The Edward Gorey House’s 2013 special exhibit “Edward Gorey’s Vinegar Works” opened for their 2013 season on April 18th. The exhibit covers the “three volumes of moral instruction” in Gorey’s Vinegar Works boxed set: The Insect God, The West Wing, and his best-known work, The Gashlycrumb Tinies.

Renowned author/illustrator Peter Sís will give the 2013 Barbara Elleman Research Library Lecture (titled “Walls and Bridges…Books With Wings”) on Saturday, May 4th, at the Carle Museum at 2:30 pm. This annual lecture series is “designed to feature the country’s preeminent scholars, book collectors, researchers, editors, authors, and illustrators in the field of children’s literature.” The event is free with museum admission and will be followed by a reception and book signing. A luncheon with Mr. Sís prior to the lecture is sold out, but the museum is accepting names for a waiting list; call 413-658-1126 to be added.

On Tuesday, May 7th, children’s literature critic and former Horn Book editor in chief Anita Silvey will host an in-store book fair at Porter Square Books. The event, a benefit for the Foundation for Children’s Books, begins at 6:00 pm.

Author Mac Barnett and illustrator Jon Klassen will discuss their Caldecott Honor book (and BGHB 2012 Picture Book Award winner) Extra Yarn at the Carle Museum on Saturday, May 11th. The event begins at 2:00 pm and will include a book signing; it’s free with museum admission.

Annual national Children’s Book Week takes place May 13th through May 19th. For a nationwide event schedule, Children’s Choice Book Award voting, and the gorgeous promotional poster (illustrated by Brian Selznick) and bookmark (illustrated by Grace Lin), see the official Book Week website.

On Monday, May 13th, YA author Sara Zarr will speak and sign books at the Brookline Public Library main branch at 3:00 pm. The free event celebrates her latest novel, The Lucy Variations.

Wellesley Booksmith’s baseball-themed “double header” book event at 4:00 pm on Tuesday, May 14th, will feature Matt Tavares (Becoming Babe Ruth) and David Kelly (The Ballpark Mysteries). Ballpark snacks will be provided, and kids who come dressed in baseball uniforms or memorabilia will be entered to win a baseball signed by the authors.

On Thursday, May 16th, Ayanna Coleman will moderate a panel on “Diversity on the Page, Behind the Pencil, and in the Office,” co-hosted by Charlesbridge and Children’s Book Council Diversity Committee. Panelists include author Mitali Perkins, illustrator London Ladd, and editors from Boston-based publishers Charlesbridge, Candlewick, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The event will be held at 6:00 at Charlesbridge’s Illustration Gallery in Watertown. The panel is free, but space is limited, so please pre-register online.

Barbara Elleman will lead a gallery tour of the exhibit “The Caldecott Medal: 75 Years of Distinguished Illustration” at the Carle Museum on Saturday, May 18th, at 8:00 pm. The exhibit features “high quality prints drawn from more than 30 Caldecott Medal books.” Following the tour, author Lawrence Webster will discuss and sign her book Under the North Light: The Life and Work of Maud and Miska Petersham, a biography of the Caldecott-winning couple. The tour and presentation are free with museum admission.

Illustrator Raúl Colón will give a lecture entitled “Art is a Mind Game” at the Carle Museum on Saturday, May 18th, at 12:00 pm. The lecture will be followed by a book signing and is free with museum admission.

Authors Cal Armistead, Scott Blagden, Jack D. Ferraiolo, and Joe Lawlor will present a panel called “So You Want to Write a Book…” for young writers in grades K–12 at Wellesley Booksmith on Saturday, May 18th, at 4:00 pm. Attendees can bring a single double-spaced page of original writing to receive feedback from one of the panelists. The panel is free; please RSVP to kidevents@wellesleybooks.com.

On Wednesday, May 29th, at 7:00 pm at the Brookline Booksmith, Michelle Tea will have a book launch event for her first YA novel, the “modern-day fairy tale” A Mermaid in Chelsea Creek. Ali Liebegott, author of adult book Cha-Ching!, will join her.

Attending or hosting another children’s lit–related event in the greater Boston area this month? Please let us know in the comments!

The post Local children’s lit events for May appeared first on The Horn Book.

