special day at The Alphabet Garden and independent bookstores all over New England! From 10-12 on February 14, over 100 authors of children's books will be gathering at local bookstores to sign books and talk with young fans.

The Alphabet Garden is privileged to have seven authors coming that day:
Tony Abbott (Secrets of Droon)
Leslie Bulion (The Trouble With Rules)
Kate Duke (Archeologists Dig for Clues)
Kathleen Kudlinski (Boy, Were We Wrong About the Solar System!)
Donna Marie Merritt (Too-Tall Tina)
Pegi Deitz Shea (Patience Wright: America's First Sculptor & Revolutionary Spy)
And Cheshire's very own A.C.E. Bauer (No Castles Here)!

Check out Kids Heart Authors for more information--and if you're reading this, but don't live near us, check out the listing of participating indies to find a store near you!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

So apparently there's a new Star Wars movie coming out? An animated one? I guess I'm a little out of the loop, because I didn't know about it until I checked all these books in. We have a Clone Wars Galactic Photobook, Clone Wars chapter books for two different levels, two early-reader books (levels 1 and 2), an activity book, a sticker book, a picture book, and The Clone Wars: The Visual Guide! Wow. My brothers would have gone crazy for these back in their Star Wars-obsessed phase.

Spring Events

We have a number of fun events coming up at The Alphabet Garden!

The first is our Teachers Only Night on May 21st from 6:00-8:00 PM. There will be refreshments; door prizes; and a 20% discount; as well as guest speaker Susannah Richards, assistant professor of reading/language arts at Eastern Connecticut State University; and author Bob Shea, author of the picture book Big Plans. Please call (203) 439-7766 to RSVP.

On Thursday, May 29th, at 4:00 PM, we are excited to welcome Billy Steers, author of the Tractor Mac books. Come meet the author and make a fun craft! Call to reserve a signed Tractor Mac book.



And on Thursday, June 12th, at 4:00 PM, we will be visited by Bill Thomson, illustrator of Karate Hour, Building with Dad, and most recently, Baseball Hour. These books would make great gifts for Father's Day, teachers, coaches, and kids!

Snoring Beauty

Snoring Beauty, by Bruce Hale, is a fun retelling of the story of Sleeping Beauty. Instead of pricking her finger on a spinning wheel, the princess is run over by a pie cart and turned into a sleeping dragon--and must be awakened by a quince!

Violet the Pilot

Violet isn't like the other kids at her school. She wears greasy coveralls and plays with wrenches instead of dolls. Violet is a mechanical genius who likes to build flying machines in her spare time out of parts she scavenges from the junkyard next door. Her parents don't mind, as long as she wears a sweater and doesn't crash into the house, but the rest of the town just thinks she's weird until one day she and her flying machine are in exactly the right place at the right time.

Violet the Pilot is brightly colored and cheerful; a fun read for kids 5 and up!