(718) 260–2500 Brooklyn Paper’s essential guide to the Borough of Kings September 20–26, 2019
Read-along: Mo Willems, the first picture book author to be honored with the Brooklyn Book Festival’s Best of Brooklyn award, will read from his books at the Festival’s
Children’s Day on Sept. 21.
The write stuff A guide to this year’s Brooklyn Book Festival
By Bill Roundy
Brooklyn Paper
Consider your weekend fully booked!
The Brooklyn Book Festival will
take over the Downtown area this weekend.
With bookend events happening all
over Brooklyn, a Children’s Day event on
Sept. 21, and more than 300 authors scheduled
for the Festival Day on Sept. 22, it
can be easy to feel overwhelmed. Fortunately,
we have bookmarked some essential
events for you:
Get lit!
Ease into the weekend by schmoozing
with the borough’s independent publishers,
at a free party with food, drinks, music,
and chance to win free books!
Indie Party at Greenlight Bookstore
(646 Fulton St. at Lafayette Avenue in Fort
Greene, www.greenlightbookstore.com).
Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. Free.
Guest of honor
The Festival’s Best of Brooklyn award
winner this year is picture book author and
illustrator Mo Willems, creator of the beloved
“Knuffle Bunny” series. The former
Park Slope author (he now lives in
France) will deliver an animated reading
from “The Pigeon Has To Go To School!”
and offer a sneak preview of his upcoming
book “Who is the Mystery Reader?
An Unlimited Squirrels Book.”
Mo Willems at NYU Tandon School
of Engineering Auditorium (5 Metrotech
Commons between Lawrence and Jay
streets Downtown, www.brooklynbookfestival.
org/childrens-day). Sept. 21 at
11:30 a.m. Free.
Poster child
The creator of this year’s Book Festival
poster, Raúl Colón, discusses his process, his
upcoming book “Imagine,” and guides guests
through making their own posters.
NYU Tandon School of Engineering
Makers and Creators Room (5 Metrotech
Commons between Lawrence and
Jay streets Downtown). Sept. 21 at noon.
Free.
Fair play
In addition to the many readings and
talks happening on the festival day, more
than 250 local and international publishers
and booksellers will set up tents on Cadman
Plaza to peddle books all day long.
Literary Market on Cadman Plaza (Court
Street between Joralemon and Johnson
streets in Brooklyn Heights, www.brooklynbookfestival.
org). Sept. 22; 10 a.m.–6
p.m. Free.
Sci-fi folks
Brooklyn author N.K. Jemisin, creator of
the “Broken Earth” trilogy (and last year’s
Best of Brooklyn award winner), talks about
creating new worlds with acclaimed sci-fi
authors Ted Chiang and Mark Doten.
“Imagining Beyond” at St. Francis College
Founder’s Hall (180 Remsen St. between
Court and Clinton streets in Brooklyn
Heights). Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. Free.
Read Wolf
Catch a conversation between rising star
Marlon James, author of “Black Leopard,
Red Wolf” and “A Brief History of Seven
Killings” and titan of literature Joyce Carol
Oates, author of more than 50 novels, including
the recent “My Life as a Rat.”
At St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church
(157 Montague St. at Clinton Street in
Brooklyn Heights, www.stannholytrinity.
org). Sept. 22 at 5 pm. Free.
Talk it out
Finally, the Bushwick Book Club will
present songs, art, film clips, and snacks inspired
by the graphic memoir “Good Talk,”
from Brooklyn author Mira Jacob.
Bushwick Book Club at Barbes {396
Ninth St. at Sixth avenue in Park Slope),
www.barbesbrooklyn.com. Sept. 22 at 7
p.m. $5 suggested donation.
By Aidan Graham
Brooklyn Paper
This group is rock and rolling the
dough!
A pizza-loving blues band is
cooking up a Brooklyn-centric new
album. The Brooklyn Pizzaiolos will
soon launch the debut album “Right
Outta Da Oven,” featuring cheesy
songs that pay homage to the flavorful
history of Kings County, said the
band’s leader.
“There’s not a lot of ‘old’ New York
City left. New York has changed tremendously.
People have moved from
other places, and it’s completely transformed
the city,” said Jeff Alexander,
a Sheepshead Bay native. “All that’s
left is a few old school New Yorkers
who were born here — and some old
pizzerias.”
The new album features mouthwatering
rhythms including “Grab a
Slice” and “Brooklyn in my Bones”
— tributes to the band’s favorite Italian
dish, and to the borough that produces
the best version of it.
“One song is called ‘Brooklyn Pizza
Blues,’ which was an obvious song to
write,” said Alexander. “I’ve been in
different cities around the county, and
sometimes you can’t get a real slice of
pizza — and when you can’t get real
pizza, you get the pizza blues.”
Alexander, the main songwriter for
the six-member ensemble, focused on
pizza because, he said, it is among
the last true testaments to Brooklyn’s
past. He lists Sal’s Pizzeria in Carroll
Gardens, Luigi’s Pizza in Greenwood
Heights, Johnny’s Pizzeria in Borough
Park, and V & S Pizza in Sheepshead
Bay as his favorites.
“They’re all very well kept, and
they’re clean. But they look just like
the day they opened. It’s old school.
It’s like a time warp,” he said. “They
make pizza just like their fathers taught
them.”
The band’s frontman says that he
is 90 percent done with the upcoming
pizza project, and plans to launch
a Kickstarter campaign to fund its
promotion, with special rewards including
t-shirts and CDs for highdollar
donors.
