Two years ago, a spellbinding event with author and editor David Levithan and author Jacqueline Woodson made us eager to hear more conversations between major figures in children's and young adult literature. To create forums for authors, editors, and illustrators to exchange opinions and ideas, we organized panels on both picture books and graphic novels. The panels were so successful that our picture book panel is now a yearly event that we look forward to as much as our customers do. A host of luminaries will tackle the subject of illustrated works and all the ways they can engage, enrich, and assist readers through the elementary years and beyond. Adult Event.
Moderator:
Julie Danielson is the co-author of Wild Things! Acts of Mischief in Children’s Literature. Danielson blogs about picture books at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast and writes a weekly column for Kirkus Reviews.
Esteemed Panelists:
Jason Chin is an author and illustrator of the acclaimed books Gravity, Island: A Story of the Galapagos, Redwoods, and Coral Reefs, in which he combines imaginative storytelling with non-fiction in an effort to explain science and capture his readers’ imaginations.
Christopher Myers is the winner of the 2015 Coretta Scott King Book Illustrator Award for Firebird. His illustrations have received numerous awards, including a Caldecott Honor for Harlem: A Poem and four Coretta Scott King Honors.
John Parra is an award-winning illustrator, designer, teacher and fine art painter. His children’s books have earned the SCBWI Golden Kite Award, ALA’s Pura Belpré Honor Award, and the International Latino Book Award for Best Children’s Book Illustrations.
Nancy Paulsen is a president and publisher at Penguin Random House. The 2014 National Book Award, Brown Girl Dreaming (by fellow panelist Jacqueline Woodson), is the most recent of her many published and edited books that have won numerous awards. Many of her books are established classics in the world of children’s literature.
Chris Soentpiet is the illustrator of Amazing Places, in addition to other highly praised picture books. His many honors include the NAACP Image Award, Original Art Show Gold Medal, and the IRA Children’s Book Award.
Jacqueline Woodson is the 2014 National Book Award Winner for her New York Times bestselling memoir Brown Girl Dreaming, which also won numerous other awards including the Coretta Scott King Award and a Newbery Honor Award. Woodson was recently named the Young People’s Poet Laureate, and is the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement for her contributions to young adult literature.
Following the discussion, the panelists will be available to sign their award-winning books.
