Costumes for the Grown-Ups, Books (and Authors) for the Children

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Fifteen women in coloful costumes
Folkore and literary heroine costumes from The Enchanted Cellar. (Nicholas Yoon/UC Davis photo)

AT A GLANCE

Teen-agers and adults are invited to go costume shopping from Wednesday (Oct. 18) through Halloween in The Enchanted Cellar, while the younger set and their parents can meet two children’s authors next week:

  • Katherine Schwarzenegger, who will visit the School of Veterinary Medicine to present and read from her new book, Maverick and Me, about a rescue dog.
  • Alumna Amy “Amy G” Gutierrez, who will be at UC Davis’ Downtown Store to sign copies of her “Smarty Marty” baseball books.

The Enchanted Cellar

“Heroines with Heart,” celebrating the courageous young women of folklore and literature, are featured this year in The Enchanted Cellar, run by the costume shop of the Department of Theatre and Dance.

Man in Captain America costume
Captain America

The heroine outfits and other costumes in this year’s collection have been drawn from such subjects as Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Star Wars and Star Trek, movie stars, superheroes, fairies and original Steampunk, storybook favorites such as Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, and iconic fashion periods such as the 1920s, Victorian England and the lavish French Court of Marie Antoinette.

“We have kits starting at $35 which include all accessories, head-to-toe,” said Roxanne Femling, director of the costume shop. “Or, people can make an individual appointment with one of our costume consultants who will make up a kit from our stock, and customers can put together their own character. Come have fun with it!”

You’ll find the cellar in the cellar — the lower level of the theatre building. All visitors have a chance to win a prize, perhaps a fairy-wings-and-mask set or a skull mug, or maybe the grand prize of a costume kit rental. You get one prize ticket just for coming in, a second ticket if you bring a friend (your friend gets a ticket, too!) and a third ticket if you rent a costume kit. Drawings will be held at 4 p.m. on two consecutive Fridays: Oct. 20 and 27. You need not be present to win.

Maverick and Me

Katherine Schwarzenegger holds up Maverick.
Maverick and his rescuer, Katherine Schwarzenegger.

Schwarzenegger is passionate about homeless dogs and the animal shelters and rescue organizations that take in the strays — and in this picture book she introduces children to the concept of “adopt, don't shop.”

Maverick and Me book cover

The author’s appearance is scheduled from 4 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, in Valley Hall — Room 1041 and the Floyd Commons (lobby). Admission is free and open to the public.

Published by the WorthyKids/Ideas imprint of Worthy Publishing Co. in September, Maverick and Me is recommended for ages 4-7, grades preschool-3. The book is available at UC Davis Stores, and also will be sold at the veterinary school event (credit cards only).

This is Schwarzenegger’s first children’s book, after she wrote for young women (2010’s Rock What You’ve Got, a New York Times’ best-seller) and young women and men (2014’s I Just Graduated … Now What?). She’s also a lifestyle blogger and philanthropist, as well as an animal activist. Oh, and she’s the daughter of Maria Shriver and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Amy Gutierrez and three book covers
Amy “Amy G” Gutierrez continues her baseball-smart theme with “Smarty Marty Steps Up Her Game,” published in April.

‘Smarty Marty’

“Amy G,” class of 1995, is the in-game reporter for San Francisco Giants’ televised games and the author of three books:

  • Smarty Marty’s Got Game, with illustrations by Adam McCauley, published in 2013 (English) and 2017 (Spanish)
  • Smarty Marty Steps Up Her Game, with illustrations by Ariana Killoran, published in April
  • Smarty Marty’s Official Gameday Scorebook, published in 2015
Smarty Marty's Got Game en espanol cover
“Smarty Marty’s Got Game” in Spanish, published in August 2017.

Marty is a fictional girl, but, like Amy G, she is asserting herself in the game of baseball — she knows so much about the game that her nickname is “Smarty Marty.” In the original volume, a picture book, she shares her passion with her younger brother, Mikey.

Now, Marty and Mikey are back in Smarty Marty Steps Up Her Game, the first in what the publisher says will be a series of illustrated chapter books. In the first, “Smarty Marty is the official scorekeeper for her brother’s Little League division,” according to the publisher. “But when the announcer is a no-show for the first game, Smarty Marty is asked to fill in, inspiring her dream to not only score, but“Smarty Marty’s Got Game” in Spanish, published in August 2017. also to announce. But not everyone is happy about a girl announcing a baseball game. Will Smarty Marty step up her game?”

BOOKS ...

Similarly, not everyone was happy when Gutierrez started her Giants reporting job in 2008. “I was not received well at all ... people would say, ‘Who is this? She’s horrible!’” she recalled in an interview with The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat. “My first few years, I would know who they (the players) were. Now the young guys know who I am because they watch the games. ... I have a little more power on my side.”

She is scheduled to be at the Downtown Store, 630 Second St. (at the corner of F Street), from 3 to 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27.

Gutierrez’s day in Davis also includes a visit to a morning assembly at Birch Lane Elementary School in Davis; and, on campus, a talk and question-and-answer session about her career in sports journalism, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., 107 Art Annex.

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Dateline Staff, 530-752-6556, dateline@ucdavis.edu

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