BRISINGR IS IN THE BUILDING!

That's right, boxes filled with Paolini's new blockbuster are being unpacked and processed in our back room as we speak. I have to admit that the covers are striking in black and gold. How many pages? 748 plus several pages of pronunciation and language guides along with some very conversational acknowledgments at the end that you won't want to miss. ON SALE DATE: SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 20 NO EARLY SALES - SO DON'T ASK! Will we be open at midnight? Sorry, not this time. However, I am going to get up at the crack of dawn on Saturday (my day off!) to make good coffee and pick up fresh doughnuts, which you can eat for FREE during our open-house-style Brisingr Breakfast from 8:00 to 10:00 AM. Okay, I lied. My sweet husband, Mark, will be making the coffee, since I don't have a clue how to make good, bad or ugly coffee. So, this will be your lucky day, because I have heard that his coffee is fabulously delicious. Will there be discounts? Yes. Here's the scoop: we'll be selling Brisingr at 15% off, and we will be giving each and everyone of you who purchases a copy a chance to answer a Trivia Question about Eragon or Eldest. If you know the answer, you will win a coupon for a FREE book from our Special Edition Shelf filled with titles you'll recognize like Ranger's Apprentice, Alex Rider, and Artemis Fowl. We will continue the Trivia Contest until the end of September. See you Saturday.

Teacher Appreciation Days

As teachers begin preparing their classrooms for new students and a new school year, Dragonwings Bookstore will be hosting Teacher Appreciation Days on Wednesday and Thursday August 20-21.

Throughout the event teachers can browse displays featuring various authors along with free curriculum materials, reproducibles, and posters relating to their books. The materials will range from Kindergarten through Middle School for authors including Rosemary Wells, Shel Silverstein, Richard Peck, Jack Prelutsky, Lauren Myracle, James Patterson, Gail Carson Levine, Keiko Kasza, and Erin Hunter, along with activities for favorite characters and series such as Mike Mulligan, Arthur, the Chronicles of Narnia, Septimus Heap, Alex Rider, and Amelia Bedelia.

Dragonwings owner, Ellen Davis, will be available to answer questions and offer book recommendations for different curriculum areas. Davis will also have information about new fall titles and new releases in paperback for all grade levels.

Teachers and librarians from all school districts are welcome and will receive storewide discounts during Teacher Appreciation Days. Door prizes include a Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow T-shirt, an inflatable Walter the Farting Dog, a Captain Underpants tote bag, and many more equally "fabulous" prizes. Frequent Buyers Cards will be available, which teachers can use to earn both discounts and free books.

Purchase orders will be accepted from area school districts including Waupaca, Wild Rose, Weyauwega-Fremont, Iola-Scandinavia, and Stevens Point. Purchase Orders receive 20% off, and classroom sets of 50 or more books receive 22% off (ten copy minimum).

Dragonwings Bookstore also offers reading award coupons, which teachers and librarians from area schools use as incentives for programs such as Read-Up. In these programs students earn points by reading books, and receive prizes when they reach certain point levels. The award coupons are for a free book from Dragonwings. Teachers and librarians may request these coupons anytime during the year.

Art Activities at Dragonwings

Dragonwings Bookstore will be offering free art activities for kids all day Saturday August 16 during the Arts on the Square event. Families are invited to stop in and try some quick projects, which are self-directed and not too messy. Work tables will be set up with supplies and directions for Hand Art, Crayon Rubbings, and Thumbprint Art. All of the projects are from activity books by Klutz Press for ages 4 and up. The finished products do not require any drying time, and can be taken home immediately.

Entertainment stages and workshop tents will be set up around the library lawn and side streets, along with a large Farmers Market and dozens of artist's booths. The event starts Friday evening with a street dance and will be open from 10-5 on Saturday Aug. 16.

I Spy Games

You are invited to play this week's I Spy Cats and Dogs game, which will be set up throughout Dragonwings Bookstore beginning on Saturday, June 28. The I Spy games are free, open-house-style events, which can be played anytime during Dragonwings open hours. Summer: 10 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday and 10 AM to 4 PM Saturday.

To begin the game players pick up game cards, which list the dioramas, displays, and other settings in the store where cats and dogs are hidden and waiting to be discovered by clever I Spy contestants. At each location a riddle is posted, which lists each item that the players are trying to spy in the scene. Each riddle also includes one letter for a secret word. Once the riddles are completed and the secret word is discovered, players turn in the game cards and receive a small prize.

For I Spy Cats and Dogs the Dragonwings staff will use life-sized puppets, photos, and toys of all sizes in dioramas and displays. This is the third in a series of I Spy summer games, which are becoming more elaborate and more popular each week. Nearly 50 people played the I Spy Strawberry Hunt game on Saturday during Strawberry Fest.






Brenden Dowling (left) and his cousins Erin and Collin Dowling were visiting their grandmother in Waupaca last weekend for Strawberry Fest. Dragonwings is one of their favorite stops when they come to town, and they were enthusiastic about playing the I Spy game. Here they are searching for a strawberry and other objects in our clear-topped I Spy Table.

I Spy Treasure Hunt at Dragonwings

I Spy Treasure Hunt
Saturday May 24
Free Event - Open all day

On Saturday May 24 Dragonwings Bookstore will host an I Spy Treasure Hunt. Look for I Spy games throughout the store, some of the games will be easy to find, like the big I Spy posters, others will be more hidden. Part of the fun will be finding each game.

The I Spy games are inspired by the series of books by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick, who create detailed dioramas and clever poems that list items to search and find. The I Spy books are family favorites, and have become so popular that there are now spin-off series such as Can You See What I See? by Walter Wick, I Spy easy readers, and rebus-style I Spy board books.

My personal favorite is Made You Look, the Klutz compendium of puzzlers. It has every kind of search-and-find game that I’ve ever seen including a haunted house of glowing ghosts, a circular scramble that you look at through a mirrored tube, a completely dark page that you illuminate with a punch-out flashlight, and many more that I’ve never seen before. It’s an incredible collection.

The I Spy dioramas at Dragonwings Bookstore will be life-sized and integrated into the store’s displays. Here's a hint: you might want to take a second look at our front window and at our woodland fairy garden.

The I Spy Treasure Hunt is a free event and will be available to play all day. Prizes of discount coupons will be awarded for completing the games and finding “gold” coins hidden in the store. We will be giving out prizes only on Saturday, but we will leave many of the games set up for the next couple of weeks. So, if your grandchildren or cousins will be visiting, you can bring them in to play.