This week, a celebration honors The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian; The Snowy Day gets its own Forever stamps; Lauren Tarshis finds a fitting book launch location; Marla Frazee, David Shannon, and Mark Teague are serenaded; Laurie Hernandez meets a stylish fan; and Loren Long says ‘good day’ and ‘good night.’
Happy Anniversary
Author Sherman Alexie (center) celebrated the 10th anniversary of the publication of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, with Thalia Kids’ Book Club at Symphony Space in New York City on October 13. Joining Alexie was YA author Laurie Halse Anderson (r.), who spoke in conversation with Alexie about reading, writing, and life. Actor Dylan Carusona (l.) also performed a reading from the novel.
The Snowy Day Forever
The United States Postal Service has issued new Forever stamps featuring images from Ezra Jack Keats’s The Snowy Day (Viking, 1962). The Central Library at the Brooklyn Public Library held a dedication ceremony on October 4. Among those who spoke at the event was Andrea Davis Pinkney, v-p and editor-at-large at Scholastic. She is also the author of A Poem for Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the Creation of the Snowy Day (Viking, 2016).
Living History
Lauren Tarshis (back, l.) recently launched her tour for I Survived the American Revolution, 1776, the newest addition to her chapter book series based on historical events. Tarshis held the kick-off at the Old Stone House in Brooklyn, which was the site of the Battle of Brooklyn, the largest of the Revolutionary War. Tarshis will make additional stops at historically significant locations in the Massachusetts and New York tri-state areas.
Wasn’t That a Band?
Illustrators Marla Frazee, David Shannon, and Mark Teague were guests at the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature in Abilene, Tex., for the center’s 20 Years of Art festivities. The illustrators provided gallery artist presentations and took part in a panel discussion called “An Introduction to Children’s Picture Book Illustration and Publishing.” But it wasn’t all work. Seen here, the illustrators enjoy the sounds of musical ensemble The Cowboy Band during a gala celebration: (from l.) Lynda Johnson Robb (former First Lady of Virginia and chairman emeritus, Reading Is Fundamental), Mark Teague, David Shannon, and Marla Frazee.
Me Tu-Tu!
The fourth annual Morristown Festival of Books was held in Morristown, N.J., on October 14. Authors in attendance at the KidFest portion of the festival included Kate DiCamillo, Cressida Cowell, Lauren Tarshis, Laurie Hernandez, Tad Hills, Donna Jo Napoli, Libba Bray, and Daniel José Older, among many others. Here, Olympic gymnast Hernandez greets a fan.
A Very Good Day
Artist Loren Long is currently on a national tour for Good Day, Good Night, a never-before published picture book by Margaret Wise Brown that Long illustrated. Stops on his tour so far have included schools and bookstores from Chicago to Texas. Here, Long greets a fan of his work at Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, where Long first read Brown’s Goodnight Moon before reading Good Day, Good Night and conducting a drawing demonstration.