Roger Sutton welcomes participants to the Fostering Lifelong Learners conference

The Doctors Panel: Dr. Robert Needlman, Dr. Lisa Dobberteen, Dr. Marilyn Augustyn

The Publishers Panel: Kathryn Bhirud (Penguin), Nancy Tran (DK), Megan Quinn (Charlesbridge)

The Critics Panel: The Horn Book’s Kitty Flynn, Lolly Robinson, Martha V. Parravano

Kitty Flynn perusing Gideon & Otto

Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library Youth Services Manager, performing a read-aloud

Cambridge children’s librarian Beth McIntyre

Roger and company engage in small-group work

The Educators Panel: Anne MacKay, BB&N School, and Jim St. Claire, Amigos School

Dr. Kathy Modigliani, Family Childcare Project

Anna Dewdney, the Llama Lady

Author Anna Dewdney (left) and two Llama Llama fans

Author Stuart J. Murphy and a fan

Dr. Robert Needlman and Jackie Miller from Reach Out and Read

Two readers in action

Pictures from the Fostering Lifelong Learners conference. Photos by Shara Hardeson. For more on the day-long event, click here.

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On Monday, fellow Horn Booker Shara and I went to the Cambridge Public Library’s World Book Night kick-off celebration, which brought together three local-ish authors: Vanessa Diffenbaugh (The Language of Flowers), Lisa Genova (Still Alice, Left Neglected, and the forthcoming Love Anthony) and Neil Gaiman (The Graveyard Book, American Gods, Coraline, Sandman, etc., etc.). All three have books on this year’s World Book Night list. Being sadly badly versed in adult literature these days, I’m not familiar with Lisa’s or Vanessa’s books, but I look forward to reading them. The authors discussed their habits as readers, how they got started writing, and their creative processes. Some highlights of their conversation:

• Vanessa told of carrying a book of flower meanings by Kate Greenaway in her pocket for years, eventually composing a poem of paper strips strung together with actual flowers — an early precursor to her novel.
• Lisa left a career in neuroscience research to write fiction. Her former occupation informs her novels, which feature characters coping with neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and autism. An added perk? Her PhD gives her insider access to the latest research. (“Hello, this is Dr. Lisa Genova…”) During the writing of Still Alice, about a woman in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, Lisa was in daily communication with twenty-four individuals affected by the disease.
• When asked what book he’d like to distribute for World Book Night, Neil said he would insist on speaking with the recipients about their personal tastes in order to recommend something specifically for each of them.
• The moderator asked the authors which books they wished they had written themselves. Lisa: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Vanessa: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Neil said that as a child he “wanted to be the person who had written The Lord of the Rings” but that actually writing it seemed like too much work. He fantasized about falling into a parallel world where Tolkien didn’t exist and taking credit for the novel himself; he carried it with him at all times in case this opportunity presented itself.
• All three authors said they don’t outline or plot books in advance; they only know “what happens” for a section of each book at a time. Vanessa quoted E. L. Doctorow: “Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” Neil spoke about the joy of surprising yourself with your writing and offered an anecdote from the writing of Anansi Boys: the main character unexpectedly got into an elevator, and Neil knew that once he exited the elevator he would be murdered — and the novel would be over. It took Neil two months to find his way out of this predicament.
• An audience member asked Neil if people take his children’s books less seriously than his adult books. He joked that winning the Newbery made people take him quite seriously for about a year. He takes his writing for children as seriously as (if not more than) his writing for adults, because books have even more potential to change your life during childhood.

Lisa and Vanessa had a strong fan showing; the woman in line in front of me had planned her entire garden around The Language of Flowers, and at least one book club who had read Left Neglected was in attendance. But, like me, many attendees were there to see Neil Himself. Despite the long signing line, he was very gracious as I babbled at him when my turn came.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures (you can see a couple from Lisa here and here), but I did get this:

The post World Book Night kick-off event appeared first on The Horn Book.

keynote speaker Dr. Robert Needlman of Reach Out and Read

Horn Book Guide Executive Editor Kitty Flynn

Cambridge Public Library youth services manager Julie Roach

Llama Llama author/illustrator Anna Dewdney

For more information about the conference, see the full schedule and list of presenters. Expect to hear more during (we’ll be live tweeting) and after the event!

