Hey, everyone! Nothing to see here. Just another Monday. Early spring. Springtime Monday! The flowers are blooming, the birds are chirping, the mice are freezing.

Wait…what?! OK. Won’t lie. We don’t really want to prank you, dear readers. We want to help you prank others on this practical jokiest of holidays. So how about learning how to make a computer mouse appear as if it’s busted? Or printing out some hilarious signs that you can attach to your car windows and confuse every passerby? Or what about a few simple computer pranks that you can pull on your friends? So many options! And it’s okay if you haven’t given today’s pranks too much thought, because these can be executed immediately.

Now get out there, pranksters, and make someone’s (your own, of course) day.

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Want lots more of the funniest, grossest, craziest, not-mean pranks on the planet? Check out Pranklopedia by Julie Winterbottom (her real name, we swear).

Sandra Boynton’s piggie knows how to celebrate with style.

You guys, it’s finally here! The most beautiful, mathematical time of the year: March 14th (3.14), otherwise known in the coolest circles* as Pi Day. Extra fun fact about this year? The date, 3.14.13, is also a palindrome. (We know. Mind blown.)

On this geekiest of holidays, fans of constant numbers like pi (which is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter**), celebrate the awesomeness of this magical number in, well, lots of different ways. Since we here at Workman love learning, math, and celebrations of all kinds, we’ve got some suggestions for how you can honor this very special day.

• Those of you who down-right love math can take a page out of Sean Connolly’s The Book of Perfectly Perilous Math and solve some of the most entertaining word problems ever (seriously). You want math-based stories about vampires, zombies, spy missions, and evil, scheming dukes who force you to play a do-or-die version of Let’s Make a Deal? Of course you do! Well, this book has got ‘em.
• For the competitive, but less mathematically inclined, why not head over to RecordSetter and set (or create) a new world record involving pi? We just know one of you wants to take on the “Most Digits Of Pi Recited While Blindfolded And Spinning A Dreidel” record.
• Or, you can, as some of us have done in years past, enjoy a slice of pie. Delicious and thematically appropriate.

Now get out there and do something pi(e)-themed!

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* Pun totally intended.
** But we’re sure you already knew that, you geniuses you.

Welcome to another installment of Inside the Author’s Studio, where we give you a peek into the minds and studios of your favorite Workman authors.

Today, in anticipation of Star Wars Reads Day on October 6th–stay tuned for lots more Star Wars action this week!–we venture into the studio of Chris Alexander, author of Star Wars Origami for a little Q&A, speed-round style.

Recent book you loved/learned from

I just finished is The Singularity is Near by Ray Kurzweil. It’s about the exponential increase in levels of technology and how it will effect our daily lives. Some of it is scary, and some very inspiring. These are exciting times we’re living in.

Favorite bookstore

My local Barnes and Noble.

Hidden talent

Stupid trivia and bar games. I’’m the guy you want on your team for trivial pursuit.

Bookmark, dog-ear, or virtuality?

Bookmark. For some reason people like to give me bookmarks as gifts, so I’’m always upgrading.

Book you are most ashamed never to have read

I don’’t really have one, but there are a lot of movies I’’ve never seen that everyone else has. Does that count?

Most frequent form of writerly procrastination

Youtube. Whoever invented that evil time waster should be given commendations for cleverness and then shot.

Favorite childhood book

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, and I’’m in the middle of it again.

Alternate ambition (i.e. If you weren’t an air traffic controller/origami expert, you’d be…)

I wanted to be an archeologist–long before Indiana Jones existed! So, in a parallel universe I’’m in the desert someplace looking for my mummy.

Your perfect meal

Lobster (that I caught myself) over pasta, surrounded by good friends.

Big dream

To someday be counted among the greatest origami artists of all time.

Super power of choice

The ability to stop time! I’’ve fantasized about that since I was about seven years old. I have a lot of plans for its use when I achieve it.

If you could be any character from the Star Wars universe, who would you choose?

Luke Skywalker. Who wouldn’’t want to be the hero?

What is your favorite origami model of all time? (Yours or someone else’s, Star Wars-themed or not!)

There are so many to choose from. Robert Lang’’s Black Forrest Cuckoo Clock is amazing. Joseph Wu’’s one-fold stegosaurus is a classic. But I think my favorite is the Full Rigged Ship designed by Patricia Crawford; it’s a thing of beauty.

