Free activities and events in New York City

In-Store: Storytime with Esmé Shapiro & Kate Finney “Don’t Eat Me!”

Published: October 10, 2025; Aithor: Julia Sonrisa

Event guidelines:

• All attendees are encouraged to wear face masks at all times.
• RSVP is highly encouraged but not required.
• Additional copies of the event book will be available for purchase in-store.
• A book signing will follow the reading.
• As a reminder: If you are not feeling well, please do not come to the event, even if you have a ticket; email us and we’ll work it out.

If you have any questions regarding these guidelines or to request accessibility accommodations, please get in touch with eventhelp@booksaremagic.net.

From award-winning illustrator Esmé Shapiro and debut talent Kate Finney comes the unforgettable story of Belladonna, a spunky, beautiful plant who must learn to survive — even though she can’t flee from those who want to devour her!

Everyone in the forest knows about Belladonna — that tall, beautiful plant whose berries are so delicious that they’re forever being gobbled up. Day after day, poor Belladonna is nibbled at until there’s almost nothing left of her. But unlike the animals who can leap, climb, or fly away, Belladonna, being a plant, is firmly rooted in place. So what’s a plant to do to survive?

This is the story of how Belladonna learns to harness her own chemical powers to protect herself and her descendants . . . and how she learns from a great cast of plant and animal characters — culminating in a dandy pheasant — that no one ever survives alone.

This one-of-a-kind picture book is gorgeously illustrated by Esmé Shapiro with wit and humor, and has an astonishingly epic framing that carries Belladonna across eons into her final, powerful form!

Esmé Shapiro grew up in Laurel Canyon, California, and Ontario, Canada, and is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. Her previous picture books include Ooko, which was nominated for a Governor General’s Literary Award in 2016, Alma and the Beast, Carol and the Pickle-Toad, and, most recently, My Self, Your Self, which has received two starred reviews. Esmé also illustrated Yak and Dove by Kyo Maclear, Eliza: The Story of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton by Margaret McNamara, and A Garden of Creatures by Sheila Heti. She has exhibited at the Society of Illustrators, and her work has been featured in Taproot and Plansponsormagazines. Esmé lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband, Daniel, and their two dogs.

Kate Finney grew up among familiar trees on the outskirts of Philadelphia. She is the recipient of Vassar’s Ann E. Imbrie Prize for Excellence in Fiction Writing. She splits her time between Brooklyn and an island in Maine.

Time: 11:00 am EDT

Free!

Registration

Detailed information and discussion of the event.