In this week’s Wednesday Cute: a rainbow pony made of paper, adorable kids reading in an adorable underground library, and the gift of literacy from a sweet dad to his high school grad. Happy Wednesday!

If you like books (duh!), you’ll love the Underground New York Public Library, a charming blog by a photographer who snaps pictures of people reading on the NYC subway. Below, two young bibliophiles devour Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney and Warriors by Erin Hunter while their parents look on. (Here’s another of my favorites. And look, someone reading Water for Elephants!)

• Speaking of parents and books, awesome dad Bryan Martin gave his daughter Brenna the sweetest high school graduation gift of all time: a copy of the fairly typical Oh, the Places You’ll Go!—inscribed with messages from every one of her teachers, principals, and sports coaches since kindergarten. Awww.

We love all things paper-crafty (exhibit A: Paper Made!), and these animals are no exception. Artist Diana Herrera has made a veritable menagerie of adorable paper craft creatures; you can see them on her Flickr site divided into birds and other animals. Here, a rainbow horse! (via The Mary Sue)

• These papertoy monster robots are kind of intimidating…and also CUTE.
• Ever wonder what life looks like from a dog’s point of view? Check out this video of pups at play, captured by a camera attached to a dog’s collar. They are clearly having so. Much. FUN.
• You’re more of a cat person, you say? Here’s a live stream of seven kittens in a box. You’re welcome.

In honor of the “My Dog Needs Glasses!” Pinterest contest, enjoy this collection of bespectacled dogs (and cats).

• AND AN ENORMOUS PINK KNITTED RABBIT. Ahem.

—Avery, who wants to open a papercraft zoo

You probably don’t need me to remind you, but it bears repeating: It’s hot out there, folks! So we here at Workman are keeping our minds off the triple-digits temperatures the best way we know how: by delving into some great books.

Below is our list of Friday reads, followed by some commentary from the avid readers themselves. What are you reading this weekend? Tell us in the comments. And if it’s not yet sweltering where you are—enjoy it while it lasts!

The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld, Herbert Asbury

The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester

Full Service, Scotty Bowers

Possession, A.S. Byatt

Death By Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries, Neil deGrasse Tyson

The Marriage Plot, Jeffrey Eugenides

Gould’s Book of Fish, Richard Flannigan

The Red House, Mark Haddon

All My Friends are Superheroes, Andrew Kaufman

Measuring the World, Daniel Kehlmann (trans. Carol Brown Janeway)

The City & The City, China Miéville

Skippy Dies, Paul Murray

Wonder, R.J. Palacio

Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, Anna Quindlen

The Invention of Curried Sausage, Uwe Timm (trans. Leila Vennewitz)

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I just finished The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester, a ridiculously impressive 50s sci fi novel. The ending is so strong that I wanted to start reading from page 1 as soon as I finished just so I could get to it again.
—Randall

I’m reading Full Service by Scotty Bowers and I can’t put it down.
—Millie

I’m reading Death By Black Hole by Neil deGrasse Tyson. It’s a collection of my favorite astrophysicist’s essays on space. So nerdy, so good!
—Katelyn

I’m reading Gould’s Book of Fish by Richard Flannigan which I was absolutely positive I would hate (inner monologues of old-timey misanthropes is usually not my thing). But I was wrong, I LOVE it. I’m too much in awe of Flannigan and his novel to say anything smart or interesting about it so I’ll just give you the plot: Crusty, sad-sack prisoner in a brutal 18th century Australian prison (excuse me, gaol) paints fish and pontificates. And shares a cell with a dead man he calls “The King.” Oh my goodness, just read it.
—Maisie

I just finished Measuring the World, by Daniel Kehlmann (translated by my buddy, Carol Janeway) and have begun The Invention of Curried Sausage, by Uwe Timm. Both were presents from house guests from Hamburg, who thought my reading of Austrian and German literature was not au courant, as my last was decades ago. They were right.
—Michael

