Time for another party!

We strongly believe in having parties--period. We had a party to celebrate the announcement of our move, a party to move the store, and a party to celebrate our re-opening. This month, we have another reason to celebrate: the gorgeous mural that Tara Goreau designed and painted for us has been installed! Over the past few months, we've heard numerous creative suggestions for decorating our walls, and each time we were mentally rubbing our hands together with glee, thinking, "Oh, just you wait and see!" Well, the waiting is over, and the artwork is even more amazing than we could have imagined. A whimsical view of Hardwick overhung with a sky of sparkling constellations, full of so many imaginative details that it can take multiple viewings to notice them all; this painting is, itself, a celebration of books and reading and community.

Join us this Saturday, May 5th, from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. to to toast Tara and her work!

Review: Oh, No, George!

Every dog--and every kid--knows that the best intentions can be blown to the wind in the face of temptation, and this is what the hapless hero of Oh, No, George! discovers, time and again.

" 'Yes,' says George 'I'll be very good.' I hope I'll be good, George thinks," when Harry steps out for a little while. But, "Oh, no, George!," the lure of a cake, a playful cat, and a garden bed prove too strong to resist. How will the poor, disgraced pup redeem himself?

Using a vibrant palette of reds and purples, author/illustrator Chris Haughton paints George and his antics in an abstract style that allows the characters expressions to shine through, eliciting both laughter and sympathy for this well-meaning pooch.

Haughton wrote a fantastic, well-illustrated, blog post about the process of writing and illustrating this book, from conception to layout. Click here to read all about it!

The League of Vermont Writers 2012 Literary Competition

Calling all writers: The League of Vermont Writers (LVW) has announced its 2012 Literary Competition!

This year's theme is "My New England."

Categories are Fiction, Personal Essay, and Poetry.

Entry fee is $15 per submission.

Deadline for submission is May 15, 2012.

The Final Judges are David Budbill, Ron Powers, and Howard Frank Mosher.

Grand Prize is $1,000 (one prize awarded for each category) and an opportunity to read the winning selection at the LVW's Summer Conference, as well as publication in the Leagues 2012 Journal!

For more information about the contest and guidelines, visit the LVW website.