Did you know that we’ve curated a series of eBook lists for babies through teens, at VERY affordable prices, to help you select titles that you can provide to your patrons through Axis 360? We have! Find the lists here under "2020 Summer Reading Curated Collections." These will keep kids engaged all summer long!

We’ve also added a NEW CATS Virtual TitleTalk to our YouTube channel, focused on “Mostly Fantasy,” featuring CATS Sales Manager Rita King, librarian Tegan Beese from Lake Villa Library in IL, and author Lee Bacon! Watch here, and don’t forget to check out our Spring-Summer 2020 TitleTalk presentation as well. Stay tuned for more of these informative virtual events by following us on our CATS Facebook page.

CATS News

Ongoing Series Update

Dragon Hoops

Written by Gene Luen Yang | First Second | March 17, 2020 | 9781626720794 | Hardcover | $24.99

This is the perfect book for any basketball obsessed kiddo as well as for the kiddo averse to organized sports. Yang sets up the history of the game, with some American cultural history added in against the backdrop of the 2015 California state high school basketball championship. Readers will be exposed to the American Civil Rights movement, and how the game of basketball crossed those lines. Read More.

Catching Thoughts

Written by Bobbie Clark, illustrated by Summer Macon | Beaming Books | August 11, 2020 | 9781506464169 | Hardcover | $17.99

This is a sweet new picture book of a little girl who can’t get rid of a negative thought. It helps teach children the practice of mindfulness when they sometimes can’t get rid of unwanted thoughts no matter how hard they try. In this story, a little girl tries to get rid of her unwanted thought by ignoring it, yelling at it, and crying about it. She ends up feeling frustrated until she finally recognized that and addresses the thought with saying, "Hello." Now, she finally notices more beautiful and positive thoughts all around her. As she catches hold of new thoughts, the girl discovers she can fill her mind with whatever she chooses. Read More

Aaron Reynolds

Aaron Reynolds is the New York Times bestselling author of many highly acclaimed books for kids, including Here Comes Destructosaurus!, Carnivores and the Caldecott Honor–winning book Creepy Carrots!. His newest title, Rescuing Mrs. Birdley, (9781534427044 REI, 9781534427051 EBK), arrives on shelves June 30.
Read the interview here.

Meet Pam Day

Pam Day is the editor of Growing Minds, CATS Series and a number of other catalogs and microsites hosted by Baker & Taylor. Learn all about Pam here.

Meet Bobbie Bensur

Meet Bobbie, Children’s and Teen Services Manager for the Eastern Region. Bobbie hails from south Florida originally, and spent time in Boston for college and New York City as a young professional in the children’s publishing industry. She now lives in her favorite place—Maine—with her husband, Michael, and their adorable black cat, Hades Mercedes. Learn all about Bobbie here.

Meet Rita King

Meet Rita King, Children’s and Teen Services Manager for the Western half of the country. She hails from the Detroit metropolitan area, and currently resides in the great state of Michigan. Learn all about Rita here.

Random House and Baker & Taylor Summer Reading Sweepstakes is here!

Enter to win big prizes, including original artwork and autographed books from Emily Winfield Martin! One grand prize winner, and five runners-up will be chosen. Winners will be announced in the August CATS Meow newsletter. View the full rules here. Contest ends 08/01/2020. 

Don’t forget to download the activity sheets, featuring the artwork on Ms. Winfield, and let your young patrons imagine THEIR stories this summer too.

Enter for your chance to win a Last Kids on Earth Book Display!

Here's your chance to win a display FILLED with 8 copies of the newest title in the New York Times bestselling Last Kids on Earth series, in which June Del Toro has her very own adventure! June's Wild Flight brings new characters, high-stakes action and stunning revelations in an adventure that could only be June's. A decal pack is also included. Contest ends 6/12/2020.