High Five Books

🌷 May is PACKED with bookish family fun! Please join our High Five crew at any of these inclusive family events: 5/2, 10-10:30am: FAMILY STORYTIME: 'Mac Wears a Hat' w/ local author Vicki Johnson (@vickijohnsonwrites ) at High Five Books 5/2, 11am-4pm: See you at Hampshire Pride (@hampshirepride ) in downtown Northampton! 5/5, 4-5pm: Mass Kids Lit Fest's Cat Nap Storytime w/ Caldecott Honoree Brian Lies (@brianlies ) at Forbes Library (@forbeslibrary ) @masscenterforbook 5/6, 12-4pm: Spring Egg-Stravaganza Science Camp w/ The Community Classroom (@communityclassroomtutors ) at High Five Books 5/6, 6-7pm: Graphic Novel Book Club for Ages 8-12 at High Five Books 5/9, 11am-12pm: Dragon Masters Palooza w/ bestselling Author Tracey West (@traceywestbooks ) at BOMBYX (@bombyx.live ) 5/16, 10-10:30am: FAMILY STORYTIME: 'Nice Work' w/ local author Nicholas Day (@bynicholasday ) at High Five Books 5/16, 7:30-9:30pm: Annual Benefit Event for Transhealth (@ourtranshealth ), featuring Author & TikToker Mercury Stardust (@mercurystardusttopz ) at the Academy of Music (@aomtheatre ) 5/20, 11-11:30am: Extra Storytime w/ Lexi at the Northampton Parent Center (@northamptonparentscenter ) 5/21, 5:45-7pm: Midnight Mayhem "Sleepover" w/ local author Christina Uss (@christinauss ) at the Easthampton Public Library (@ehlibrary ) 5/23, 10-10:30am: FAMILY STORYTIME: 'Lydia Loves Bugs' w/ local author Heidi E.Y. Stemple (@heidieys ) at High Five Books 5/28, 5-7pm: Spring Educator Night at High Five Books 5/30, 10-10:30am: FAMILY STORYTIME: 'Rainbow Cookies' w/ local author Lesléa Newman (@lezelpoet ) More info: highfivebooks.org/events

So many new followers! 👋 Hullo, all! If you're fresh to High Five, here's what to know about our Monday-Saturday, 10am-6pm hours for all families: ⭐ WEEKDAYS: ⭐ DAYTIME, 10am-3pm, we're a quiet, cheerful place to meet pals for free crafting and playing in our studio, with LOTS of spaces for snuggly reading around the store. AFTER-SCHOOL, 3-6pm*, we're a bustling reader hangout! Kids & their grownups are invited to read, craft, & decompress in our bookstore or studio or on our patio. *PLEASE NOTE: Our studio may be closed during after-school clubs. ⭐ FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS: ⭐ 9am: OH, BABY! A free, casual hangout for caretakers of new humans. Join us before the store opens! Come for as much or as little of the hour as you can. 10am: STORYTIME! We read interactive stories, sing silly songs, and regularly feature visiting authors, illustrators, & family musicians. And we also host joyful, inclusive family events offsite throughout the year. Join us: highfivebooks.org/events

You’ve asked for it for years: Birthday parties have arrived at High Five Books! 🎊 Book our studio for your reader’s 90-minute birthday party for up to 10 guests, plus siblings and/or caregiver(s). 🎈 WE PROVIDE: A party plan & host; storytime or group book chat; simple, age-appropriate activities; reading nooks galore! 🎈 YOU PROVIDE: Snacks, treats, & paper goods; any themed decor; additional games or activities. 🎈 ADD-ONS: Party favors (books, craft supplies; gift cards, etc.), additional entertainment. Choose from a Friday evening, Saturday afternoon, or Sunday morning party: FRIDAYS, 6:30-8pm: Ideal for book-loving tweens, teens, and grownups, our Friday evening guests have the whole store to themselves! $200 SATURDAYS, 3:30-5pm: Our bookstore will be OPEN during this party time, but your guests still have the run of our studio and store. $150 SUNDAYS, 10:30am-12pm: Perfect for younger kids! During Sunday morning parties, the store will be closed to the public. $200 Have party Qs—or a vision for your party not listed here? Reach out: [email protected]

Who's ready for Mercury Stardust (@mercurystardusttopz ) on Saturday night?! 🧑‍🎤🖐️🛠️ WE ARE! Please join us for the FREEDOM TO BE OURSELVES Annual Benefit tomorrow night for our friends at Transhealth (@ourtranshealth ), whose mission is to protect and expand access to gender-affirming care. Starting at 7:30 at the Academy of Music (@aomtheatre ), it will be an unforgettable evening that illuminates the power of hope, the warmth of joy, and the courage required to live authentically. We'll be selling Mercury's beautiful book 'SAFE AND SOUND: A Renter-Friendly Guide to Home Repair' and donating the proceeds right back to Transhealth! Tickets: tinyurl.com/FreedomToBeOurselves (Families, please contact us directly for a *free* seat to this event!)

