In the span of a week, we hosted two events for kids that came off exceedingly well. The first occurred last Wednesday when artist Alex Beard passed through the Delta. He divides his time between New York, where he grew up, and New Orleans, for which he has developed a deep love and devotion over the last twenty years. Unlike many of the gloomy reports you'll hear out of the Big Easy, Alex is encouraged by what he's seeing in the city after Katrina. In many ways, he says, it's better now, having survived its apocalyptic ordeal, scarred but smarter. It has brought the community together in a way it never was before.
It wouldn't be hard on first impression to pigeon hole the artist as a suave, handsome East Coast elite, but he has a genuine earthiness that has no doubt fed his artwork and made him want to come to the Mississippi Delta to meet school kids and share word of his new illustrated children's book. In addition to New Orleans, there's no doubt that his experiences in Africa have tempered his perspective on the world. His African travels inspired The Jungle Grapevine, a clever book about a string of misheard statements and wild rumors about the beloved watering hole that run rampant through herds of animals on the savanna. Alex demonstrated, to the kids' delight, how this works when he lined up several of their teachers, whispered a message into one ear, and let the statement become misconstrued as it made its way from one whispering teacher to the next.
He also shared great stories from Africa, like the time he was camping in the bush and woke to find a lion sniffing his sleeping bag, and the time he got bit by a monkey. (He has the scars to prove it.) He demonstrated how anyone can create an illustration out of the simplest beginnings, whether a traced hand or a squiggly line. The kids really enjoyed the book-signing portion of the program, when Alex removed the dust jackets from their books and illustrated the backside with their favorite animals. "I wish he was my uncle!" one child was heard to exclaim.
The event was so well received we ran out of books, but we have more signed copies on the way. We were convinced that Alex's connection with the kids, along with his marketing savvy and his dashing gentleman artist/adventurer persona will take him far. We expect he'll be a major figure in children's publishing within the next few years and look forward to his return. ("Contrary to popular stereotypes in New York," he said of the Mississippi Delta, "this is not a backwards and illiterate place, but one of the most civilized cultures in the whole country.")
Speaking of hot trends in children's publishing, we couldn't resist celebrating on Monday the release of the latest Jeff Kinney book in his hugely successful Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The books are presented as a 7th grader's sarcastic daily journal, printed on faux lined notebook paper with hand-written script and hilarious illustrations. (Here's a sample from the website where the series began.) The series follows the misadventures of grade-school life. Pre-teen kids, especially young boys, are fanatical about the series, and we've always enjoyed watching their excitement over the newest installment.
Their rampant excitement was on full display Monday, the release date of the fourth book, Dog Days. We hosted an after-school book release party and were pleased to see 40 kids show up. Most of the kids were actually out of school for fall break and had been cooped up all vacation due to incessant rains, so they were happy to come out, run around the mezzanine, drink punch and eat cookies decorated like the wimpy kid's head. There were Wimpy Kid tattoos, prizes and games, like a juvenile version of Last Man Standing. ("If you've never picked your nose and got away with it, sit down." No sitters.)
All in all it was an encouraging week. The lure of video games, YouTube and iPods haven't totally wrecked the local kids' love of books. And thankfully, books are one things their wise parents don't mind buying them.
