It was a cold, dark and stormy night in Chi-town and the city looked like a gritty crime novel or film noir..... In other words, perfect weather to curl up with a great book! We did our best to make that possible.
Here at ChiIL Mama we dig reading and are excited to share our book love through reviews, blog book giveaways, literacy volunteering, and cool movements like World Book Night.
Du-Jay and ChiIL Mama had a great time passing out 20 free copies of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelhofor World Book Night 2013 at Avondale Park & CircEsteem. Thanks to Book Cellar for being our pick up point and arranging for free shirts for the volunteers.
Worlds collide alert: The fabulous folk over at Lookingglass Theatre gave a free block of Still Alice tickets to Book Cellar for WBN13 volunteers since Still Alice was one of this years' excellent title selections. We love it when our friends play well with others. ChiIL Live Shows caught opening night ofStill Alice and highly recommend it!
When we gave out the free WBN books, we were solo at Avondale Park but in good company at CircEsteem. Other World Book night volunteers were there with another rockin' recommended title to give out.
ChiIL Mama caught up with Jeff Kinney--author and illustrator of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series & father of two sons, 7 & 10. Jeff swung through Chicago on 11/16/12 on his impressive 50 book stores in a week tour! Check out our original HD video interview above. We began the interview on the big bus--decked out in Diary of a Wimpy Kid--The Third Wheel characters--different on each side. Jeff was busy getting a leg up on his book signing duties. Then we caught up with a group of elementary kids from St. Matthias and a lucky group of ticketed families, for an intimate book signing at The Book Cellar in Lincoln Square, Chicago. I was so impressed with the author and his team after a couple kids got in line to meet him without any books or money to buy one. They were going to have him sign a scrap of paper, but he surprised them with copies of his new books instead! Good people indeed. We are stoked to see that someone so creative, amusing and positive is getting the recognition he deserves. It was cool to read that Jeff Kinney was named one of Time magazine's 100 "Most Influential People" in the world in 2009. Although, I personally got more excited by this clip from his website:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney didn’t grow up wanting to be a children’s author. His dream was to become a newspaper cartoonist, but he wasn’t able to get his comic strips syndicated.
In 1998 Jeff came up with the idea for Diary of a Wimpy Kid, a story about a middle-school weakling named Greg Heffley. Jeff worked on his book for almost eight years before showing it to a publisher in New York.
Success is all the more sweet when it follows failure! I used to keep a newspaper clipping above my own writing desk about how one of my idols and all time favs, Dr. Seuss, got twenty seven rejection letters for his first book and didn't give up. It went something like this from the rockin' site One Hundred Famous Rejections. After that, Dr. Seuss went on to win two Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, the Pulitzer Prize, and a Peabody Award. He sold over two million books. It was truly a treat to meet Jeff Kinney, the beloved, best selling author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and Poptropica Website. Thanks for the signed book, Jeff! My son devoured it in 1 sitting as soon as he got home from school, laughing out loud as he read. We're working on getting a give away copy or two for our readers as well, so check back with ChiIL Mama like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often and we'll let you know what's up. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series, movies and merch make ChiIL Mama's Great Gifts List for 2012. They celebrate the creative, nerdy, artistic kids. And the gift of instilling a love of reading in children is one of the best gifts EVER. We're also huge fans of the funny...so gifts that make you laugh top our list every year. Check out our past coverage about The Wimpy Kid--Third Wheel mega tour by clicking right here.
Check out our original still photos below.
Books in the core series by Jeff Kinney include Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2007), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2008), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw (2009), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2009), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth (2010), and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever (2011). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel will release on November 13, 2012. Jeff Kinney has also written and illustrated The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book and The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary. Wimp-ebooks editions of the series for tablets and e-readers become available on October 30, 2012. The series is a fixture on the USA Today bestseller list and the Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. It has also remained consistently in the top spots on the New York Times lists since publication of the first book in the series in 2007.
More than 75 million Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are in print in 41 languages in more than 44 countries around the world. Published by Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS, Kinney's work has been widely praised for its ability to turn reluctant readers on to books.
Jeff Kinney was named one of Time magazine's most influential people in the world. There are three major motions pictures based on the books, which grossed more than $200 million worldwide in box office sales. The book series won Favorite Book at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in 2010, 2011, and 2012, and Jeff Kinney won a Children's Choice Book Award in 2012. Books in the series have won numerous awards voted on by students and teachers in schools around the globe. Kids can also share in an interactive experience with Greg Heffley on Poptropica.com, a site visited by millions of kids each month.
November 13th marked the release of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel in print and digitally through the revolutionary digital comics platform comiXology. In addition, we're doubly excited that this latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book is included on a new Diary of a Wimpy Kid iOS app. If you'd like to check out a free preview of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel as well as free previews of the previous six books please follow the link to download our Diary of a Wimpy Kid iOS app. This will give you the first 11 pages of each book to check out on iPad or iPhone, then you can decide if you want to purchase the books.
