Since many children are on Spring Break around now, we feel that this is a great time for them to catch up on some pleasure reading. Whether you and your family are going away or staying home, we have books to keep your little ones entertained!

I am sure many of you, like me, were eagerly anticipating the arrival of spring. Well, officially it's spring, but the weather is NOT following the calendar. I’m looking forward to hanging up my down vest (even though it's my favorite turquoise color) and watching the color return to the gray landscape outside my window. It has been a very bland winter here in the Northeast.

So, as of March 20th, it is now officially spring and maybe soon the temperatures in the northeast will catch up as well! With a new season comes new reads. Be sure to put daylight savings time to use each night and capture some of the extra sunlight to catch up on this month's great new books.

Okay, get out your "to be read list" and grab a pen since there are some real winners to share this week...

For weeks now at the office we all have been looking forward to sharing Paul Levine's latest book, ILLEGAL, with you. It's a complete departure for readers who know Levine from his Solomon vs. Lord series. Here he takes on the subject of illegal immigration in a thriller that packs a punch. It reads authentically, which is a true testimony to the meticulous research that Levine did, and you can read more about in our interview with him. It was a house favorite for a while now, so we are glad it's now in stores for you to enjoy!

One of my favorite things about this job is meeting with professionals in the industry who clearly love the format. It's not just authors and illustrators, either. Publicists in the field are so passionate about what they do that it makes for great conversation about a lot more than just the titles that they are representing. Meeting with so many of them at New York Comic-Con was a great opportunity to make new connections...and I'm looking forward to making even more at San Diego Comic-Con this summer. Have you made your plans to go? Hotels are filling up already, so get on it if you haven't already.

I write this from Charlottesville, where I am in town for the Virginia Festival of the Book. I drove down yesterday (long ago I decided that any trip six hours or less was a driving trip, not a flying trip, with the interminable airline delays, etc.). The first event, Wine and Words, was held at Enoteca Wine & Panini Bar and featured David Baldacci and Adriana Trigiani. David has made appearances at the Festival since its inception 15 years ago. He was there with his beaming smile talking about his latest project, Feeding Body & Mind, which collects new and used books to be distributed to the recipients of Feeding America™ emergency food assistance through their nationwide network of Food Banks, thus helping feed both the body and the mind.