I’m reading The City & The City by China Miéville and it’s one of those books that effortlessly throws you into another world. I’m also reading Possession by A.S. Byatt for my book club. It’s a contemporary classic that I’ve always wanted to read.
—Leslie

I’ve just ordered a copy of Wonder by R.J. Palacio on the recommendation of a friend, who posted on Facebook: “Please, I beg of you, read this book this summer! It’s the middle school read for Pressman. As an adult I loved it, and my now 4th grader said that it’s the best book he’s ever read.”
—Kendra

I just finished Anna Quindlen’s new books of essays Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake. She is so wise about life, work, and family that I am sorry not to be spending the upcoming weekend with her!
—Page

And I’m finally reading The Marriage Plot, the latest book from Jeffrey Eugenides. I avoided it for a while because I wasn’t sure I wanted to buy into the hype, but now that I’ve picked it up I’m totally immersed. It’s got so many elements of some of my favorite books: college life, travel, and really intimate exploration of well developed characters. Highly recommended.
—Avery

SHARE A PHOTO OF YOUR DOG IN GLASSES for a chance to win a signed copy of Arlo Needs Glasses by Barney Saltzberg. Whether or not your dog has fuzzy vision, we are positive he will look just as smart as Arlo in a pair of snazzy frames.

To enter the “My Dog Needs Glasses!” Pinterest contest, follow these steps:

1)      Follow Workman Publishing on Pinterest (so you can vote and enter the contest).

2)      Pin a photo of your dog wearing glasses on your personal Pinterest with the hashtag #ArloNeedsGlasses (to help us track entries). You can pin to win between June 25 and July 31!

3)      Vote on your favorite photos with repins and likes.

We’ll pin photos to the official “My Dog Needs Glasses!” board. The five photos with the most likes and re-pins by July 31st will win an autographed copy of Arlo Needs Glasses. Entrants must be U.S. residents.

Contest opens Monday, so start scheming now (copious treats recommended.)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuDPB_fBW3c[/youtube]

Arlo Needs Glasses (Workman Publishing, July 1, 2012, Hardback, $15.95, Ages 3+, ISBN 9780761168799) is an interactive children’s title by bestselling author Barney Saltzberg, chock full of pop-up features and try-on glasses. Arlo Needs Glasses introduces a shaggy, free-spirited dog who loves to play catch – until one day, he can’t see the ball anymore. He needs glasses! Arlo Needs Glasses playfully demystifies the eye doctor experience, allaying anxiety in kids who are about to enter the world of glasses – which among other things, help them become better readers.

Barney is the author-illustrator of Beautiful Oops!, the successful Kisses series, Peekaboo, Crazy Hair Day, and Good Egg, as well as many other beloved children’s books. Also a singer-songwriter, he has written tunes for the PBS show “Arthur” and continues to perform music for children. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two dogs. You can follow him on Twitter @BSaltzberg.

ATTN bloggers! If you love dogs, glasses, and/or the combo of dogs & glasses, please feel free to share this contest: http://www.workman.com/blog/?p=16100

OFFICIAL MY DOG NEEDS GLASSES CONTEST RULES
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID OUTSIDE THE FIFTY UNITED STATES AND WHERE PROHIBITED. ALL CONTEST ENTRIES ARE SUBJECT TO THE OFFICIAL RULES WHICH GOVERN ALL ASPECTS OF PARTICIPATION AND PRIZE AWARD.

ELIGIBILITY:

Entrants must be legal U.S. residents. Employees of Workman Publishing Co., Inc. and their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising and promotion agencies, promotional partners, and the immediate families of each living in the same household are not eligible to enter.

By accepting a prize, winner (and parent or legal guardian, if applicable) agrees to release and hold harmless Workman Publishing Co., Inc. and each of their parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, and directors, officers, attorneys, employees and agents from any all damage, injury, death, loss or other liability of any kind that may arise from or in connection with his or her acceptance of a prize awarded.