The post 5Q for Fostering Lifelong Learners presenters appeared first on The Horn Book.

On Wednesday afternoon, Hervé Tullet, author of Press Here (2011, Chronicle Books) and the new I Am Blop! (2013, Phaidon Press), gave a presentation here in the Boston area at the Brookline Public Library. He was in NYC earlier this month, so I think he’s traveling around a bit. I strongly recommend going to see him if you can — and bring lots of kids!

If you know his books, you won’t be surprised to hear that he is ageless and playful, effortlessly adapting his presentation to suit individual children in his audience. And while Wednesday’s sparse crowd was mostly made up of adults, he generously included us as well, beginning with an interactive reading from his newest book. It soon became clear that the text in his books is just a suggestion; he rarely read what was written on the page.

Tullet began as a fine artist, then worked as an art director before trying his hand at children’s books in 1994. A recent discovery here in the U.S., he’s something of a celebrity in France. His work plays with the book as an art form while allowing the book as an object to act as a springboard for playful exploration. He relinquishes control over what he wants the book to be and leaves it to children to decide what they want it to be.

It would be easy to see his pre–Press Here titles on a library or bookstore shelf and dismiss them as gimmicky toy books. Most of them have oddly-shaped covers, die cuts, or flaps. I Am Blop! — published in France in 2005 but just released here — has all of these. But take another look. Imagine sharing them with a group of preschoolers or with one specific child, and you may find yourself rethinking that initial reaction.

It was revelatory to watch from the audience as he invited child volunteers to come up and sit next to him as he chose an appropriate book to share one-on-one. By the time I left, signed book in hand, I felt renewed in an almost spiritual way: this is why I love working with children’s books.

Here are the photos I took; I wish I’d taken more. Check out this video of Tullet in action at a school in France. The Children’s Book Shop’s photo album of the event has some great shots of the kids in the audience.

Some of Herve Tullet’s books on sale before the event, which was co-sponsored by the Children’s Book Shop in Brookline, MA.

Every book was signed using multiple pens — the same ones he used to draw Press Here and some of his other books. Apparently, they are not available in the U.S.

The post Hervé Tullet appeared first on The Horn Book.

Origami Yoda series author Tom Angleberger will lead origami activities from his latest book, Art2-D2′s Guide to Folding and Doodling, at several nearby locations this week:

• Wednesday, April 3rd, at 3:00 p.m., Brookline Public Library’s main branch (hosted by the Children’s Bookshop)
• Saturday, April 6th, at 10 a.m., Brookline Booksmith
• Saturday, April 6th, at 4 p.m., Wellesley Booksmith

Massachusetts author Miriam Glassman (Halloweena) will sign her new middle-grade novel Call Me Oklahoma at a book launch party hosted by Wellesley Booksmith. The event is free and will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 4th.

French “Prince of Preschool Books” Hervé Tullet (Press Here) will be celebrating the publication of I Am Blop! at the Brookline Public Library’s Main branch on Wednesday, April 10th, at 3:30 p.m. The free event is hosted by the Children’s Bookshop; see the store’s Facebook event page for more details. (More on Monsieur Tullet here and here!)

On Thursday, April 11th, at Wellesley Booksmith, Robin LaFevers (Theodosia series; Nathaniel Fludd: Beastologist series) will sign Dark Triumph, the second entry in her YA series Grave Mercy. The free event begins at 7:00 p.m.; more information available at the store’s website.

Brookline Booksmith is hosting a conversation between “Simon’s Cat” web cartoon  creator Simon Tofield and Jef Czekaj (Cat Secrets; Hip and Hop Don’t Stop; Yes, Yes, Yaul!) on Monday, April 15th to celebrate the release of Simon’s Cat in Kitten Chaos. The event starts at 7:00 p.m.; visit the Booksmith’s website for more information.

Former Horn Book editor in chief Anita Silvey (The Essential Guide to Children’s Books and Their Creators; 100 Best Books for Children; 500 Great Works for Teens) will share children’s literature history from The Children’s Book-a-Day Almanac (a companion to her blog of the same name) at the Cambridge Public Library’s main branch on Tuesday, April 17th, at 6:00 p.m. See the library’s site for more details.

