Most cheery sign that spring is in the air? The Washington Post Magazine‘s seventh annual Peeps Show contest has named its winning dioramas.  Among the honorees are a recreation of Life of Pi, pointillist-style Peeps a la “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” The Shining as reinterpreted in marshmallow, a glimpse into the Peep-Pope’s retirement… and a whole lot more.

Peruse these Peeps–especially the top five winners–at the Post website.  And if your sweet tooth craves Peeps, Peeps, Peeps all year long, check out Workman’s Peeps Show calendar, available for 2014, and featuring the best of Peep Shows I through VI.

So far, the tide of public opinion is still on Prince Harry’s side after he made headlines recently for nude photos taken during a Las Vegas vacation. The actual photos are of (unsurprisingly) poor quality, but no matter—you can pin Harry—along with eleven other eligible young royals—up on your wall for all of 2013 with our Hot Royals Calendar!

Twitter is awesome: It’s a direct line to everything exciting and interesting that’s happening on the Internet—a huge portion of which is totally adorable. (Do you follow us @WorkmanPub?) This week we’re highlighting some of our favorite cute friends who tweet. (Also cute: the Twitter bird!)

It’s only August, but copies of our 2013 calendars are already rolling in! (You might not be surprised to learn that we’re never really sure exactly what year it is around here.) As a preview of the coming year, we’re pleased to present you with this picture of the 2013 Pocket Pigs calendar, featuring some of the teacup pigs of @PennywellFarm themselves! We just want to put them in our pockets and let them wee, wee, wee all the way home!!

• Speaking of cute calendars, did you know there’s not one but two Cute Overload calendars?! Stock up, people, 2013 is only 5 months away… And follow @CuteOverload to stay up-to-date with the latest adorable animals on the web.
• One of our favorite Twitter Feeds ever is @PreschoolGems, where preschool teacher Leslie McCollom collects the brilliantly hilarious things her students says (“gems”) and tweets them out for all to enjoy. A recent tweet: “When I’m a Mommy, I’m going to have a girl, a girl, a boy, and name them Peanut, Yogurt and Santa.” Too cute to handle? Just wait until you see the book, released yesterday by Penguin. And be sure to read the author’s blog post about the story behind Preschool Gems. “First I wasn’t a mermaid, then my dream came true!” Indeed.
• In a similar vein, check out @TextsFromDidi! Sarah tweets actual texts from her 9-year-old sister who lives across the country. A choice example: “Mama got me a sugar free pie and this is the worst birthday ever.” Also: ”OMG!!!! i just got a 38 inch pinata!!!!” Kids text the darnedest things.

Look at this tiny gorilla getting a check-up!!! The stethoscope is sooooooo cooooold!!! (via Wild for Wildlife and Nature)

• Did you know that when you give a lemon to a dog, this happens?!

—Avery, who believes that small versions of big animals are the best

Wednesday’s great for many reasons, but our favorite is Wednesday Cute, your weekly dose of cute things from around the Web. This week: singing clouds, a hand-held pony, and a tooth-brushing PSA to end them all.

It may seem an unlikely source for cute things (after all, their motto isn’t “All the CUTE That’s Fit to Print.” Although it should be), but last week the New York Times brought us dock-diving dogs and I’m still not over it. This week’s Times photo is a bit older but just as charming: “Billed as the smallest pony in the world: Santab, which at the age of a year is only 25 inches high and weighs 60 pounds [!!!], on display as an attraction in a London store.” See this and more great photos of old at The Lively Morgue, an oft-updated blog of pictures from the Times archives.

•  We know the adage says you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but when this six-year-old guessed the plot of classic novels based solely on the jacket art, we considered erasing that old expression from our memories and encouraging children far and wide to judge away! A choice line, from her review of Jane Eyre: “This is about a girl that goes mining. I don’t know why, but she looks like she would go mining, mining for gold.” Don’t let Jane hear you say that, kid.
• If you didn’t think clouds could be cute, you haven’t seen Cloudy, an animated short about the lives of the world’s most adorable clouds.

Usually we’d just link to a video we like, but this is too good not to put right here on the page. The Oregon Dental Association made a PSA about brushing your teeth called Teach Me How to Brushy. That’s right: It’s based on “Teach Me How to Dougie,” and it features kids breaking it down in the name of oral hygiene. We know it’s aimed at children, but it’s even inspired us to floss (and brushy).