HOW TO ENTER:
To enter, take a photo of your dog wearing glasses and pin your photo to your  Pinterest  board with the hashtag: #ArloNeedsGlasses  and follow Workman (www.pinterest.com/workmanpub) between June 25, 2012, 12:00:01 a.m. (Eastern Time) and July 31, 2012, 11:59:59 (Eastern  Time). Photos will be repinned onto the “My Dog Needs Glasses board.

We encourage you to be silly, but not put your dog through too much embarrassment.

For purposes of these rules, “receipt” of an electronic entry occurs when Sponsor’s servers record the entry information upon clicking the “submit” (or similar) button. In the event of a dispute as to the identity of the entrant, the entrant will be deemed to be the individual who is the registered holder of the email account. All entries must include your name and e-mail address. Incomplete entries will be voided.

PRIZES:Five Prize Winners will each receive an autographed copy of the book ARLO NEEDS GLASSES by Barney Saltzberg.

SELECTION:
The five photos with the most “likes” and re-pins” will be declared he winning entries.

NOTIFICATION:
Winners will be notified on their Pinterest posts by August 3, 2012. If potential winner cannot be reached or does not acknowledge notification within five (5) days of first notification attempt, the prize will be forfeited and the next photo with the most likes  and re-pins will be selected as a potential  Prize Winner.

CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION:
By entering or accepting a prize in this contest, the winners ( and parent or legal guardian, if applicable) agree to be bound by these Official Rules, and to conform to all federal, state, and local laws and regulations.  There are no prize substitutions, transfers, or cash equivalents permitted.

SPONSOR OWNERSHIP OF ENTRIES:
All entries submitted will become the property of  Workman Publishing Co. Inc., and will not be returned to anyone. As such, they can be used on books and calendars published by Workman Publishing Co., Inc. or licensed to third parties by Workman Publishing Co., Inc. without specific permission or compensation. Efforts will be made to credit the contributor by name when possible. If you prefer to remain anonymous, please let us know when you make your submission.

RESERVATION OF RIGHTS:
Sponsor is not responsible for (a) incorrect or inaccurate entry of information by entrants; late, lost, garbled, misdirected, incomplete, or damaged entries or transmissions caused by interrupted or unavailable network, server or other connections; scrambled transmissions or other errors or problems of any kind whether mechanical, human, or electronic, technical malfunctions of the computer hardware, software, or any combination thereof; or problems associated with any virus or any other damage caused to entrants’ systems; (b) any Contest disruptions, injuries, losses, or damages caused by events beyond the control of Sponsor; or c) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with this Contest.

Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, terminate or modify this Contest in the event that this Contest is not capable of being conducted or completed as planned for any reason including, without limitation, as a result or computer virus(es), bugs, tampering, or technical failures of any kind. If the Contest is cancelled or terminated, notification will be posted at www.barbecuebible.com. In the event that an individual attempts to undermine the legitimate operation of this Contest Sponsor, in addition to disqualifying such person from in this Contest, reserves the right to seek damages and all other available remedies (whether at law or in equity) against him or her.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION:
By entering, participant waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental and consequential damages, attorneys’ fees or any damages other than actual out-of-pocket costs or losses that may arise in connection with participation in the Contest or acceptance, possession and use of any prize Except where prohibited, by participating, you agree that a) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, b) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with participating, but in no event attorney’s fees; and c) under no circumstances will any participant be permitted to obtain awards for and hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplies or otherwise increased.

WHO WON:
Any mailed requests to receive the list of prize winners must be sent to Workman Publishing, My Dog Needs Glasses Contest Winners, 225 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014, no later than August 31, 2012 and must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

SPONSOR:

Workman Publishing Co., Inc., 225 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014

It’s time for the first-ever installation of The Wednesday Cute, a semi-regular collection of things from around the Web that make us say “Aww!” This week, a Jedi baby, a dog who wears glasses, tiny webbed platypi feet—and more.

From Megan Nicolay, awesome craft blogger and author of Generation T : Baby Niko helped dad Luke celebrate his first-ever Papa’s Day in a shirt that pays homage to one of the most famous fathers of all time.

