In addition to the Westminster Dog Show and the Dog Writers Association Awards (what a busy week!), this week also brought the 2012 Toy Fair to New York City. Yes, the Toy Fair is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a big room full of toy-makers, toy-sellers, toy-buyers, and toy-enthusiasts, sharing their products and ideas. There were board games and building blocks and bicycles and even some books—a real wonderland for anyone who likes to have fun.

Workman was there to represent our numerous kids’ books, but the star of the hour was BrainQuest, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year! Below are some photo highlights of the event.

The biggest BrainQuest decks ever! Fun to be smart indeed.

Honk if you love BrainQuest!

Me realizing my dream of meeting a LEGO minifigure (or maybe "maxifigure" is more appropriate).

An awesome "Bananagrams" book and calendar display at the Bananagrams booth.

Can you spot Waldo in this enormous mural?

—Avery, who wishes every day was Toy Fair day

All week New York City has been abuzz with the excitement of the Westminster Dog Show. (Have you seen the ewok that won Best in Show? Adorable!) We here at Workman absolutely love all things canine, so the dog show has been a source of much discussion around the office. But to our minds, the real main event of the week was the Dog Writers Association of America Awards, where The Love That Dog Training Program took home two top prizes!

First, the Dog Writers Association of America awarded The Love That Dog Training Program a Maxwell Award for being the Best Book in the Training and Behavior category. At the same event, the book was recognized by the Association of Pet Dog Trainers for promoting Canine Life and Social Skills (C.L.A.S.S.). Co-author Larry Kay was on hand to accept the award on behalf of himself and Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz, who sadly passed away early last year.

Love That Dog teaches the practice of positive reinforcement training—using love and encouragement, not intimidation and suppression—to raise happy and healthy dogs. We’re so glad to see that this humane (and fun!) method is not only catching on among the general public, but also being recognized and encouraged by professionals in the dog world. Congratulations to Dawn and Larry, and everyone involved in making this book a success!

Happy Valentine’s Day! Last year we celebrated with some adorable babies reading/snuggling with their beloved copies of Sandra Boynton’s book Snuggle Puppy. Now it’s been a year, and those babies are babies no more! Well, yes, they definitely still are—but now they’re mobile! They love to crawl and climb and run and play! And when they’re done bouncing around, they still love to read.

Recently* the Workman office hosted a party for the many kids of Workman employees. The results, as you’ll see below, were incredibly cute. Enjoy these photos from the most recent Workman play date; they’re sure to melt your heart, chocolate or otherwise.

Group publisher Bob Miller serenades Charlotte...

...while Scarlet rocks out on the tambourine...

...and Trey and Lorca break it down on the dance floor!

Levi loves bubbles! (And who doesn't?)

Vallen knows that books can be enjoyed both rightside up AND upside down.

Caleb samples the snacks (and books) on offer...

...while Isabella enjoys storytime with Mom.

Evie's ready for a day at the beach!

Some babies, like Madeleine, were still a little young to join the action...

...but that doesn't mean that they, like Serenity here, didn't enjoy watching as much as we adults did!

*Okay, you caught me: This event was actually a few months ago. (No, we don’t wear shorts and sandals in February around here…) But the pictures just seemed so right—so sweet and cute and fun—for Valentine’s Day that we couldn’t resist sharing them today.

Who: Brooklyn artist and Missed Connections author Sophie Blackall
What: A Love-in-Transit Party
Where: New York Transit Museum
Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn Heights
When: Tuesday, February 14, 6–8 PM
Why: Valentine’s Day!

(Click the flyer below or right here for a larger version.)

Sophie Blackall is an illustrator and author who lives in Brooklyn. Her latest book is Missed Connections, in which she illustrated the most intriguing “missed connections” listings that she found on Craigslist.

P.S. Hey commuters: Have you seen Sophie’s beautiful art in the subways yet?

Who: Brooklyn artist and Missed Connections author Sophie Blackall
What: A Love-in-Transit Party
Where: New York Transit Museum
Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn Heights
When: Tuesday, February 14, 6–8 PM
Why: Valentine’s Day!

(Click the flyer below or right here for a larger version.)

Sophie Blackall is an illustrator and author who lives in Brooklyn. Her latest book is Missed Connections, in which she illustrated the most intriguing “missed connections” listings that she found on Craigslist.

P.S. Hey commuters: Have you seen Sophie’s beautiful art in the subways yet?

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

For cartoonists, getting published in The New Yorker is quite an achievement, but even the tried-and-true among them aren’t immune to rejection.  They loved you last week, but this week you’re “too lowbrow”?  It stings.  Matthew Diffee, who managed to sneak into The New Yorker between rejections, compiles the cast-aside submissions of well-known cartoonists in The Best of the Rejection Collection: 293 Cartoons that Were Too Dumb, Too Dark, or Too Naughty for The New Yorker.  Join him and several other rejectees as they celebrate the book and the agony of defeat on Thursday, January 12th at Manhattan’s Strand Books.

It’s that time of year again—time to break out the tinsel and the holiday sweaters and, of course, the cookies! Yesterday was the Workman holiday party, and we really pulled out the stops. In addition to gifts under the tree, a rockin’ holiday band, and a record-breaking dance number (more details soon…!), the party also saw the return of a favorite holiday tradition: the annual Workman cookie swap.

A very small sampling of the many desserts at the party

What is a cookie swap, you ask? It’s just that: a swapping of cookies. Partygoers whipped up a batch of their favorite cookies—often, you probably won’t be surprised to learn, out of a Workman cookbook—and then laid them out for display. Then everyone who brought in baked goods could put together a sampler of all the other cookies they wanted to take home. And even those of us who didn’t make anything were allowed to try a few—you know, in the generous holiday spirit and all.

This year the edible offerings were as great as ever, with cookies running the gamut from peanut butter thumbprints to chocolate whoopie pies. Among the many highlights were treats from two of our favorite cookie books: Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunch Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich and Lauren Chattman’s Cookie Swap! Below, check out (on the left) some Snickerdoodles from Chewy Gooey and (right) some Chocolate Peppermint Dirt Cookies from Cookie Swap!, lovingly baked by Workman employees.

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Gearing up for your own holiday party? Whip up a plate of delicious ginger cookies from Artisan’s spectacular Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy and you’re sure to wow all the holiday revelers you know; the recipe’s below. (And keep scrolling for a few choice shots from the party!)

Partygoers mingle and jingle.

Red-and-green peanut butter thumbprints (!!)

The Reprints---Nancy (at the back on the spoons), Erin, Liz, Bob, David, Jeanne, and Mike (below)---rock out.

No keyboard? There's an app for that.

Donated gifts under the tree---and Cheryl and Griffith Day of "The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook" on top!

Happy holidays, from our family to yours!
—Avery

Now that Thanksgiving’s over and the family has scattered  (at least for now), there’s a good chance they somehow manage not to feel so far away. Between FaceTime, Skype, email, and other modern modes of conversation, it’s fairly likely you’re not missing a beat — either you’re texting them or, more likely, they’re texting you. So, in celebration of this in-between holiday time and the When Parents Text blog’s 1^st year anniversary (a holiday in itself!), we present you with this lovely video: