KSC Welcomes Public to Celebrate Children's Literature Festival

Discussions with Award-Winning Illustrators Available to Media

Keene State College will celebrate children’s literature during the 37th 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 26 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 along with a breakfast reception.
• Discussions with illustrators will be held during the closing reception from 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. in Rhodes Hall.
• For attendees, conference registration is $82; registration for full-time college students is $41

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.

Featured speakers for the 37th annual Children’s Literature Festival

Brian Lies, of Marshfield, MA, who illustrated his first book, Flatfoot Fox and the Case of the Missing Eye, in 1989. Since then he has illustrated over 25 books. He is now writing and illustrating his own books. Two of these are the New York Times bestsellers Bats at the Beach and Bats at the Library. Additional information about Brian and his books can be found at www.brianlies.com.

Jon J. Muth, who lives in upstate New York, is a comic book artist and a children’s book illustrator. He has stated, “My work in children’s books really grew out of a desire to explore what I was feeling as a new father.“ Zen Shorts was a Caldecott Honor Book and spent 41 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. He won the Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators in 1999 for his first children’s book Come On, Rain!, which was written by Karen Hess. Other well-known books he has illustrated are The Three Questions, Gershon’s Monster, and City Dog, Country Frog. An illustration from A Family of Poems, poems complied by Caroline Kennedy, hangs in the Festival Gallery Collection.

Ruth Sanderson, who lives in western Massachusetts, has illustrated books for over thirty years. Ruth has illustrated several horse books, including The Horse Diaries collection by Alison Hart; Jane Yolen’s Hush, Little Horsie; and _Koda _by Patricia Hermes. Her first fairy tale was The Sleeping Beauty retold by Jane Yolen. She has also illustrated The Twelve Dancing Princesses, Rose Red and Snow White, Goldilocks, and Cinderella. Learn more about Ruth and her current project at www.ruthsanderson.com.

Eric Velasquez lives in New York and was born in Spanish Harlem as the son of Afro-Puerto Rican parents and grew up in Harlem. His dual heritage and living in dual cultures has significantly affected his work. Eric has created over 300 book jackets and interior illustrations. His first picture book was The Piano Man by Debbie Chocolate and he was awarded the 1999 Coretta-Scott King/John Steptoe award for new talent for this book. Find additional information about Eric at www.ericvelasquez.com.

Deborah Wiles was born in Alabama and now lives in Atlanta. Growing up, she spent her summers in a small Mississippi town with extended family. These Southern people populate her Aurora County Trilogy. The first book, Love Ruby Lavender, has been nominated for 26 state book award reading lists, which are voted on by children. The second book, Each Little Bird That Sings, was a 2005 E. B. White Award winner and a 2005 National Book Award finalist. The concluding book was The Aurora County All-Stars. Countdown, the first book in her The Sixties Trilogy, was published in 2010. Deborah’s website can be found at www.deborahwiles.com.

The Children’s Literature Festival Collection at Keene State College features several hundred original, one-of-a-kind works from almost 200 artists. The collection includes works such as an original by the English illustrator Kate Greenaway, framed with its original bill of sale in 1898 in London, cover art of Chris Raschka’s Caldecott Award winning The Hello, Goodby Window, Frog and Toad art by Arnold Lobel, and an illustration by Trina Schart Hyman from Hershel and the Hannukah Goblins.

Tours of the Festival Gallery Collection with trained docents are now available to individuals and groups of all ages.