Books and Authors and Fun!

April 22 was a super Saturday for me, it was day one of the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books!  This was my third year attending this annual event and I strongly encourage you to mark your calendar now for the April 2018 event.

I spent my time shopping a variety of vendors and loved that so many had authors visiting to sign their books.  Meeting a couple of new authors that had their own booths was also a highlight.  I visited the Children's Stage in order to hear from a few of my favorite children's authors.   This is really one of my favorite weekends of the year.  It's taken me a few weeks to try to put into words how much I enjoyed this event.  I hope you will enjoy my review.

David Shannon read his newest book Bizzy MizzLizzie which comes out this fall.  This is an adorable story about a bee that is just a bit too busy and just might miss out on something big she really wants to do.

David Shannon also talked about the sequel to his book Duck on a Bike which is Duck on a Tractor.  This book is available now and I was able to get my copy signed by him.  Duck was successful when he rode a bike so he confident that he could also drive a tractor.  He

David Shannon Signing My Book

drives around the farm and soon all the animals are on the tractor enjoying the ride.  When they drive down the main road people cannot believe what they are seeing.   The animals see an "E" on one of the tractor controls they are sure it means "end of the ride".  The "end" of the book is coming quickly....you and your children will enjoy this story and a few giggles as well.





Dragons Love Tacos 2 The Sequel was available for sale in early May.  I was hoping to get an early

copy and have it signed at the festival, but no such luck.  However the book's author, Adam Rubin, did read the sequel to all in attendance at the Reading By 9 Children's Stage.  It was fun hearing him read the story and to see Dragon join him on the stage.  I had the opportunity to share this book with my second and third graders before summer vacation and they loved it as much as I do.  Dragons and their young friend find that the world's supply of tacos is completely gone!?  Imagine a world without tacos?!!  Can the Dragons and their friend restore the world's taco supply?  Share this book and Dragons Love Tacos with your child as soon as possible.  After reading enjoy a few tacos together!

At a vender's booth I was able to meet Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen.  They have done a few books together, Sam and Dave Dig A Hole is probably the one you have heard of the most.  They signed Extra Yarn for me and shared their newest book Triangle at the Children's Stage. You will also enjoy books that they have written on their own.  Be sure to look them up at your local library.

Extra Yarn is the story of Annabelle who lives in a little cold town that is covered in black in white.  White snow and black soot from chimneys.  She finds a box of yarn of every color and quickly knits herself and her dog sweaters.  Soon she is creating sweaters for everyone in town.  Except for Mr. Crabtree who doesn't wear sweaters or even pants!  She never runs out of yarn no matter how many sweaters she knits.  An archduke who is very fond of clothes wants Annabelle's yarn.  Will she give it to him?  I enjoyed this story, it seems the more she gave the more she received.  A good reminder that we should be giving to others acts of service each day.

I attended a panel of authors/illustrators that shared the art of children's books.  The authors/illustrators were Barbara Bottner, Karen Winnick, and Brian Won with Denise Doyen as moderator.  I was surprised to learn that most of the time the author and illustrator do not pick each other or even work together on a book.  An editor is the go between the two and sometimes the author and illustrator never even meet each other!  One might think that working on the words and the pictures of a book would be easier, but that isn't always the case.  They also discussed that animals are used a lot in children's books because it lets children see themselves in the story.  Sometimes if they see another child that doesn't look like them they might not be able to relate to the

story.  The trend that these authors are seeing right now is kindness, humor and science books.

Advice was also given to encourage life long readers in our own families.  Find subjects that your child enjoys and read fiction and non-fiction books about that subject.  You can encourage creativity by sharing wordless books with children.  With a wordless book the story will change each time you "read" it, encourage your child to tell "read" the story to you.  Continue to read together even when your child can read on their own.

 I love all things Disney.  When I saw this booth I had to stop.  I have not had a chance to read the books yet so keep a lookout for my upcoming review.  If you love searching for Hidden Mickeys around Disney Parks you will love the two Games Quests Challenges books by author Nancy Temple Rodrigue.  Her books are about people who take place in the quests at the various Disney Parks.

Another author I met was C. Taylor-Butler and I'm anxious to read her book The Lost Tribes.  Five friends come together when their parents go missing.  There are puzzles to solve as you read the story so it should be a fun book.  Look for my upcoming review.








This was such a fun day for me....I cannot put into words how fun this was for me.  I will plan on seeing you at the April 2018 LA Times Festival of Books.

Happy Daily Reading
Deanna