“In the process of recording the
project, I ran out of dough, and I
was thinking about how I can put
together a Kickstarter where New
Yorkers and Brooklynites would be
interested enough to fund the project,”
he said. “I hope that New Yorkers
and Brooklynites really embrace
it, but it should appeal to music lovers
everywhere.”
Hear “Right Outta Da Oven,” by
the Brooklyn Pizzaiolos streaming on
the band’s website: www.grabaslice.
nyc/pages/music-the-brooklyn-pizzaiolos.
ELEPHANTS
That’s heavy
It’s raining elephants!
A herd of parachuting pachyderms will plummet
to the earth next weekend during the third
annual Dumbo Drop charity event. Brooklynites
can gather at a block party on the neighborhood’s
picturesque Washington Street on Sept. 27 to
watch the mini elephant toys float from the sky.
All of the Dumbo Drop participants will receive
a souvenir animal to take home, and those who
sponsor the toy elephants that land closest to a
target can win a variety of prizes.
This year’s event will add a spectacular second
round called the Disco Drop, with illuminated
elephants floating through the night sky. Both
drops benefit PS 307 and Dock Street School, and
adding a light-up element offers twice as many
chances for people to contribute, said the executive
director of the Dumbo Business Improvement
District, which sponsors the event
“The idea of the Disco Drop would add the
spectacle of light to the experience,” said Alexandria
Sica. “We hope this will motivate folks
to participate because, at the end of the day, our
goal is to raise money for schools.”
Entering either the original Dumbo Drop or
the Disco Drop costs $20, and participants can
also choose to decorate their own elephant souvenir
during the block party. Kids and adults who
join the Elephant Bedazzle Extravaganza Experience
may win an extra prize, said Sica.
“Artists of all ages can customize parachutes
and elephants with state of the art materials.
Come grab a beer and compete for more prizes,
awarded by celebrity judges, who are on the hunt
for local creative talent,” she said.
Dumbo Drop prizes include a $1,000 Grand
Prize, an all-you-can-eat ice cream party at Oddfellows,
and a VIP pass to Juliana’s pizza spot
that allows the winner to skip the long line of
tourists outside. The Disco Drop will feature
two prizes: a private rooftop party for 10 at the
Time Out Market; and an evening at Beat the
Bomb, an escape room extravaganza.
The block party will also feature booths from
local Dumbo restaurants, including Westville,
Time Out Market, and Front Street Pizza, along
with live music, street games, and a virtual reality
experience.
The Great Dumbo Drop Block Party (at
Washington and Water streets in Dumbo, www.
dumbo.is/dropping-elephants). Sept. 27; 4–9
p.m. Dumbo Drop at 6 p.m. Disco Drop at 7:45
p.m. Free admission; $20. — Chandler Kidd
BOOKS
Reading picks
Community Bookstore’s pick:
“Floating Coast,” by Bathsheba Demuth
In this rich portrait of the ecology and geopolitics
of the Bering Strait, Demuth draws on
the human and nonhuman
histories of this liminal
border zone: between
continents, economies,
and ideologies. In finely
rendered prose, Demuth
excavates the legacy of
resource extraction,
both via the indigenous
Yupik peoples and outsiders;
from 19th century
whalers to the cold war
behemoths of Russia and
the United States. An essential
work, both urgent and timeless.
— Samuel Partal, Community Bookstore 43
Seventh Ave. between Carroll Street and Garfield
Place in Park Slope, (718) 783–3075, www.
commu nityb ookst ore.net .
Greenlight Bookstore’s pick:
“Permission to Feel,” by Marc Brackett
I keep finding myself referring to this highly
prescriptive book in conversations, similar to the
way I did when I read Susan
Cain’s “Quiet.” Using
the author’s “RULER”
technique (which is explained
in the book —
no spoilers!) breaks down
how we identify, accept,
and navigate not just our
emotions, but other’s feelings
as well. The book ostensibly
addresses children
and their emotional
lives, but while I began
reading it with my son in mind, I am reading it
just as much (possibly moreso) for myself.
— Rebecca Fitting, Greenlight Bookstore
686 Fulton St. between S. Elliott Place and S.
Portland Avenue in Fort Greene, (718) 246–
0200, www.greenlightbookstore.com .
Word’s picks:
“Cold Storage,” by
David Koepp
A fun science thriller
with a great touch of humor
in the writing. David
Koepp hits a perfect balance
of tension and character
development in this
story of an out-of-control
fungus that could wipe
out all life on the planet
if it gets loose.
— Will Olsen, Word 126 Franklin St. at Milton
Street in Greenpoint, (718) 383–0096, www.
wordbookstores.com .
All pie and mighty
Brooklyn band sings love songs to pizza
food. Photo by Derrick Watterson
Getting his pizza the pie: Brooklyn Pizzaiolos band leader Jeff
Alexander sings tunes dedicated to his native borough, and his favorite
Photo by Caroline Ourso
/www.commu
/childrens-day
/childrens-day
/childrens-day
/www.brook-lynbookfestival.org
/www.brook-lynbookfestival.org
/www.brook-lynbookfestival.org
/www.stannholytrinity
/www.barbesbrooklyn.com
/www.grabaslice
/dropping-elephants
/dropping-elephants
/www.greenlightbookstore.com
/www.commu
/www.greenlightbookstore.com
/www.wordbookstores.com
/www.wordbookstores.com
/www.greenlightbookstore.com)
/www.stannholytrinity
/www.barbesbrooklyn.com
/www.grabaslice
/ore.net
/www.greenlightbookstore.com
/wordbookstores.com