San Martin author Karen Beaumont will be at Barnes and Noble on
June 19 at 2 p.m. for a book reading and signing.
San Martin author Karen Beaumont will be at Barnes and Noble on June 19 at 2 p.m. for a book reading and signing. The store opened at the Gilroy Crossing off Tenth Street east of U.S. 101.
Her tenth children’s title “I Like Myself,” (Harcourt, 32 pp. $16) is about self-esteem and is directed at 4 to 8 year olds. It features a cheerful young girl celebrating her uniqueness. Written in simple rhyming couplets, Beaumont’s text is complemented by David Catrow’s whimsical and wacky illustrations.
Her book signing is one of many public events the new Barnes and Noble hopes to host.
For starters, there will be bedtime story hours on the first and third Thursdays of every month, at 7 p.m. There will be a book trivia night with prizes in July, bilingual story hour every month, writer workshops, poetry readings and, keeping with the Gilroy spirit, a tie-in with July’s Garlic festival with Garlic cookbook authors is in the works. Book signings will focus on local authors.
Barnes and Noble will also organize book clubs that meet within the store. Clubs discussing genres ranging from history books to poetry will be arranged. A contemporary fiction book club will meet on June 25 at 7:30 p.m.
It’s all part of the bookstore’s effort to “support arts education and literacy in the community,” according to Community Relations Manager Mary Ellison.
“Book stores can be can be intimidating places,” Ellison noted. “We hope to break that barrier and get people in here that otherwise wouldn’t have come.”
Ellison also has plans to bring the book store outside.
Popular children’s book characters like Clifford and Curious George will visit elementary schools in costume. In the fall, Barnes and Noble will host open mic nights with Gilroy High and other local high schools.
For more information about Barnes and Noble events, contact the store at (408)846-5777 or Community Relations Manager Mary Ellison at (408) 846-5854.