On Thursday, April 25th, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., we’re hosting a free conference called “Fostering Lifelong Learners: Prescribing Books for Early Childhood Education” with the Cambridge Public Library and Reach Out and Read. Dr. Robert Needlman, editor of Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care, will keynote the conference; author/illustrator Anna Dewdney will sign her Llama Llama books. Online registration, a full list of presenters, and schedule available here.

The Foundation for Children’s Books will host its spring “What’s New in Children’s Books” conference on Saturday, April 27th, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Authors Joseph Bruchac, Katie Smith Milway, and Dedie King; illustrator Judith Inglese; and librarian Jennifer Hanson will speak on the theme “Reading Across Cultures.” The half-day conference will be held at Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill; registration is $65 ($25 for students). See the flyer for more details and register online at the FCB’s website.

Last, but certainly not least, Mo Willems will sign his latest picture book That Is NOT a Good Idea! at Mass Bay Community College’s McKenzie Auditorium at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 27th. The $5 tickets (children under three years attend free) may be used as a $5 coupon towards the purchase of a Willems book. Tickets and more details available at Wellesley Booksmith’s website.

Will you be attending — or hosting — another children’s lit–related event around Boston this month? Please let us know in the comments!

The post April children’s lit events appeared first on The Horn Book.

@KeenePLibrary: “Julie Roach sure does know how to read a kids’ book!”

On Thursday, April 25th, The Horn Book co-hosted the “Fostering Lifelong Learners: Prescribing Books for Early Childhood Education” conference with Reach Out and Read and the Cambridge Public Library. Unable to attend? Don’t worry; we’ve compiled the day’s highlights based on tweets by our staff and attendees.

9:52 am: “Fostering Lifelong Learners” conference opening remarks by @HornBook‘s Roger Sutton… Off to a great start!

10:07 am: Dr. Needlman: @reachoutandread partner clinics give board and picture books to patients at every well child checkup

10:17 am: “Our role as ROR doctors, maybe our most important role, is to join with parents in recognizing how brilliant their children are”

10:23 am: Dr. Needlman’s favorite library is actually located in the hospital where he works and is accessible to patients

10:28 am: Dr. Needlman: ROR is remarkably inexpensive and cost effective; investment in early education provides high social returns

10:30 am: Now time for panel with Dr. Needlman, Dr. Lisa Dobberteen, and Dr. Marilyn Augustyn plus video of ROR program in action

@KeenePLibrary, 10:33 am: 1 in 5 children has significant difficulty learning to read.

10:35 am: Dr. Augustyn: “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body” but as a society we are struggling with reading difficulties

10:39 am: Dr. Augustyn: Pediatricians are perfect choice for literacy interventions; encounter children frequently through crucial years

10:42 am: Dr. Augustyn: A child’s interaction with books tells so much about his/her development

@glecharles, 10:48 am: “We don’t get to see dads often.” Dr. Augustyn on a common theme in early literacy discussions… and publisher assumptions?

10:49 am: Dr. Augustyn: ROR is all about developing a “relationship around literacy” between families and their pediatric clinicians

@herlifewthbooks, 10:51 am: What’s keeping parents from reading with their kids? Time. How can libraries support these parents?

11:00 am: Dr. Dobberteen: As a clinician, “sharing the joys of reading with a family is unparalleled” experience

11:01 am: Dr. Dobberteen: Talking to families about reading is an intrinsically rewarding — and productive — part of a clinician’s day

11:05 am: Dr. Dobberteen, paraphrasing Natalie Babbitt’s Bub: “Reading is the very best thing to help children’s minds grow”

11:25 am: Guidance from pediatricians, great picture books, and opportunity for reading in waiting room all important aspects of ROR

@chaosinherwake, 11:48 am: Waiting with a kid? Read a book! Waiting rooms ripe for reading and ease the wait.

11:51 am: Charlesbridge, Penguin, and DK share their board and picture book picks

@reachoutandread, 11:24 am: @HornBook Thank you so much for your play-by-play tweets from the event! Hope all is going well!

@chaosinherwake, 1:17 pm: Catered lunch from S&S?! I am now ready to foster lifelong learners alllll day.

1:20 pm: @HornBook ladies Martha V. Parravano, Kitty Flynn, and Lolly Robinson offer picture book critics’ perspective

1:21 pm: @HornBook fun fact: our office receives about 6000 books for review each year!