Hey, it’s @bynicholasday ! Saturday at 10am, he’ll nicely share NICE WORK with our nice readers (and sign copies for their nice grownups). Storytime is FREE! And yup, baby group will take place at 9am. (Babies sure are nice, too.) See you soon!

🚁 🐝 There’s less than a week before A DIFFERENT KIND OF ENEMY, the second book in the Different Kind young adult series by Lee Wind (@iamleewind ), is out! Order your copy through us by June 19 for a chance to win a slew of Spy Swag, including a custom keychain, invisible ink pen, signed bookplate, new character trading cards, and more! Head to highfivebooks.org ABOUT ‘A DIFFERENT KIND OF ENEMY’ An anomaly in space has stopped in Earth’s path in a way not accounted for by astronomical physics. Is it aliens? With only six days before inevitable contact, newly married teen spies Nicolas “Nico” Hall and Samuel “Sam” Solomon are enlisted to investigate—each young man sworn to secrecy even from the other. Nico is in the field looking for answers and tracking a mysterious Person of Interest. Sam is working first contact scenarios on the thirteenth floor of a Manhattan building that doesn’t officially have a thirteenth floor. And they’re both wondering if the rules of love change if it’s the end of the world. As humanity slips into the grip of alien invasion panic, Nico and Sam realize they’re going to have to work together to save the world—and their marriage.

Yesterday was such an exciting New Book Tuesday (so exciting we didn't get around to posting until today 😄)! We are so thrilled to host @bynicholasday for story time on Saturday and hear him read his newest book, Nice Work! (PSA: This book will make you Feel Things so be prepared!) There are also a bunch of other incredible new picture books out this week like Dad and My Papi's Hands - and so many more! Come get cozy and read some books in our windows 😊 #highfivebooks #newbooktuesday ID close up picture of nice work, new book shelf from far away, close up of several new titles

Our team can't believe that THE Mercury Stardust (@mercurystardusttopz )—the Trans Handy Ma'am from Tiktok(!) and the author of our fav renter-friendly guide to home repair—will be in Northampton this Saturday night at the Academy of Music Theatre (@aomtheatre )! Mercury will headline the Freedom to Be Ourselves Annual Benefit, a 5th anniversary celebration supporting the mission of Transhealth (@ourtranshealth ) to protect and expand access to gender-affirming care. High Five Books will sell copies of Mercury’s book SAFE AND SOUND, and proceeds will be donated to Transhealth. TICKETS: tinyurl.com/FreedomToBeOurselves **Families: If cost is a deterrent, reach out to High Five for a free ticket code.

A very swampy thank you to all the families who celebrated DRAGON MASTERS PALOOZA with us and *prolific* Author Tracey West (@traceywestbooks ) this weekend! We couldn't believe how far you traveled and how enthusiastically you stan this series! Connecting kids with their kidlit heroes is our team's favorite, and we're so grateful for every grownup who accompanied your kiddo to this special event. Thank you, grownups! Thank you, Tracey! Thank you, @bombyx.live !

🐉 Our High Five hours are 10am-3pm today, with NO baby group or storytime. Join us up the street at @bombyx.live to meet beloved author @traceywestbooks ! $10 tickets available at the door, and no one turned away for lack of funds. See you soon!

🌈 Last weekend was one of our favorite offsite events of the year: Hampshire Pride (@hampshirepride )! ☔ After a brief rain shower, the skies cleared up and the people poured in as the parade wound its way down to the vendor festival. There were rainbow umbrellas galore, a few furry friends, and tons of book lovers! We had so much fun chatting with everyone who stopped by our booth and we can't wait to see you all around the shop soon! 📣 A special shoutout to the winners of our audio-books-for-a-year and jr-bookseller-for-a-day raffles, Aster & Phoenox—and stay tuned for more junior bookseller opportunities coming soon! 👀 #highfivebooks Music: It's A Good Day Musician: Chris Mason (from Audiio)

Come for the DRAGONS, stay for the DONUTS, and leave with art & goodies from some of the coolest kids around! Tomorrow is going to be a blast at Bombyx, don’t miss it. 🧵KIDS MAKERS MARKET at 10AM-1PM (crafts and goodies made by crafters 6-18 years old) 🐉 DRAGON MASTERS PALOOZA celebrate the release of the 31st Dragon Masters book: Defending the Swamp Dragon with bestselling author Tracey West! 🍩 Enjoy donuts from @wakethedeaddonuts_ ✨