Book Launch Fun for Elise Parsley, Magnolia, and her Alligator

Raise your hand if you're the kind of person who likes to go to restaurants on their opening nights or camp out on the sidewalk to buy concert tickets. Notice? My hand is not going up. I do not need to be the first for any of that stuff, until--

Elise Parsley's first picture book, If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, Don't! launched at our local Barnes & Noble in July. By the time I got there, the children's area was mobbed and all her books were sold out!

As you can see, Elise was pretty pleased. I borrowed a friend's book for the picture! (And disregard the inaccurate date on the photo. This really did happen on July 7.)

Before I got there, Elise gave a reading and drawing demonstration. Here's an upset Magnolia:

Since then, I've gotten my own copy of the book signed by the author. A fun fact is that the publisher created a font based on Elise's handwriting! Watch for more titles featuring Magnolia. What will she try next?

Here's more about the book: 

If you ever want to go to a book launch, do!  It will make the author happy and could be a way to make new friends, as you stand in the crowd, abuzz about the book. 

Have you attended any kind of debut or premiere? How did you like it?