@glecharles, 1:25 pm: This peek into @HornBook‘s editorial process for reviewing books reveals a passion for books and children as main ingredients.

1:27 pm: Martha Parravano: What to look for in a preschool book? Interesting subject matter, relatable characters, clean trajectory, plot with limited scope

1:29 pm: Martha Parravano: More good preschool book qualities: Appropriate pacing for audience, straightforward storytelling, interdependence of text and pics

@KeenePLibrary, 1:29 pm: Kitty Flynn: Book fail: Grandparent and parent trap books speaking to the adult experience and not the child’s.

@KeenePLibrary, 1:30 pm: Kitty Flynn: Early childhood book fails: Too much text, too much message, condescension

1:32 pm: Kitty Flynn: “All elements of a picture book should work together and support each other”

1:35 pm: Lolly Robinson: Reading a picture book silently is like reading music: “you have to imagine the performance” of reading it aloud with kids

1:40 pm: @HornBook ladies sharing some of their favorite recent books for preschoolers, including alphabet books

1:51 pm: Kitty Flynn: As a picture book reviewer, it’s important to read aloud with “test subjects” at home or in class to get child’s perspective

@chaosinherwake, 1:51 pm: Lolly Robinson: There’s a difference between personal taste and what makes a book good — match the book to the reviewer!

1:55 pm: Kitty Flynn: “We can’t talk about preschoolers without talking about truck books”

2:04 pm: @cambridgepl‘s Julie Roach and Beth McIntyre speak on early literacy and public libraries, starting with an interactive read aloud

@KeenePLibrary, 2:05 pm: Julie Roach sure knows how to read a kids’ book!

@glecharles, 2:06 pm: Julie Roach: Children’s librarians buy two kinds of books for collections: private/personal reading, sharing/group reading.

2:07 pm: Librarians handle collection development, book recommendations, programming, and outreach in community — whew!

2:09 pm: @cambridgepl‘s main branch (where conference is being held) has a collection of over 20,000 picture books!

@KeenePLibrary, 2:11 pm: Julie Roach: Kids look at visuals in books in a different way than adults do. They hone in on little details.

2:17 pm: Julie Roach: One goal of storytimes is to build attention spans

2:18 pm: Beth McIntyre: Books with very detailed illustrations work best when shared with an individual child rather than a group

2:20 pm: Beth McIntyre: When reading with a single child, let the child set the pace and explore tangents and details

@KeenePLibrary, 2:20 pm: Julie Roach: Wordless books are perfect to use with a group of ten kids. They can tell you the whole story.

2:29 pm: Librarians can help kids “get wiggles out” at storytime with “story stretchers” like songs/rhymes, crafts, puppets

2:33 pm: Julie and Beth make the grownups participate in storytimes so that readaloud techniques get taken home

3:09 pm: What should kids know before kindergarten? Educators Anne MacKay and Jim St. Claire discuss

@Kari_D_Allen, 3:15 pm: Great day so far at “Fostering Lifelong Learners” event @HornBook. So nice to be with so many people passionate about literacy.

@Kari_D_Allen, 3:18 pm: Jim St. Claire: Kids learn phonics through writing

3:19 pm: Jim St. Claire: Expectation that all kids should read by end of kindergarten is unrealistic; kids’ rates of development differ

3:26 pm: Jim St. Claire: Picture books, books in rhyme, nonfiction, books with patterns and repetition should all be made available to emerging readers

3:28 pm: Jim St. Claire: Expecting too much too early regarding reading can turn kids off; happens at different times for different kids

@chaosinherwake, 3:28 pm: Jim St. Claire: Today’s kindergarten curriculum is a lot like the first-grade curriculum of 10-12 years ago.

3:31 pm: Anne MacKay: Rhyme and alliteration help develop phonemic awareness

3:44 pm: Anne MacKay: Begin phonemic/syllabic awareness, alphabet recognition, basic book skills, motor skills, direction following before kindergarten

3:47 pm: Jim St. Claire: Are today’s kindergarteners struggling to develop fine motor skills and social skills?

