Meet Junie B. Jones at Auntie’s Friday

Sun., June 22, 2008

By Emily Moore emilym@spokesman.com

Hoopfest is nearly upon us again, bringing with it inspired team T-shirts, trash talking, group bonding and good-natured competition.

Oh yeah, and the mockery of the athletically challenged.

If you are among those not preparing to rub sweaty shoulders next weekend, a few literary-related options present themselves.

For youngsters eschewing the thrills of three-on-three basketball, a visit to Junie B. Jones’ Stupid Smelly Bus Tour might be in order.

Show up at Auntie’s Bookstore, 402 W. Main Ave., on Friday at 2 p.m. to meet children’s book character Junie B. Jones in person and enjoy a theatrical performance, giveaways and book stamping.

The event is sponsored by Random House Children’s Books.

Or you could attend the Jenks Music, Animals A to Z musical performance on Thursday at 6 p.m. in Moscow’s East City Park, sponsored by the In the Park Summer Reading Series.

For those who have more time (and money) on their hands than most and are interested in bookmaking, the Old Ways of Making Books from Raw Materials covers tool making and sharpening, lessons on fibers hempen and flaxen, traditional hand papermaking and loft-drying, gelatin sizing and burnishing, and making a book with wooden boards and clasps.

This 16-day workshop (one day each for arrival/departure, 12-day workshop, and two-day break) is held near Santa, Idaho, from Thursday through July 11 and costs $1,200 (room and board are included).

For more information, dates and times, or to register, contact Jim Croft and Melody Eckroth at oldway@imbris.com, call (208) 245-3043 or visit www.geocities.com/oldways_id.

Writers talking, to kids

The local chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is joining with the Spokane Public Library to present a series of talks by local authors who write for young readers.

Kenn Nesbitt and Mike Harmon will be featured in the first “Writers Talking” program, Saturday at 11 a.m. at the South Hill Library, 3324 S. Perry St.

Future programs, all at the same time and place, include:

•July 12 – Terry Trueman and Larry Telles.

•July 19 – Kelly Milner Halls and Verla Kay.

•July 26 – Chris Crutcher and Beth Cooley.

•Aug. 2 – Mary Cronk Farrell and Claire Rudolf Murphy.

The authors will read from their work and take questions from the audience.

For more information, see www.spokanelibrary.org.

Book talk

•Tinman Book Club (“The Known World” by Edward P. Jones), 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Tinman Gallery, 811 W. Garland Ave. (509) 325-1500

•OSG Readers Club (“Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books” by Azar Nafisi), 1 p.m. Wednesday, On Sacred Grounds, 12212 E. Palouse Highway, Valleyford. (509) 747-6294 or www.onsacredgrounds.com

The reader board

•David C. Atchison (“The Adventures of Black Bart #1: Dry Bones”), signing, Friday, 1-3 p.m., Auntie’s Bookstore. (509) 838-0206

•Irv Broughton (“The Long Net: Poems About the Great Game of Basketball”), signing, Saturday, 1-3:30 p.m., Auntie’s Bookstore.

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