Remaining Tour Cities/Major Event Sites:
Thursday, November 15, 2012
6:00 p.m.
Books & Co Oconomowoc
(262) 567-0106
Held at Oconomowoc High School Field House
641 East 4th Street
Oconomowoc, WI 53066
Friday, November 16, 2012
6:00 p.m.
Anderson’s Bookshop Naperville
(630) 355-2665
Held at Still Middle School
787 Meadowridge Drive
Aurora, IL 60504
Saturday, November 17, 2012
6:00 p.m.
Joseph Beth Booksellers
(513) 396-8960
2692 Madison Road
Cincinnati, OH 45208
Sunday, November 18, 2012
7:00 p.m.
Nicola’s Ann Arbor
(734) 662-0600
2513 Jackson Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
Monday, November 19, 2012
3:30 p.m.
Pooh Corner
(616) 942-9887
1886 Breton Road Southeast
Grand Rapids, MI 49506
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
7:30 p.m.
Books of Wonder
(212) 989-3270
18 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
The book with the largest first printing of 2012—over 6 million copies— has the most extensive tour of the year. Bestselling author Jeff Kinney will visit seven bookstores a day for seven days in Midwestern markets for the release of his seventh book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel. Beginning on the release day, November 13, and concluding on November 19, Kinney will sign books for 49 booksellers in a mix of large party events and smaller meet-and-greets in the greater market areas of Kansas City, Mo., Minneapolis ,Milwaukee, Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, and Grand Rapids, Mich.The tour leads up to the third appearance of the Greg Heffley giant helium balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York on November 22.
"Over the past five years, the support for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series from booksellers large and small has been tremendous," says author Jeff Kinney. "It's my goal to visit as many stores as possible in order to express my thanks, and to meet as many fans as I can along the way."
Two types of events were offered to booksellers, depending upon the time and territory. The largest events, for up to 1,200 people, comes with a custom "Wimpy Kid Rolling Party" experience, which includes a DJ and dance floor, numerous photo opportunities with characters, food, and more. These will take place in partnership with seven stores: Rainy Day Books in Kansas City; Barnes & Noble at the Mall of America, Bloomington, Minn.; Books & Co,Oconomowoc, Wis; Anderson's Bookshop, Naperville, Ill; Joseph Beth, Cincinnati; and Nicola's Books, Ann Arbor, Mich. A more intimate meet-and-greet event was confirmed with dozens of independent stores. Many of these are already sold out.
"Bringing Jeff Kinney to as many booksellers as we possibly can in one day is the ultimate goal," says Mary Wowk, Vice President of Sales. "The enormous traffic an event with Jeff Kinney drives will help kick off a terrific holiday season for retailers."
Books in the core series by Jeff Kinney include Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2007), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2008), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw (2009), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2009), Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth (2010), and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever (2011). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel will release on November 13, 2012. Jeff Kinney has also written and illustrated The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book and The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary. Wimp-ebooks editions of the series for tablets and e-readers become available on October 30, 2012. The series is a fixture on the USA Today bestseller list and the Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weeklybestseller lists. It has also remained consistently in the top spots on the New York Times lists since publication of the first book in the series in 2007.
More than 75 million Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are in print in 41 languages in more than 44 countries around the world. Published by Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS, Kinney's work has been widely praised for its ability to turn reluctant readers on to books.Jeff Kinney was named one of Time magazine's most influential people in the world. There are three major motions pictures based on the books, which grossed more than $200 million worldwide in box office sales. The book series won Favorite Book at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in 2010, 2011, and 2012, and Jeff Kinney won a Children's Choice Book Award in 2012. Books in the series have won numerous awards voted on by students and teachers in schools around the globe. Kids can also share in an interactive experience with Greg Heffley on Poptropica.com, a site visited by millions of kids each month.
Founded by Harry N. Abrams in 1949,ABRAMS was the first company in the United States to specialize in the creation and distribution of art and illustrated books. Now a subsidiary of La Martinière Groupe, the company publishes visually stunning illustrated books in the areas of art, photography, cooking, interior and garden design, craft, architecture, entertainment, fashion, sports, and pop culture, as well as children's books and general interest titles. The company's imprints include Abrams, Abrams ComicArts, Abrams Image, Abrams Books for Young Readers, Amulet Books, Abrams Appleseed, Stewart, Tabori & Chang, and STC Craft/Melanie Falick Books. Abrams also distributes books for The Vendome Press, Victoria & Albert Museum, Tate, Royal Academy of Arts, Booth-Clibborn Editions, Five Continents, and others.
PR Newswire