[youtube]http://youtu.be/5ugQLL65BKc[/youtube]

• We don’t mean to obsess, but have you seen the entries in the My Dog Needs Glasses contest?! They’re…wait for it…SO CUTE. And hey, if you upload a photo of YOUR dog wearing glasses by July 31 you’re entered to win a signed copy of Barney Saltzberg’s Arlo Needs Glasses, probably one of the cutest books of all time. Who doesn’t want that?
• The 2012 Olympics are exciting, impressive, inspiring—but are they cute? Not really. You know what are cute? THE GUINEA PIG GAMES.

This kitten—named Nugget, for cute’s sake—loves Bananagrams. There’s not much more to say. You win this round, Cute Overload.

—Avery, who as a kid had a toothbrush that sang “I’m your friend Brushy-Brushy, / I keep your teeth shiny and bright. / Please brush with me every day, / Morning, noon, and night!”

As anyone familiar with Workman will tell you, we really love cats. We also love stories with happy endings—which is why we were excited to read this story of a missing cat who was reunited with his family almost a year after he disappeared.

Zach was selected as a winner of the 2012 365 Cats Page-a-Day Calendar, but by the time his owners were notified last fall, he had gone missing from their yard. Happily, after seeing a picture of Zach in an article celebrating his appearance in the calendar, a neighbor realized that the cat she’d been feeding for months was a certified cat celebrity! She reached out to the owners, and the happy family has since been reunited. Hopefully now Zach is back for good.

Zach's photo appears on Nov. 9 of the 2012 "365 Cats" calendar.

Full disclosure: I didn’t think a Hat calendar would be all that great.

I was so, so, so wrong.

Below are some behind the scenes snaps from our very first 365 Hats Picture-a-Day Calendar photo shoot. Was it a lot of work? Yes. Was it insanely glamorous and high fashion? Double yes. Did it make me wish we lived in an age where hats were an everyday kind of thing? Uh…YEAH. I’m hoping this calendar turns the fashion tide in my favor because today I saw a few chapeaus that are crying to be worn. By me. At work. Every day.

It all starts with a bulletin board and a vision.

Each hat required different hair and make-up. It was amazing to see how something as simple as a change of lip color could transform an entire look.  Below, Gabriella (left) gets a marcel wave while Susie gets prepped for another hat.

We spent a lot of time pairing the hats with the right model: Not everyone can rock a vintage sequined coolie. Jessica (below) managed it pretty much better than anyone. Actually, she looked so amazing in it, she kind of ruined it for those of us who thought they’d found their new “going out” look.

And here’s Natalia in a showstopper of a hat.  Those are feathers. REAL feathers. (Superstar stylists Prissy, left, and Amy work their  magic.)

I know 2012 is only 10 days old, but unless Prince Harry surprises me with tickets to the Oscars, this was by far the most glamorous day of my year.

And if I DO go to the Oscars with Prince Harry, be sure to look for me: I’ll be the one in the sequined coolie.

It’s August, and summer is very much still in full swing here in New York City. But despite the chirping birds and blazing sun and ice cream trucks on every corner, I can’t help but think about…January! Call me crazy, but I’m kind of excited for winter this year. That’s not to say that once the snow starts falling and my usually pleasant (if muggy) walk to work becomes a miserable, wet slog I won’t wish I were in a hammock on a tropical island somewhere; no, I’ll definitely be wishing that. Still, there is something quite pleasant about the first month of the year, and I’m not talking about resolutions. I’m talking about calendars.

This (well, next) year’s crop of Workman calendars is pretty epic. There are of course the old standbys, such as the 365 Cats and 365 Dogs Page-a-Day Calendars, two of our most popular titles. And there’s always space on the wall for the gorgeous 1,000 Places to See Before You Die Wall Calendar. But I’d like to take this time to introduce some titles you’ve never seen before. Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly present the New Workman Calendars for 2012!

LEGO: The Calendar
If you were ever a kid, you’ve probably played with LEGO bricks at some point in your life—if not every day for 15 years (and beyond). Now you can bring your obsession out into the open with LEGO: The Calendar, a year-long celebration of all things LEGO. Twelve images of spectacular LEGO constructions are accompanied by fun facts about LEGO history and lore. Plus, enter your own construction in the LEGO Calendar Contest and let your creation grace the walls of LEGO enthusiasts the world over!

Peel It. Design It. Birds in Flight and Tropical Paradise
In the category of Most Innovative Calendars I’d like to nominate the Peel It. Design It. series. Decorate your home or office space with beautiful bird- or tropical-themed wall art that also helps you keep track of the days. The decals will stick to your wall or any hard, clean surface, and they won’t leave a mark, so you can move them around during the year as your design sensibilities evolve.