3:54 pm: Anne MacKay: Great early literacy apps can help support learning to read in print — but may be best used as “special treat”

4:18 pm: Dr. Kathy Modigliani giving endnote on how family child care providers and literacy professionals can work together to develop literacy

@Kari_D_Allen, 4:29 pm: One’s literate life should not begin at preschool, should start much earlier.

4:31 pm: Dr. Modigliani’s workshops introduce family child care providers to library resources and good books for a range of ages

4:33 pm: Dr. Modigliani:Kids in child care should have access to books and toys of their own choosing for at least part of each day

4:36 pm: Dr. Modigliani: A “book hospital” at child care teaches kids to repair worn books. Roger: “To literally care for books”

4:38 pm: Roger: “Sounds like we’re all coming away with a laundry list of things we could be doing or doing better” regarding literacy

4:41 pm: Closing speaker is Llama Llama series author/illustrator Anna Dewdney. Roger introduced her as “a rock star to every 3-year-old you know”

4:43 pm: Anna Dewdney: “When we read books with children, we share other worlds, yes, but more importantly, we are sharing ourselves”

@chaosinherwake, 4:53 pm: Anna Dewdney: When you read to a child, you teach him to be human.

4:53 pm: Anna Dewdney: When reading with kids, “be human and strong.” They’ll “learn to be human and strong. And they will learn how to read”

4:57pm: Anna Dewdney: Mess is okay! “You can’t make anything cool unless you are willing to make a lot of mistakes”

The Fostering Lifelong Learners conference was held on April 25, 2013 at the Cambridge Public Library in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more from the conference — including photos and Anna Dewdney’s closing speech — click here. Follow us on Twitter for updates on all things Horn Book.

The post Fostering Lifelong Learners conference timeline appeared first on The Horn Book.

Tonight at 6:00 p.m., Warriors author Erin Hunter will celebrate latest series entry The Sun Trail at the Cambridge Public Library’s main branch. The free event is co-sponsored by Porter Square Books. For more info, see the the library’s website.

Tomorrow, March 6th, is World Read Aloud Day. Contact your local bookstore or library for festivities near you!

Porter Square Books will host two events with Ruta Sepetys, author of Between Shades of Gray and the forthcoming Out of the Easy, on Thursday, March 7th. The first, at 1:30 p.m., will be held at the Cambridge Public Library’s main branch; the second, at 7:00 p.m., will be at the bookstore itself. Roger has information on an “Out of the Easy” contest to win money for college over at his blog.

Concord Youth Theater’s Pinocchio production has evening showings on Friday, March 8th, and Saturday, March 9th, at 7:30 p.m.; matinee showings are Saturday, March 9th, and Sunday, March 10th, at 2:30 p.m. All performances are at the Concord Youth Theater in West Concord, $13 per ticket. See their site for more information and ticket sales.

Also on Saturday, March 9th:

• Ralph Masiello, creator of many drawing instruction books for children, will give a demonstration at Wellesley Books at 10:00 a.m. Some supplies will be provided, but attendees are encouraged to bring their own.
• Singer-turned-author Rita Jahanforuz will read her picture book memoir The Girl with a Brave Heart at Barefoot Books Studio in Concord at 10:30 a.m. The reading is free, but participation in a mosaic art activity afterwards requires a craft fee of $4.
• From 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., the Blue Bunny in Dedham hosts a book launch party for The Museum with author Susan Verde and illustrator Peter H. Reynolds.
• The Clifford the Big Red Dog musical comes to Boston’s Wilbur Theater with showings at 11:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $17-$25.

Boston local author Linda Elovitz Marshall will sign her new picture book The Passover Lamb at the Brookline Booksmith at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 10th. For more details, see the Booksmith’s event page.

Author Jane Smiley celebrates the release of Pie in the Sky, book four in her middle-grade series The Horses of Oak Valley Ranch, with an appearance at Wellesley Books on Tuesday, March 12th. The free event begins at 4:00 p.m.

Creative writing center Grub Street will host a roundtable discussion on editing your writing for children at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, March 15th, at Wellesley Books. The three-hour workshop costs $50 for Grub Street members and $65 for non-members. Register online at Grub Street’s site.

Illustrator Scott Magoon will talk about how to select great picture books in “Be a Star of Storytime: 10 Elements of Beloved Picture Books”. The free presentation, co-hosted by Porter Square Books and the Parent-Child Home Program, will be held at the Porter Square Books on Thursday, March 21st, at 7:00 p.m. More information available here.