• Speaking of dads, sometimes they just want to be left alone.
• In the category of absolutely brilliant web collections, here is Gigglers.tv, a site that compiles videos of people laughing—purely for your enjoyment.  It’s an “international laughter reservoir,” and it’s awesome. (via Jspace)

These baby platypi prove that you don’t need whiskers and a fuzzy tail to reach extreme levels of cute. (via buzzfeed)

• Arlo needs glasses, and there’s a song about it. I can’t even deal.
• Mr. Rogers also has a song! And here I thought he couldn’t get any more adorable.

I know I’m late to the party, but has everyone checked out Aled Lewis‘ photo project Toy Stories? Because you really should.

• Little free libraries! They look like they could be run (or inhabited) by elves. Must be seen to be believed.

—Avery, your resident Cute Curator (that’s Curator of Cute Things, not Adorable Internet Peruser. Although yes, that too)

According to Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey, the book To Marry an English Lord by Carol McD. Wallace and Gail MacColl was one of his inspirations for the popular series. Considered the definitive book about American heiresses who married English aristocrats in the late 19th century, the book certainly served as our inspiration for today’s “Live By the Book” style guide. Teacup rings, phonograph iPad docks, Downton Abbey paper dolls, an engagement calendar to celebrate the new season, piles of lilac ruffles, and more: our offerings for a modern take on Edwardian society.

Live by the Book: To Marry an English Lord by workmanpub

To surround yourself with more Gilded Age goodness, visit the author’s Pinterest board. And stay tuned for our next “Live by the Books”…what pages would you like to see us ruffle next?

“I couldn’t help but think that — as is the case with fresh-squeezed orange juice — [this] tonic would stand up well to a slug of vodka.” –John T. Edge, about Nancye Benson’s “Grapefruit Fizz” (from the Moxie Rx trailer, RIP) in The Truck Food Cookbook

Well, once John T. put it out there, we just couldn’t stop thinking about adding that slug of vodka. So we decided to try it, and used our BEA-weary friends in the publishing world as our guinea pigs when we served it alongside the spread of snacks at the annual Workman Open House party. Long story made short, it was a success. Adding a healthy splash of alcohol proved a worthy endeavor, and by popular demand, here’s the recipe (we’ll leave it to you to add the vodka and multiply the recipe as desired):

—

Grapefruit Fizz
(Makes 2)

1 grapefruit
3 basil leaves
2 teaspoons agave nectar
Ice
2 pints soda water

Juice the grapefruit and add the basil. Pour the mixture into a blender and whir until the basil is pulverized. While the blender is running, add the agave nectar. Place ice in 2 pint glasses. Pour the grapefruit juice mixture over the ice, dividing it evenly between the 2 glasses. Top each serving with soda water, setting the remaining soda water aside for another use. Quaff.

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Happy Monday from your friends at Workman!

Can you believe it’s already less than 365 days until BEA ’13!?! Okay, okay — I know we’re all still recovering from the festival of fun that was #BEA12, so we thought we’d take a moment to share some BEA bites from this year. Why don’t you just sit back, relax, and enjoy the forklift ride….

Setting up a booth for a giant convention show is never a walk in the park — lifting and moving heavy boxes (oh, but they’re filled with books!), laying carpet, constructing shelves, all under those fluorescent lights…but this year — oh, this year, it was leaps and bounds and even arabesques better, with photographer Jordan Matter and some amazingly talented Alvin Ailey dancers on the scene (see Dylis Croman, above!). Besides the forklift, dancers (like Aisha Mitchell, below) took to the air and the rafters of the Javits Center to promote Jordan’s forthcoming book, Dancers Among Us.

I do think that hanging from the Workman clock tower is perhaps the best way to experience  Book Expo America. (Though Sarah Daley makes it look easy, the rest of us might need to invest in some crampons.)

For the record, I will from now on be transporting and unpacking boxes exclusively using the technique below as demonstrated by Cirque de Soleil dancer Luke McCollum. Because it does seem to be the best way.

