Oh frabjous day! Literary delight is on its way to Bookmans Phoenix this weekend. Local poets, Sarah Anderson and Alisha Allston will be joining us at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 18 to host "Jabberwockies: Young Poets of Phoenix." Back by popular demand, this workshop in verse is tailored for kids ages 5-12. Children will unleash their inner poet, have fun with great works and even pen their own original poem.

Ever wonder what a child's story coming to life would look like? Well wonder no further because the lovers of children's books and imagination from Stories That Soar do just that. All kids have a chance to apply to have their stories turned from the second to third dimension using props and professional performers on stage before their very own eyes. This event celebrates the best of 2012-2013 at the either the 4 or 6:30 p.m. showings on Sunday, May 19 at the Temple of Music and Art. Inspiration is powerful and especially for this program, which started out as an event at a single school and turned into a eight-plus year program traveling to over 14 schools and performing over 350 original stories last year alone. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12 and can be purchased online or at the door.

We’ll be making and decorating our own shakers, tissue-box guitars, and learning about/playing various instruments we have for sale in the store! Summer Kids' Events are every Wednesday this summer from 10:00am-11:00am in our Kids' Room. Space is limited, and supplies are free while they last. Parental supervision is requested. Crafts are for children ages 6 and older, age-appropriate activities will be provided for children 5 and younger.

What would you get if you added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood? Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the book of choice this month as we draw nearer to the end of this incredible, beloved childrens' book series. We're learning about the responsibilities and maturity of strong friendships, trust and truth, and destroying several Horcruxes along the way, with another chance to win a wizardy Bookmans swag pack!

Artists were in the spotlight at Bookmans Speedway. Tucson's best local artists came by to shocase their work at an event co-hosted by Adam Yeater. Yeater's artwork is a regular fixture in our store and his One Day comics are often found by our community board as are his personally created, independently printed free comics. They go fast! Yeater recently expanded into figurine production. The brightly-colored fantasy and comic beings are sure to be as popular as his comic books. Yeater's imaginative collective includes artists such as Arlene Mandros, Zombilly Rae and Sugar Skull Design among others. Take a look at the art we have on display at Bookmans Speedway.

Adam Yeater's new sculptures.

Our previous Tumblr meetup at Bookmans Flagstaff had more RSVPs than attendees. They're not a shy group. It's just difficult to pull them away from the media they enjoy on a daily basis. Our most recent get-together was more fruitful. There was a better idea of which tags to use on posts to garner attention and a larger number of interested parties spreading the news by word-of-mouth as well. Tumblr is everywhere at NAU and throughout Flagstaff.