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Chris Alexander has been doing origami since the age of four, when his mother showed him how to fold a simple cup and he did—just like that. Since then he’s created over 150 original origami designs—more than 50 of them themed around the world of Star Wars. He created StarWarsOrigami.com and tours around the country folding at conventions and museums when his real job (air traffic controller) allows.

It’s 3/14, so you nerds know what that means: It’s Pi Day*! We here at Workman love anything that brings out our geekiest sides, so we’re celebrating this most mathematical of days with the release of The Book of Perfectly Perilous Math by Sean Connolly. If you want to make middle school math fun–really, it’s possible!–you need this book.

Let’s say a vampire has moved onto your block, and every month he feeds on two people in your town, turning them into vampires. One month later, he and the new vampires are all capable of turning two more people into vampires—a pattern that continues until some brave individual intervenes. Approximately how many months will it take for your 500,000-person town to become populated entirely by blood-sucking fiends if they’re not stopped?

Did we just ask a word problem about a vampire invasion? Yeah, we did! If you want more life-or-death scenarios, this book has got ‘em, including questions about killer tornadoes, deadly spiders, lethal lasers, and out-of-control asteroids.

Now, if you’ll excuse us, it’s time to solve circumference problems while eating varieties of pie. A perfect Pi Day? We think so.

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*3.14 are the first three digits of pi, of course!

Extraordinary. Remarkable. Wonderful.

You know when a book comes into your life and it renders you speechless? The kind of book that can only be summed up in exclamations? Wonder, by Workman’s own R.J. Palacio, is just such a book. And the three words above? A sampling of the heaps of praise* it has rightly earned from book critics, grown-ups, and kids alike.

What is this stunning middle grade novel about? I’ll let the cover copy do the talking:

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He’s about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you’ve ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie’s just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he’s just like them, despite appearances?

Full of heart, this book will make you laugh, cry, and cheer for Auggie. It is, simply, a wonder of a book.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgB7_KpBDss[/youtube]

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* Select praise for Wonder:

“A memorable story of kindness, courage and wonder.”
–Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Palacio makes it feel not only effortless but downright graceful, and by the stand-up-and-cheer conclusion, readers will be doing just that, and feeling as if they are part of this troubled but ultimately warm-hearted community.”
–Booklist, starred review

“Palacio has an exceptional knack for writing realistic conversation and describing the thoughts and emotions of the characters. Everyone grows and develops as the story progresses, especially the middle school students. This is a fast read and would be a great discussion starter about love, support, and judging people on their appearance. A well-written, thought-provoking book.”
–School Library Journal, starred review

“Few first novels pack more of a punch: it’s a rare story with the power to open eyes–and hearts–to what it’s like to be singled out for a difference you can’t control, when all you want is to be just another face in the crowd.”
–Publishers Weekly, starred review

“The breakout publishing sensation of 2012 will come courtesy of Palacio [and] is destined to go the way of Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and then some.”
–The London Times, “The Top 100 People to Watch in 2012″

“Palacio is a wonderful storyteller and her characters are bright, well-rounded and intensely likable. Wonder is a beautiful book that is full of sorrow and triumph, emotional without being manipulative — highly recommended.”
–Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing

“Wonder is a rare gem of a novel–beautifully written and populated by characters who linger in your memory and heart.”
–Amazon Best Books of the Month for Kids, February 2012

Call us biased, but we think the best presents come in book form. Since we’ve recently welcomed the newest little Workman-ites into our extended office family, that got us thinking about our favorite gifts for new parents. Here are just a few of our picks for the new mom, new dad, and mama-to-be:

• Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton – What could be better than a great big hug in book form? It’s the perfect love letter from parent to child.

• Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg – A sweet book with a powerful message: When you make a mistake, think of it as an opportunity to make something beautiful!

• Gallop by Rufus Butler Seder – Every turn of the page brings a new animal to life: a horse in full gallop, a turtle swimming, an eagle soaring. It’s impossible not to flip the pages again and again!

• Indestructibles - Beautifully illustrated books that babies can really sink their teeth into! They’re waterproof, tear-proof–baby-proof!–and truly impossible to destroy. (Trust us, we’ve tried.)

• What to Expect the First Year by Heidi Murkoff – Why not get something for the new mama, too? This book has absolutely everything parents needs to know about their baby’s first year from one of the most trusted names in pregnancy.

Monster lovers, it’s officially the best and creepiest Tuesday of the year. It’s Papertoy Monster Day! Last year, there were all sorts of invasions as the papertoy monsters clawed their way into our tortured hearts and our libraries full of the macabre. How are the monsters celebrating this year?

Pharaoh Thoth Amon selects a giant cake as his unsuspecting party snack....er, date.

Scorpion Robot prefers to party in a too-large, seasonally-inappropriate hat.

And Wingy Wingy takes a joy ride on a private jet with her new fiend.

............

……What? Why the intense stares, little monsters? Oh! Presents? Fine.

How about two Valentine’s Day Papertoy Monsters: “Be Mine” Cupid and Monster Mutant Cupid?

Or the Super Bowl Papertoy Monsters, the SuperBowl Ghouls?

Maybe a creepy little bloodsucker, Li’l Vamp?

Or one of three Papertoy Monsters masks?

Want to join in on the Papertoy Monsters conversation? Check us out on twitter (@PapertoyMonster) or Facebook.

Until next year, my fiendish friends, keep on partying like true party monsters.

Pitchapalooza, the annual event that allows anyone with a brilliant book idea to pitch a panel of publishing industry experts, is, in a word, a success. No, not just a success, but a HUGE success.  Not only have Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry, aka The Book Doctors and authors of The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published, met some incredible people and heard some incredible stories, they have also helped the authors of a few truly outstanding projects find the right agent for their book.

And now, the very first Pitchapalooza winners have been featured in the New York Times. Ayesha Mattu and Nura Maznavi’s book, Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of Muslim American Women, is a collection of true stories about American Muslim women’s experiences with dating, love, and sex. An inspired idea and pitch that has become an inspirational anthology, this is a book that Arielle and David are proud to have helped launch.

For further reading and viewing, check out the links below.

New York Times article on Love, InshAllah

New York Times article on Pitchapalooza

Pitchapalooza trailer

Pitchapalooza on NBC

Do you want to make a GIANT difference this holiday season?

We here at Workman like to give back whenever we can. Every year we hold a food drive just before Thanksgiving. This year, we enlisted the help of our very favorite hungry giant to spread the word.

How can you resist? You can't.

And, thanks to our over-sized friend and our extra generous employees, we were able to collect 1,200 pounds of food for City Harvest, all of which has been distributed to food pantries throughout New York City.

If you’re eager to help those in need, here are some simple ways (with potentially giant impact) that you can give back to your community.

1. Find a local food bank and make a donation. Or find a soup kitchen and volunteer. These websites make it simple–just enter your zip code: FeedingAmerica.org, FoodPantries.org, AmpleHarvest.org.
2. Check out charities like Food For All, which has teamed up with over 8,000 grocery stores to make it easy to donate money to help end hunger around the world–just tack a small donation on to your bill.
3. Go to a click-to-donate website where all it takes it one click to make a difference, like: thehungersite.com and hungrychildren.com. Or you can test your vocabulary and trivia knowledge, while giving back, with sites like: freerice.com and freeflour.com.
4. Support the efforts of your local Meals on Wheels program by donating your time, or your always perfect specialty.
5. Help families around the world to feed themselves by giving to an organization like Heifer International, which provides people with livestock and the training necessary to care for these animals.

There are so many ways to help end world hunger. For details on the programs listed above or for more simple ways to help, check out How to Be an Everyday Philanthropist.

To feed a hungry giant, you just need giant food–and a giant heart.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Our current philanthropic mascot, the hungry giant, can be found in How Do You Feed a Hungry Giant? by Caitlin Friedman, and illustrated by Shaw Nielsen.

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And if you’re looking for more ways to help, check out How to Be an Everyday Philanthropist by Nicole Bouchard Boles.

Dogs, dogs, dogs! We can’t get enough of them here. And as all dog people know, your most important responsibility is making sure your pup is in tip-top shape. After all, a healthy dog is the happiest dog! In the final installment of our family-friendly My Dog! video series, author and dog expert Michael J. Rosen takes you through a basic 60-second check-up to make sure your pooch is feeling fabulous.

Simple, right? Give it a try — and then go whip up some Liver Lover’s “Brownies” to thank your dog for being so awesome. Trust us, despite your human “eww-that-sounds-gross!” bias, your dog will love ‘em!

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For even more tips, crafts, recipes, and games, check out the official My Dog! website. And make sure to like the My Dog! Facebook page and follow Michael J. Rosen on Twitter (@fidosopher) to keep up on all the latest My Dog! news.