Friday:

First, I just have to get this out of my system:

I met fabulous YA author (and internet sensation!) John Green! Go Nerdfighters!
(That was my entire allotment of exclamation points for the weekend. I promise.)

Now, to something that doesn’t sound quite so fangirl-ish. I work with the children’s section in the store, so I’ve spent much time in the last day and a half meeting others in the children’s side of publishing and bookselling.  A panel discussion on getting the most from your children’s area sparked some very interesting ideas for adjusting our space. Perhaps there shall be some small changes in the future.
Today I’ve been walking the floor and trying to see as many publisher booths as I can, just to get a feel for what’s new and what the publishers are excited about for both the summer and fall. Here are some stand-outs from a very incomplete circuit of the floor (I’ll do a much more precise viewing tomorrow, so expect a few more titles then).
Candlewick has a pop-up of I Will Never NOT EVER Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child coming up (it’s a Charlie and Lola backlist title) that is really wonderful. 
Adam Rex ( Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich) has a new picture book called Pssst! due from Harcourt in September. It is, thus far, my favorite picture book from any fall list. Keep an eye out.
I picked up an ARC of Nightmare Academy by Dean Lorey from HarperCollins (due in August). It’s about a boy whose nightmares are so powerful they open portals to another world.  It sounds creepy and exciting.  I have high hopes for the story. 
The book I’ll probably start reading tonight is Shannon Hale’s Book of a Thousand Days from Bloomsbury (due in October). I’ve read all of the Bayern books (this one isn’t a Bayern book) and I think she keeps getting better.  She told me this morning that this is her favorite of her books, so I’m eager to jump right in.
I’m off to see more of the floor and see if I can find some gems from the smaller houses that I don’t see as much from during the buying seasons.  When I find them, I’ll let you know.
Tonight I’m off to a somewhat swanky dinner for children’s authors/illustrators/booksellers. I’m a little nervous and very excited to be going.  More on that tomorrow.