Ideas for Non-Author Events From Children’s Booksellers at Wi11

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At the Winter Institute session “ABC Presents: Non-Author Events for Picture Books, Middle Grade, and YA,” booksellers heard about successful, creative events for children of different age groups that don’t feature a visiting author.

Beth Golay, owner of the blog and newsletter Books & Whatnot, moderated the panel, which featured booksellers Lisa Nehs of Books & Company in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin; Danielle Borsch of Vroman’s Bookstore, which has two locations in Pasadena, California; and Jennifer Green of Green Bean Books, a new and used children’s bookstore in Portland, Oregon.

The panelists kicked off the conversation by sharing a variety of ideas for putting new twists on traditional in-store events for children.

During a special bring-your-own-blanket story time event, the entirety of Green Bean Books, a 500-square-foot cottage, transforms into a blanket fort lit with string lights where children in pajamas read themed books with flashlights and participate in singalongs and crafts. “It’s a very cozy affair,” said Green. If weather permits, the store has also held the event outside, on its covered deck.

For older readers, Vroman’s has found success with its “Scary Stories” night. “You don’t age out of story time, but you do get too old for all the little kids at story time,” said Borsch, so this event was created to appeal to middle-grade readers, who read spooky stories together, do a writing exercise, and share their work. “They really like it; we have so many young writers.”

Last year, Vroman’s tailored its Banned Books Week celebrations to encompass a range of ages. “Banned books can be for anybody,” said Borsch. To that end, events, which were planned for each night of the week, included bookmark-making for the youngest readers; open mic readings from favorite banned books for those a bit older; a mixer that “censored the alcohol” from the cocktails so all could participate; and a photo booth next to the Banned Books Week display throughout all the events.

Vroman’s has also added a twist to its regular summer reading program: Kids are asked to write reviews of the books they read to be featured in the store and also to attend an author event, book club, or story time. Of the 250 children that signed up, a full 90 completed the programming. “We felt like that was a big success,” said Borsch.

Costumed characters have been a hit at Books & Company, which frequently collaborates with area schools for events. Nehs coordinates costume rentals from Costume Specialists, which provides 11-day rentals of costumes for many popular characters from children’s books and series. During the rental period, area schools will borrow the costume for classroom visits and story times and will send kids home with a flier advertising additional events and photo opportunities with the character at Books & Company.

“It’s a great way to promote our event, get more people there, and develop relationships with the schools,” said Nehs, who also likes to plan appearances by costumed characters in conjunction with events such as National Picture Book Month, Read Across America, and Children’s Book Week.

For May the 4th, the worldwide celebration of Star Wars, which plays off the phrase “May the force be with you,” Books & Company held a Star Wars-themed party with a costumed Jedi, themed crafts, and read-alouds. The event brought out 20 to 30 children, many of whom came with their fathers, but Nehs noted that holding the event after work hours would have led to a better turnout.

The panelists agreed that timing is an important factor in how successful an event is. At Green Bean Books, the best-attended children’s events are those held in the late afternoon; for middle graders and teenagers, after 4:00 p.m. works better. Books & Company holds children’s events on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons; for teens, Sunday afternoons work best, as many in this age group are often busy on weeknights. Vroman’s has the most success with teen events on weekends, and the most well-attended events overall are on Sunday afternoons.

In addition to hosting classic non-author events, the panelists have also invented some unique events that have proven popular with their customers.

Green Bean Books’ annual Fairy Day is one of the store’s most popular events, said Green, who spends weeks leading up to the event collecting pine cones, bark, and moss for making fairy houses, which the children construct in the yard behind the store. The bookstore partners with a nearby gardening store for additional house-making supplies, and a local candy store sets up a station for children to make candy fairy wands. “They leave their fairy houses at our store when they’re finished so they can come back and visit them,” said Green, who puts notes in them to surprise the children when they return.

Superhero Day at Green Bean Books is “when kids get to be the superhero they always wanted to be,” said Green. Participants make superhero masks and capes out of old T-shirts, which they decorate with felt and glitter, and change into their costumes in a refrigerator box that serves as a phone booth. In addition to reading superhero stories and singing songs, kids get to hunt for “kryptonite” glow sticks in the yard.

Green Bean Books also recently partnered with an area martial arts school for a ninja-themed event to show off the many ninja picture books on the store’s shelves. “It was really, really fun and so successful,” said Green. A representative from the school held a demonstration and discussed the history of martial arts, and the kids tried out their own moves, made finger puppets, and had a candy sushi snack made from Rice Krispies, Fruit Roll-Ups, and Swedish Fish.

Other popular events at Green Bean include Read to a Dog, a monthly event where children read aloud to a therapy dog; Gnome for the Holidays, similar to Find Waldo Local, has customers hunting for gnomes in the windows of many town businesses; and Retail Happy Hour, which boosts foot traffic during slower Wednesday afternoons at businesses around town by offering flash sales and activities.

Over the summer, Vroman’s held a flash reading mob that invited young readers to the store at a specific time on a Sunday afternoon. When a chime rang over the loudspeaker, readers dropped to the floor and read whatever book was in their hands for five full minutes, sparking confusion and amusement among shoppers not in the know. “That’s it — that’s the whole activity,” said Borsch.

Both Vroman’s and Books & Company keep events free of charge, and Green Bean Books only charges when it needs to for events that require substantial supplies. “I try to make them free as often as I can, and I never charge more than $10,” said Green, who noted that events billed at $5 are sometimes less successful than those with a higher price point, both because people aren’t concerned about skipping it and losing the funds they turned in with their RSVP, and because it can be perceived as a cheap-feeling event.

The panelists agreed that advanced sign-ups are not always successful. Borsch said asking for advance sign-ups has worked poorly for Vroman’s as the store might get a lot of RSVPs from people who wouldn’t show up, and then those who didn’t RSVP would think they couldn’t attend. If Green Bean Books asks for a sign-up ahead of time, staff will also send an e-mail reminder to improve attendance.

To promote upcoming events, Vroman’s stuffs bags with fliers advertising anything new or exciting on the calendar, or gives invitations directly to children at the store. Nehs lets customers know at the checkout counter about upcoming events related to the books they’re buying, even if they’re advertised in the store. Green makes announcements during story times about upcoming events and also creates dioramas advertising events to display in the store.

The panelists agreed that the success of these non-author events is not measured by the books sold, but by the response from customers. Borsch said she knows an event was popular by how much she hears from kids in the subsequent days and weeks.

Green said it’s clear from the excitement in people’s eyes as they leave the store after an event. “We don’t measure it on book sales because our goal is to bring people into our store and give them a great experience,” she said. “Maybe they’re not going to buy anything that day, but they’re going to come back because they feel really good about your store.”

Booksellers can learn more about this topic at the 2016 ABC Children’s Institute in Orlando, Florida, from June 21 to 23, which will offer a session on hosting board game and other non-author events as part of its 10 breakout education sessions. Learn more about Children’s Institute in this week’s issue of BTW.