The Kids team is kicking off the new year with love and great books! Here, a look at our latest display, inspired by our upcoming event with Newbery Medal winning author Matt de la Peña and New York Times bestselling illustrator Loren Long on Saturday, January 20 @ 11:30 AM.
When we got our hands on an advanced copy of LOVE, Matt de la Peña and Loren Long’s new picture book, we were instantly inspired. De la Peña and Long are a match made in book heaven, and we’re all here for it. This book explores the meaning of love in a child’s life and the different ways it takes shape: through the sound of parents’ voices or the color of the sky, in stories shared through generations and the kindness of strangers.
LOVE doesn’t hold back, either. Loren Long’s beautiful illustrations turn a bit dark, showing parents fighting in front of their son and a family huddled around a TV watching the news. But turn the page and you will find comfort, you will always find warmth.
In a recent essay, Matt de la Peña talked about how he and Long fought to keep those pages in the book. He says: “I can’t think of a safer place to explore complex emotions for the first time than inside the pages of a book, while sitting in the lap of a loved one.” We wholeheartedly agree.
We wanted to do this book justice and celebrate it in a special way. It inspired us to pull a few of our favorite books about love, friendship, and kindness and gather them in one spot for our customers to see. We decided to build a love wall, where we could display paper hearts made by our customers and storytime regulars, which highlight the things they love the most: Mommy. Daddy. Cheese. Books. Siblings. Cats. Grandparents. Music. Spouses. Porcupines (that’s our favorite).
Our Kids Inventory Manager, Staci, really wanted the wall to be all-encompassing, which is how she came up with these rainbow butterflies. Let’s give them all the colors, let’s give them all the love. She even hooked up some twinkle lights to the banner, which catches your eye from every angle.
Staci shows off her work
This book also came along at the perfect time — the start of a new year, when all our resolutions revolve around good. Be good to yourself, be good to your body, be good to your friend, your neighbor, the earth. This display is ready to welcome Matt de la Peña and Loren Long to BookPeople on January 20. And it will remain up for Drag Queen Storytime on Febuary 13, where Honey St. Claire, Zane Zena and Rosalind Hussle will read books about confidence and self-love, and Valentine’s Day, when our own Ms. Staci will take the stage and sing her favorite love songs.
We hope you come see us and add your own bit of love to the wall!
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