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Public Invited to Celebrate Children’s Literature

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2015 Children's Literature Festival
2015 Children's Literature Festival

Keene State College Welcomes Public to Campus to Celebrate Children’s Literature with Award-Winning Authors and Illustrators

Discussions with Award-Winning Authors and Illustrators Available to Media

Keene State College will celebrate children’s literature during the 39th annual Children’s Literature Festival this month. This adult program features award-winning speakers and illustrators of New York Times bestsellers.
When and where: Saturday, October 24 at 7:30 a.m. doors open; program begins at 9 a.m. For the full event schedule and to register, visit www.keene.edu/clf

Registration takes place in Keene State College’s Student Center lobby or Redfern Center. Breakfast reception at the Student Center.

Discussions with authors and illustrators will be held during the closing reception from 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. in Rhodes Hall auditorium.

For attendees, conference registration is $90; registration for full-time college students is $45

Background:

The Children’s Literature Festival was started to promote a love of reading, and to provide an opportunity for people to learn how stories and illustrations are created and published by authors and illustrators. The Festival provides new insights into the sharing of books and lessons to young students.

The featured speakers for the 39th annual Children’s Literature Festival are:

Peter Brown, who lives in New York City, studied illustration at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. After graduation, he moved to Brooklyn where he worked on animated TV shows. In 2003 he wrote and illustrated his first picture book, Flight of the Dodo. Several of his books are New York Times award winners. His first Caldecott Honor Award (2013) was for Creepy Carrots! His second Caldecott Honor Award was for Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, which also won the 2014 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. His newest book (2014) is My Teacher Is a Monster! (No, I Am Not.) Learn more about Peter and his books at www.peterbrownstudio.com.

Sharon Creech, who lives in Maine, was the first American winner of the Carnegie Medal for children’s books published in the U.K. and the first person to win both the Newbery and the Carnegie Medals. Her first novel, published in 1990 only in the U.K., was Absolutely Normal Chaos. Her first novel published in the U.S. was Walk Two Moons, which won the 1995 Newbery Medal. Ruby Holler won the 2002 Carnegie Medal. Sharon lived for 18 years in England and Switzerland where she taught high school English and writing. Other popular titles are Chasing Redbird, The Great Unexpected, and The Boy on the Porch. Sharon’s website is www.sharoncreech.com.

Bruce Degan, who lives in Connecticut, was born in Brooklyn but summered in rural upstate New York. Both environments had influences on the more than 40 children’s books he has created. He is very well known as the illustrator of The Magic School Bus series written by Joanna Cole. He collaborated with Nancy White Carlstrom on the Jesse Bear books and with Jane Yolen on the Commander Toad series. One of his best-loved books is Jamberry. Other books that he wrote and illustrated are Daddy is a Doodlebug, Sailaway Home, and I Gotta Draw.

Tad Hills, whose home is in Brooklyn, had his love of nature inspired by his mother, a fourth-grade science teacher. His first book Duck and Goose (2006) was a New York Times bestseller, and there are now nine books in this series. How Rocket Learned to Read (2010), was also a New York Times bestseller and its sequel Rocket Writes a Story (2012) debuted at #1 on the New York Times Best Seller List. A third book about Rocket, R is for Rocket: An ABC Book, was released in July 2015. Rocket also appears in two Step into Reading, Step 1, books: Drop It, Rocket! and Rocket’s 100th Day of School. Visit www.tadhills.com to learn more.

Matt Phelan, who lives in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, is the illustrator of the well-known books Xander’s Panda Party, Flora’s Very Windy Day, Big George: How A Shy Boy Became President Washington, and Very Hairy Bear. He created the dust jacket for the 2007 Newbery Medal winner The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron. Matt’s first graphic novel, The Storm in the Barn, won the Scott O’Dell Award; two others are Around The World and Bluffton. The first book that Matt authored and illustrated is Druthers. His newest book is Marilyn’s Monster, written by Michelle Knudsen. Matt’s website is www.mattphelan.com.

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