BookExpo America, (BEA) an annual booksellers and publishers convention, is a great time to see what everyone else is up to while showing off what we’ve got lined up for the new year. Our booth always attracts a lot of traffic, and this year was no exception.

We brought in authors Anne Byrn, Rufus Butler Seder and Amy Saxton to greet eager fans and sign books. Our booth served cake from The Cake Mix Doctor Returns along with copies of Don’t Forget to Sing in Lifeboats—an optimistic book full of “Uncommon wisdom.” We presented the hottest new idea for children—Indestructibles books, and announced BananaGrams!, a book version of the popular game.

But the BEA fun didn’t stop at the convention center—we held a 400-person cocktail party at the Workman offices!

Even though many predicted a smaller-than-usual show this year with scaled-down booths and events, this BEA had a few twists, but with all of the excitement of years past.

A proud moment and a successful show!

Take a peek inside the New Haven studio of Rufus Butler Seder, author of the wonderful and amazing children’s books Gallop! and Swing!

Here he is at work on his Life Tiles, the life-sized medium on which the Scanimation process that animates Gallop and Swing was based.

The creation process is no less mysterious now, but infinitely cooler. (Or, rather, hotter!)

Published last fall, Gallop! introduced the amazing technology called Scanimation and took the children’s book world by storm. It became an instant bestseller—#1 on The New York Times children’s list.

Now Swing! does for kids what Gallop! does for animals—a boy rides a bike, a girl kicks her soccer ball, a swimmer cuts through the water, and a skater pirouettes on ice. The effect is joyous, magical, mesmerizing, and taps into the the endless fascination that children find in watching other children.