Gallery Calendars: Birds and Flowers
Joining the line of beautiful Page-a-Day Gallery Calendars are two new nature-inspired titles: Birds and Flowers.  Thanks to the brilliant colors and exquisite detail of the exceptional photographs, you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into a natural park with either one of these galleries on your desk.

Nudes Having Fun
You know Nuns Having Fun—now here’s Nudes Having Fun! That’s right: twelve (tasteful) black-and-white images of people having a good time without letting clothes get in the way. There’s a nude sing-along, naked mountain climbers, even a wedding in the buff. Cheeky (ha!) and adorable.

Daily Muse: Writer’s Diary
Everyone knows an aspiring writer (the novel’s almost done, I swear!), and even someone who’s quit his day job to hone his craft needs to keep track of his appointments. Give the budding novelist in your life the portable Writer’s Diary and watch him be encouraged and inspired by quotations from and images of his favorite authors.

Unlikely Friendships
And last but certainly not least, there’s the Unlikely Friendships calendar, based on the New York Times best-selling book by Jennifer S. Holland. Featuring twelve remarkable stories about inter-species camaraderie, this calendar is guaranteed to make you go “aww!” all year long.

Happy New Year!

Hi again! It’s Jennifer, friendly intern and your eyes-and-ears into the Workman office. By now you’ve heard about my time in sales and at Algonquin Books. My next stop was the Workman editorial department.

I’ve had a great time sifting through “slush,” which is a colloquial publishing term for the unsolicited proposals sent in by people without agents. At first, I was armed with just the guideline that Workman does not accept fiction or memoirs (that’s the domain of Algonquin), so my “Maybe” pile soon towered above the “Yes” and “No” piles. However, after sitting down with one of the editors, who patiently pointed out the reasons why proposals would or would not be accepted, I gained a better understanding of what it takes to be published. It isn’t often that a proposal from slush is actually realized as a published title, and there are several reasons for that. For example, calendars, which I saw a lot of, usually do best when they already have a brand or book behind them. My Gift Sales boss has been talking about how popular LEGO: The Calendar is going to be; its success will be based on the timeless appeal of LEGOs.

That model of the Taj Mahal is made entirely of LEGO bricks.

The proposal also has to be well researched and backed with the proper credentials. Perhaps more importantly, the idea has to be original and innovative, and should not be too similar to titles Workman already publishes or is thinking about producing. There were some picture book proposals in the pile, but generally, the children’s books that Workman publishes are more than just picture books—they are machine-washable and “indestructible,” or interactive, or fun to touch; they are more than just a story. Submitters should take heart in knowing, however, that their proposals are not left to languish in a corner. Every proposal is looked at by a real person (and, no worries, not just an intern—proposals are screened after I look at them, too).

I’ve also done some fact-checking for 1,000 Places to See Before You Die and The Obits: The New York Times Annual 2012. For 1,000 Places, fact-checking has involved determining hotel rates with more calling (but fewer abrupt farewells, because hotel staff can’t really hang up on someone who might be a customer). Most people seemed unfazed by or indifferent to the fact that the hotels they work at are being featured in a well-regarded travel book, but it was nice when people, such as one woman at a hotel in the South, maybe one of the Carolinas, asked which book I was fact-checking for and expressed pleasant surprise when I told her. (The woman I’m talking about answered, “Who doesn’t know about it?” when I asked if she knew of 1,000 Places.) Fact-checking for The Obits has been more computer-based, but it’s still fascinating to read these posthumous celebrations of people’s life accomplishments. I especially enjoyed reading the obituaries for the distinguished Elizabeth Taylor and for Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to run as a Vice Presidential candidate for a major political party, about whom I learned in US History class this past year.

I can’t believe I’m nearly finished with my internship. I could work here forever and may attempt to do something like that, as my experiences so far have really piqued my interest in working in the publishing world. I would love to do this as a career, although I am a little sad that I would have to choose a department and stay there instead of floating around to different ones.

Thanks for reading!

—Jennifer

When I was a stressed-out, overworked high school student, my dad would regularly drag me out of bed at 5:30 a.m. so that I could finish my homework. I would sit on the couch as he cooked, rubbing my eyes, waking up to the smell of breakfast tacos and coffee. Even now, when I make any kind of eggs, I think of my dad, who taught me how to make them. So what better way to repay him this Father’s Day than to return the breakfast favor?

Here’s a short breakfast-in-bed menu from Bob Sloan’s Dad’s Own Cookbook, so you can surprise him with your gratitude in breakfast form. (If your dad is like mine, though, you may be rising very early on Father’s Day!) Though this cookbook is made for dads, it’s filled with delicious, but simple, recipes. Let the tasty items below inspire you (or use the book as a prop on your breakfast-in-bed tray, hint hint), and serve them alongside some buttery croissants or biscuits.