Once the Great Wall of Workman was built (that’s a nearly 20-foot high fortress of books), and the first ARCs (Advance Reading Copies, for you non-book industry folks) were unpacked, it was time to pound the pavement carpeting to celebrate that other great tradition (besides the books) in publishing…the TOTE BAG.

Here are a few of the totally notable totes that we came home with — thanks to Chronicle Books (“See Things Differently” illustrated by Mike Perry), Quirk Books (celebrating their 10th Anniversary!), and Little, Brown (looking quite fetching for 175 years old)….and the Workman tote (of course), celebrating The Art of Procrastination.

And take a gander at the Quirk Books poster that inspired their tote –  a wonderful ode, and a sweet stack of books!

And while we’re showing off loot, here’s the ARC bounty that we are so excited to dig into:

Justice at Caldwell Ranch by B.J. Daniels (Harlequin), Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat by Bee Wilson (Basic Books), Return to Me by Justina Chen Headley (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), All the Right Stuff by Walter Dean Myers (Amistad), The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers (Little, Brown), The Round House by Louise Erdrich (Harper), Zom-B by Darren Shan (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), Does This Church Make Me Look Fat? by Rhoda Janzen (Grand Central Publishing), So Close to You by Rachel Carter (HarperTeen), White Truffles in Winter by N.M. Kelby (W. W. Norton & Company), Next Time You See Me by Katia Leif (Avon), and The Other by Thomas Tryon (NYRB Classics). And a couple we missed, but are looking forward to reading when the books come out: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian (Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers) and Princess Elizabeth’s Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal (Bantam) — who happens to be the wife of Workman author, Noel MacNeal!)

And because BEA was the real party (like we need to point out our party favors again), we’ll call the Workman Open House the after party — where everyone got to take a photo booth SAFARI. From book editors, to sellers, to publishers, to readers — the savanna was crawling with bookish types!

And at the end of the day, author/photographer Jordan Matter crept out from behind his camera and traded those graceful dancers for his charming editors!

Till BEA ’13…(Seriously, though, our studio is already at work designing the model for the Workman booth for next year!).

Book lovers across the internet are posting lists, recommendations, thoughts, and other ideas about summer reading on Twitter today (#summerreading), thanks to the Learning Network blog on the New York Times. Since we’ve done Workman summer reading lists in the past, we were inspired to join the conversation. And it’s a good week for books: Today is the last day of Book Expo America. But we’re a little exhausted from the festivities. Is that the ocean we hear calling our names? The promise of summer vacation, of sandy and sun-beaten days?

Please, pull up a beach chair with us! Here are some of the delicacies on our summer reading menu:

Los Angeles, Reyner Banham

Are You My Mother?, Alison Bechdel

The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov (trans. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky)

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking, Susan Cain

The Miseducation of Cameron Post, emily m. danforth

Butterfly’s Child, Angela Davis-Gardner

The Sisters Brothers, Patrick deWitt

Travels in Siberia, Ian Frazier

The Aleppo Codex, Matti Friedman

Fire the Bastards!, Jack Green

The Transit of Venus, Shirley Hazzard

The Great Fire, Shirley Hazzard

The World According to Garp, John Irving

The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs

Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Year, Anne Lamott

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Jenny Lawson

The Color of Water, James McBride

Sutton, J.R. Moehringer

The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, Wendy Mogel

The Island at the Center of the World, Russell Shorto

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot

How to Be Black, Baratunde Thurston

The Submission, Amy Waldman

For a while I thought John Irving was a horror writer, maybe because I confused Hotel New Hampshire with the song ‘Hotel California,’ with a little bit of the hotel from The Shining thrown in there.  I think I’m past that now, so I’m finally cracking open my first Irving book, The World According to Garp. –Heather

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I just read Fire the Bastards!, by Jack Green and adored it.  It’s stinging, and a hilarious rebuke of the book reviewing industry that was written in response to the general panning of William Gaddis’s The Recognitions.  The essay is written without punctuation. –Deborah

