Author Events and Media, Penguin Group (USA) Weekly Update - 10/12

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The Very Hungry Caterpillar Author Eric Carle Appears on “The Today Show” to Celebrate Jumpstart’s Fourth Annual Read for the Record Campaign

Acclaimed Penguin Young Readers author Eric Carle appeared on NBC’s “Today Show” yesterday in celebration of Jumpstart’s fourth annual Read for the Record campaign. Jumpstart was aiming to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to one million children in one day. They now estimate that they far surpassed that target, and expected that the book will have been read to close to 1.6 million children during the course of yesterday.

Celebrities joined Eric Carle on “The Today Show” plaza to lend their names to this important cause. Among them were actress Mary Louise Parker, actor Vince Vaughn, Disney actresses Madison Pettis and Jennifer Stone, and celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis who made Very Hungry Caterpillar-inspired cookies on the show.

Following “The Today Show,” Mr. Carle appeared at a press conference at the New York Public Library alongside actresses Mary Louise Parker and Stephanie March ("Law and Order SVU"), New York City’s Deputy Mayor, Jumpstart officials, and Bill Barke, CEO of Pearson's Higher Education Arts & Science Group. At the conference, it was announced that Mayor Bloomberg had officially declared October 8, 2009 Read for the Record Day.

Around the country, Read for the Record events were hosted by Jumpstart's regional offices in several major cities, including LA, Chicago, Washington, DC, Atlanta, and around the tri-state area in support of the cause. Some of which were attended by PGI authors, including Viking/Penguin's Laura Dave, pictured here in LA, and Avery's Pam Allyn, who attended in Harlem.

Last night, the Empire State Building was lit with the colors orange and white in honor of Jumpstart and the work they do to bring books to children from low-income families.

View our feature page for links to sites celebrating The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and download our widget, wallpapers, and screensaver. downloads.
 

Penguin Young Readers Group Celebrates the Publication of Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by Donating Permanent Winnie-the-Pooh Mural to The New York Public Library

On Monday, October 5th, in celebration of the publication of Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus, with illustrations by Mark Burgess, Penguin Young Readers Group unveiled a permanent mural at the New York Public Library featuring Ernest Shepard art for the original Winnie-the-Pooh stuffed animals that inspired the books (pictured).

Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, Kanga, and Tigger have lived at The New York Public Library since 1987 and currently reside in the Children’s Center at 42nd Street. Jim Dale, reader of the audio edition of Return to the Hundred Acre Wood, gave the first public reading from the book to a group of school children. Penguin Young Readers also presented the library with a “one of a kind” soft sculpture of Lottie the Otter, the new character introduced in Return to the Hundred Acre Wood (also pictured here). Lottie will remain on display, along with one of 250 limited first edition copies of The House at Pooh Corner signed by A.A. Milne and Ernest H. Shepard, through the end of the year. A signed first edition of Return to the Hundred Acre Wood has also been donated to the New York Public Library.

National media excitement about the new book and character includes “The Today Show,” New York Times, NPR’s “Morning Edition,” People, USA Today, “Saturday Night Live’s” Weekend Update, WSJ.com, and New York Times Arts Beat Blog. Regional media includes: New York magazine, the Washington Post, Newsday, Chicago Sun Times, and the Miami Herald, among others. Media generated from the New York Public Library event includes: ABC Radio, WNBC, PW Daily, School Library Journal, Time Out New York Kids.com, and more.

Watch this video featuring award-winning narrator Jim Dale as he reads the Exposition to Return to the Hundred Acre Wood, then read the full first chapter here.
 

Nick Hornby’s Juliet, Naked Debuts at #11 on the New York Times Hardcover Fiction List as He Continues a Whirlwind National Media Tour

It's no wonder Nick Hornby has been greeted with sell out crowds and standing room only events as he's made his way to the West Coast this week - his new novel Juliet, Naked (Riverhead) has debuted at #11 on the New York Times hardcover fiction list.

In Los Angeles this week, he spoke to a sold out audience at the Skirball Center, and to fans at Barnes & Noble in El Cerrito. Next, he was off to San Francisco for an event with City Arts & Lectures and luncheon and booksigning for the Northern California Independent Bookseller Association (NCIBA). His last stop on this whirlwind tour is Seattle, with an event at the Seattle Public Library.

This week’s major media hits include appearances on PBS’s "Tavis Smiley Show” (which airs this Friday) and “Newshour,” NPR’s "Weekend Edition,” XM/Sirius’ “The Bob Edwards Show,” PRI’s “The Sound of Young America” and the just announced Borders sponsored web show “Mitch Album LIVE,” as well as features with Reuters, Newsweek, the New York Post, Rolling Stone, DCist, Seattlest, Popmatters, and Details.com. Reviews have run in major publications including the Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News, Seattle Times, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

View our Special Interest: Music page to read and listen to excerpts from Nick Hornby's An Education and Juliet, Naked. A video interview with Nick Hornby is also featured, as well as the movie trailer for An Education, in theaters this Friday.