Lemonade War series author Jaqueline Davies will read from the newest volume Candy Smash at Wellesley Books at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 23rd.

On Sunday, March 24th, author/illustrator Matt Tavares will discuss and sign his latest picture book biography Becoming Babe Ruth. The event will begin at 2:00 p.m. at BookEnds in Winchester.

Olympians graphic novel creator George O’Connor will give a comics workshop for teens at the Brookline Public Library’s main branch at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 30th.

Whew! And this is by no means an exhaustive list, so feel free to share kids’ lit events you’ll be hosting or attending in the comments.

The post March kids’ lit events appeared first on The Horn Book.

The first of two events taking place tonight is the Brookline Booksmith’s YA Book Club at 5:00 p.m. The club is open to ages twelve to eighteen. This month’s meeting focuses on The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler. For more details, see the store’s website.

N. Griffin, author of new young adult novel The Whole Stupid Way We Are, will sign tonight at Porter Square Books. The free event begins at 7:00 p.m. See the store’s site for more details.

The Brookline Public Library’s Shelf Respect Teen Lit Book Club will meet on Wednesday, February 13th, at 7:00 p.m. Teens and adults welcome! For book titles and more information, contact librarian Robin Brenner at teenlibrarian@brooklinelibrary.org.

At 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 16th, at Bestsellers Cafe in Medford, author Jane Kohuth will celebrate the publication of her new picture book Duck Sock Hop with — what else? — a sock hop. Music and silly socks will be provided. More information available here.

On Tuesday, February 19th, at his bookstore The Blue Bunny in Dedham, illustrator Peter H. Reynolds will sign Stink and the Freaky Frog Freakout and lead a Stink drawing demo. The free event begins at 3:00 p.m. See the store’s site for more details.

On Friday, February 22nd, at 8:00 p.m., Middle Eastern dancers from around New England will perform choreographies inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses. Tickets (general admission $15.00; children under five attend for free) are available online and at the door. The performance will be in Thaxter Hall at St. John’s Church in Portsmouth, NH. More details available here.

Duck Sock Hop author Jane Kohuth will also teach a workshop entitled “Crash Course in Picture Books” for Grub Street creative writing center on Monday, February 25th. The three-hour workshop costs $50 for Grub Street members and $65 for non-members; it will be hosted from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Wellesley Books. Pre-register online at Grub Street’s site.

Cory Doctorow will sign and read from his latest novel Homeland, the sequel to Little Brother, at Harvard Bookstore on Tuesday, February 26th. The free event begins at 7:00 p.m.; more information available here.

Know of upcoming children’s literature events? Let us know!

The post February children’s lit events appeared first on The Horn Book.

Former Horn Book editor in chief Anita Silvey will sign her latest book The Children’s Book-a-Day Almanac (a companion to her blog of the same name) at Porter Square Books on Thursday, January 10th, at 7:00 p.m. Ms. Silvey’s many books include The Essential Guide to Children’s Books and Their Creators, 100 Best Books for Children, and 500 Great Works for Teens.

On January 10th at 7:00 p.m., Newbery Medal winners Clare Vanderpool (Moon Over Manifest, Navigating Early) and Jerry Spinelli (Maniac Magee, Stargirl, and many others) will speak at the Needham Library. The event is hosted by Wellesley Books; more details will be available soon at their website.

Brookline Booksmith will hold the first meeting of their Young Adult Book Club (for teens ages 12-18) on Monday, January 14th, at 5:00 p.m. Attendees should read any one of these titles by author John Green: The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, or An Abundance of Katherines. See the bookstore’s site for more information.

Also at Brookline Booksmith: on Tuesday, January 29th, at 7:00 p.m., YA author Jodi Meadows will celebrate the release of Asunder, the second volume in her Incarnate trilogy. In addition to signing her novels, Ms. Meadows will give away a pair of hand-knitted mittens. For more details on this free event, see the Brookline Booksmith website.

The Collins Branch of the Cambridge Public Library will  hold its monthly Kids’ Book for Grownups discussion group Thursday, January 17th, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Contact librarian Lise Fosse for more info.

Drop us a line if you know of other Boston children’s literature events this month!

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