Best-selling children's author Stuart Gibbs coming to Raleigh with new series

Stuart Gibbs, the New York Times best-selling children's author, will be at Quail Ridge Books in September with his latest book and new series, "Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation."

Gibbs is one of my daughters' very favorite authors. But I also saw, for my own eyes, how popular Gibbs is when I moderated a panel he was on during McIntyre Books' Whirlikids Festival. People lined to get him to sign their books. And the boy and father in front of me actually traveled from Columbia, S.C., just to attend the panel discussion and get their books signed by him.

Gibbs' latest series, recommended for kids ages 8 to 12 or so, is about the world's "youngest and smartest genius who's forced to use her unbelievable code-breaking skills to outsmart Einstein."

Gibbs also is known for his FunJungle, Spy School and Moon Base Alpha series. And, he's written screenplays for movies like "See Spot Run" and "Repli-Kate" and has worked on a bunch of animated films.

He'll be at Quail Ridge before a packed house, I'm sure, at 7 p.m., Sept. 18. To reserve two seats for the event and get a ticket for the signing line, you'll need to buy the book from Quail Ridge.

The book comes out on Sept. 17. But, if you plan on attending the event, it's best to pre-order now so you can get an earlier ticket for the signing line. The book is $17.99.