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My most recent beloved book was The Transit Of Venus by Shirley Hazzard. I have already purchased Shirley Hazzard’s most recent book, The Great Fire. That’s next on my list. Also there’s a new novel from my favorite memoirist, J.R. Moehringer.  He’s the author of The Tender Bar (that’s the memoir).  His new novel, to be published in the fall, is SUTTON.  I am in lucky possession of a galley and may just end up reading that next, since it looks so good and was edited by my good friend.  If you haven’t discovered him, The Tender Bar is a beautiful, touching, and really funny memoir.  –Mary Ellen

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I’ve been carrying around Ian Frazier’s Travels in Siberia in the hopes of having a spare moment with it. His book The Fish’s Eye is unexpectedly (I’ve never caught a fish in my life) one of my favorites.  –Kylie

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I’m reading The Submission by Amy Waldman, and loving it. It’s always interesting when liberals (that would be me) are forced to confront the ambiguity of what we think of as an absolute truth. And the writing is so good!  –Suzie

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As for me, I am currently feasting on Gabrielle Hamilton’s lovely Blood, Bones, and Butter. Also on deck is Rhoda Janzen’s Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?, an ARC that I happily snatched at BEA. Happy reading! –Liz

Hey, you! It’s truck food season, and as the weather gets warmer, and we don’t mind waiting in outdoor lines (at least until the August temps kick in), we are going to be chasing down every food truck in the neighborhood to snag some lunch (or dessert!).  To kick off the chase, we’re going to give ourselves an easy challenge:  a stationary target. John T. Edge, author of The Truck Food Cookbook is going to be at the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop (not to be confused with The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck). Hope to see you there! (Maybe you’ll even get licked by a unicorn!!!)

And, for more food truck-related mayhem — the food trucks are rocking Brooklyn, too! Head to Grand Army Plaza on the third Sunday of every month to sample treats from New York’s best food trucks (brought to you by the NYC Food Truck Association!).

P.S. All the unicorns at the Brooklyn rally are invisible ones! But they might still lick you.

Welcome to the inaugural Workman “Live by the Book” style guide, wherein we regularly gather images/activities/products  inspired by our favorite new titles. Last month was National Bike Month, and because we haven’t quite shaken the urge to ride (hey, spring time = bike time! — why limit our enthusiasm to a single month?), we’re starting with Just Ride: A Radically Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike by Grant Petersen. For this new release, a book that celebrates the pure joy of riding (forget the spandex and clip-in pedals), we’re inspired by pretty bike dresses, loose-fitting seersucker button-downs (Grant’s favorite when it comes to “official bike gear”)…

…a wicker basket so your pet can join you on your next 2-wheel adventure, a side table made from broken down bike parts (or how about this one, on wheels!), some free-wheeling poster art, a convertible bike bag (seriously, the video is worth the click), an adorable pair of bicycle-inspired flats, a tandem for rolling with your homie, a stainless steel water bottle to keep you hydrated (and in a color to match your new book, of course), a hand-painted bike bell to let everyone know you’ve arrived (because that’s how we…ahem…roll), and of course, what bike experience would be complete without sparkly streamers flowing from the handlebars? Now if only we could track down some of those bicycle spoke beads — oh my goodness, they DO still make them!

And, if you need further incentive to burn your spandex in favor of seersucker:

New York City seems to be extending its bike celebration into summer with the launch of its first ever bike share program in July. And since “I-dont-own-a-bike” is about to get crossed off your list of excuses, here are some inspiring “why I ride” reasons that Grant Petersen recently shared over at bikeleague.org (including one good reason that most New Yorkers with a car can certainly get behind: “I can park my bike on the sidewalk, or a lawn, or anywhere. I don’t need a parking lot”).

Grant also notes that “a bike fits in places a car doesn’t” — like here, a curious sight I stumbled upon last weekend (an analog bike rally?) — where a couple dozen bikes (and one ride-on tractor) rested where only a few cars would otherwise fit.