April brings book events for the kiddies

We get a lot of authors coming in and out of the Northern Virginia area for events pegged to adult literature, but little ones like book events, too. ‘Tis a very good week for your son or daughter if they like to get their read on.

On Wednesday, after the kids plan their April Fools Day nuttiness, drop them by the Borders in Fairfax for a 6 p.m. event with Mark Teague, the author of the children’s book “Funny Farm.” They’ll enjoy the tale of farm life when a well-dressed city dog shows up to his aunt and uncle’s place in the country, and he has to do a share of chores. Unfortunately, the chickens would rather chase him than lay eggs and the sheep, who happen to enjoy brushing their teeth, give him some trouble as well. If you can’t make that one, Teague will also be appearing at 10:30 a.m. on Friday at Politics and Prose downtown, which is hosting quite a few kid-friendly soirees this week. Deborah Wiles will be at the store at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday morning to chat about “The Aurora County All-Stars,” her newest effort about a star pitcher on his local baseball team who has to sit out a year because of a broken elbow and his first game back also happens to be the same day as the town’s 200th anniversary pageant. And at 1 p.m. Saturday, bring the little ones out to see William Loizeaux. He’ll be there to read from “Clarence Cochran, A Human Boy,” the story of a young cockroach who turns into a boy, much to his insect family’s chagrin.

Those with a bit more maturity will want to check out two DC Comics debuts this week: the vampirific “Dead Romeo,” a rocking miniseries written by Jesse Blaze Snider, son of Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider; and “The Flash: Rebirth” brings back Barry Allen, the fan-favorite Scarlet Speedster who’s died at least like 14 times by now. After penning some complicated Batman tales recently, Grant Morrison has resurrected his odd superhero Seaguy for a sequel to his 2004 miniseries, “Seaguy: The Slaves of Mickey Eye.” “The Destroyer” also begins this week, chronicling a superhero who decides to use his last days to take out a whole heap of bad guys, and from the “what were they thinking?” file, Marvel’s got a modern interpretation of “Pride & Prejudice.” Because watching “Bridget Jones’s Diary” with their girlfriends isn’t enough for some comic nerds.

Which comic book character would fit best in a Jane Austen novel? Let me know in the comments section.

Tags: book signing, books, comics