Slow Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon, Sour Cream & Caviar

With its elegant presentation and delectable flavors, this breakfast begs for champagne.

Ingredients (serves two)

4 slices homestyle white bread
4 eggs
1/4 pound smoked salmon, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sour cream, at room temperature
2 ounces black caviar
Fresh fruit slices or whole berries

Equipment

Double boiler
Medium bowl
4-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter (optional)
Whisk

1. With a cookie cutter or a paring knife, cut and remove a heart shape from the center of each slice of bread. Discard the hearts or reserve for another purpose. Place the remaining bread in the center of two plates.

2. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl. Stir in the smoked salmon.

3. Put 2 inches of water in the bottom of a double boiler. Put the butter in the top and set the double boiler on medium heat. When the butter is melted, swirl it around to coat the pan, then add the eggs. Stir continuously with the whisk until the eggs are just about congealed, about 2 1/2 minutes.

4. Remove the eggs from the heat and stir in the sour cream. Spoon a quarter of the eggs into each of the hearts. Top with the caviar and garnish the edge of the plates with alternating slices of fresh fruit or whole berries. Serve immediately.

Note: Fresh black caviar, such as osetra or sevruga, is usually available at specialty food shops. If you can’t find fresh caviar, you may substitute the pasteurized or pressed caviar that is sold in supermarkets, although it is not comparable in taste. Beware that the distinctive fishy taste of caviar is not to everyone’s liking. If desired, substitute a pinch of chopped fresh chives or parsley.

Café au Lait

With this special breakfast, serve a cup of café au lait. Brew the coffee as usual, only slightly stronger, and add a pinch of cinnamon to the grounds. At the same time, warm some milk in a small saucepan. Pour equal amounts of coffee and milk into each cup just before serving.

A few weeks ago I rediscovered my love of origami in time for National Craft Month in March. I have an aunt who spent her childhood in Japan, and growing up she used to feed my addiction for paper folding with a steady stream of brilliantly colored paper: delicate sheets of red and gold, pink cherry blossoms, and angular bamboo poles. I had the patience to sit and follow the step-by-step instructions in my origami book, carefully folding and turning until the flat squares in front of me had transformed into three-dimensional majestic paper cranes, sailboats, fans, crowns, and my personal favorite: the jumping frog.

So I was more than a little excited to find instructions on how to make a jumping frog out of a business card in Margaret Van Sicklen’s Origami on the Go! It was perfect timing, because my Workman business cards had just arrived. Before I looked at the instructions, though, I tried to make one from memory and was pleasantly surprised to find that my fingers instinctively remembered the order of steps needed to turn my new business card into a toy.

Ribbit!

I went home to visit family and friends in Boston that weekend and proceeded to make business-card-frogs on demand—it made networking that much more fun!

Origami on the Go! is filled with 40 cool crafts that are a perfect way for kids (and origami-loving adults like me) to kill time in the car (especially with those summer road trips coming up!), on the plane, or just on a quiet afternoon. It even comes with assorted paper and stickers that correspond to the models (the Zambia Giraffe, Grand Canyon Rattlesnake, and Egyptian Mummy are a few standouts).

I'm not the only one in the office with an origami obsession...

Now that April’s here, and Earth Day is coming up, it’s time (as it always is) to think about our environmental impact. I’m resisting the urge to head to Chinatown for new paper in favor of utilizing the (many) forms of paper all around me. (I mean, I work in a publishing company!) The frog is a good first step, in a way, because who doesn’t have a stack of outdated business cards lying around? But what about pages from old magazine and newspaper issues (hey, publicity department, I’m looking at you)? Or snack wrappers, or…

The Bronx Zoo cobra strikes again!

I stole an idea from a friend and saved my favorite Christmas cards this year to use as gift tags next year, simply by cutting off the front cover of the card and hole-punching the top. It’s a good way to reuse old cards—and save money. I’ve been known to save wrapping paper over the years, back when I was going through a decoupage phase, so I’m going to dig that out for my next round of folding. If you’re feeling especially crafty, make your own paper from bits and pieces lying around: check out Storey Publishing’s Trash-to-Treasure Papermaking, out this month.

And if that’s not enough Origami for you, pick up a copy of The Joy of Origami or keep an eye out for our 2012 Origami Page-A-Day Calendar—a unique project for every day of the year!

Just watch out for paper cuts…

–Adrienne