Q & A | Chapter 16

No Child Left Behind

Jeff Kinney talks with Chapter 16 about his megahit series of children’s books that began with Diary of a Wimpy Kid

By Fernanda Moore | November 7, 2017

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are an astonishing phenomenon. What started as a serial comic posted online has become a wildly popular series of books for children. In this repost from 2010, the Wimpy Kid’s creator, Jeff Kinney, answered questions from Chapter 16. Kinney will read from The Getaway, the newest installment of the series, at Oak Hill School in Nashville on November 13 beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Haunted Handbook

Rebecca Green’s debut picture book introduces some friendly ghosts

By Julie Danielson | October 31, 2017

Look no further for new Halloween reading with children: Nashville illustrator Rebecca Green delights young readers with her debut picture book, How to Make Friends with a Ghost.

Wordsworth’s Heir

Billy Collins, former poet laureate, talks with Chapter 16 about why we’re all born for poetry—and how school kills it for kids

By Margaret Renkl | October 23, 2017

Billy Collins is a frequent guest on National Public Radio shows like A Prairie Home Companion and Fresh Air, and his readings pack even halls that seat two thousand people or more. Collins will read from his new collection, The Rain in Portugal, at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music on October 26 at 6:15 p.m.

Telling Stories

Hampton Sides talks about Memphis, civil rights, and why some people think he’s a CIA agent

By Clay Risen | October 23, 2017

Hampton Sides will appear in conversation with novelist John Grisham in the University Theater at Christan Brothers University in Memphis on October 26 at 7 p.m. Ticket price includes a copy of Grisham’s new novel, The Rooster Bar.

On the Beach, On the Road, On Top of the Bestseller List

John Grisham is heading to Memphis

By Stephen Usery | October 23, 2017

John Grisham will discuss his new novel, The Rooster Bar in an onstage conversation with nonfiction author Hampton Sides at Christian Brothers University in Memphis on October 26 at 7 p.m.

Teaching Black Power

Russell Rickford recovers a “lost 1970s” through the history of independent black schools

By Aram Goudsouzian | October 17, 2017

Russell Rickford’s history of “Pan-African Nationalist” schools, We Are an African People, is the winner of the 2016 National Book award, given by the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis. Rickford will speak at the University of Memphis on October 19.

I Gotta Sing!

By Alice Faye Duncan
WaterBrook
40 pages
$14.99

“A whole barnyard makes noise ‘in the Spirit of joy’ throughout this raucous picture book, a sweetly heartwarming sing-along by Duncan. Kellam conveys comfort and happiness as the loved ones reflect sunny enthusiasm in this gladdening rendition of the Black American religious folk song ‘I’m Goin’a Sing When the Spirit Says Sing.’”

~Publishers Weekly