I am not Leona Lewis and beautiful as she is, I’m pretty glad I’m not. I heard that sometime in the last few days, at one of her book signings (she wrote a book?), a fan punched her in the face.

I have to admit, at the many book signings I’ve done over the last few months after the release of my debut picture book, ME WITH YOU, not a single fan has punched me in the face. I may have a slight advantage over Leona. I do activities with the children who come to my book signings. I keep them busy with coloring, and story times. There is double-sided tape and glitter glue. An argument almost erputed once over the hot pink glitter, but was quickly averted when I found an alternative in the glitter glue bag.

The worst thing that has happened at one of my book signings was a little “accident” with a pre-potty trained toddler. Hey, what can you do? Grab a baby wipe, spritz a little Febreze (they do have the travel size now!) and keep talking. (And next time, wear pants that aren’t dry clean only.)

That said, here’s a few tips for parents taking their children to a book signing:

1. Try to be on time. It’s not a deal-breaker, but you might miss part of the story!

2. Stay with your child and interact with the author or illustrator while they read the story. Don’t use story time as free babysitting so you can shop. 

3. Try to plan a bathroom break just *before* story time begins. 

4. Don’t feel like you have to buy a book! Hey, maybe you will, maybe you won’t. We’d love for you to. But even if you don’t, we’d love to chat with you and your child. We might even have a bookmark or postcard your child can take home. (But be sure to think outside the box before you leave the store. Your child might not want this book, but you may have a birthday party coming up for which you need a present, or a baby shower, or something! Signed books make great gifts! I’ve actually had people contact me after a signing because they didn’t buy a book and later, they wished they had.)

5. THANK THE BOOKSELLER for setting up the event. Of course, the author and illustrator will be thanking them, and of course they want to sell books, but in addition to that, they want to build relationships with the people in their community. Feedback about their events helps them to better serve their customer base.

6. Watch closely while your child plays with books they’ve picked up to look through. Some have stickers. Stickers which look like they need to be peeled off. Stickers which, when removed from their sticky sheet and placed in position will no longer be able to be moved. And the book will no longer be able to be sold.

Oh, wait. That last example? It’s for AUTHORS who take their children to book signings with them. Authors who expect their children to behave while their mommies are busy. Not that I know an author who fits that description. In fact, come to think of it, that author that I –ahem– don’t know was probably just busy using a baby wipe to clean off her dry-clean only pants.

About The Author

As a child, Kristy Dempsey enjoyed swinging from trees and splashing in the creek on her grandfather’s farm in South Carolina. These days, she lives in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, where her favorite moments are time spent with her husband and three children. In addition to writing, Kristy enjoys running and hand-painting glass tiles. And as often as possible, she still makes time to swing from a tree or two.  Read more about Kristy Dempsey.

Related posts:

1. Connect with Kristy Dempsey: You had to be there
2. ME WITH YOU by Kristy Dempsey
3. SIGNING: Kathryn Fitzmaurice in San Juan Capistrano, CA
4. Connect with Leigh Brescia: Book Expo America
5. Connect with Lindsey Leavitt: Susan Boyle and Book Covers