Rhode Island Children's Book Festival 2019

It was a beautiful, sunny morning when I walked up to the Lincoln School in Providence for this year's book festival.  As always the list of presenters was impressive, and I was so excited to spend the day surrounded by remarkably talented authors and illustrators! 

My first stop was the gymnasium where tables are set up for the guests of honor to meet fans of their work.  I was first in line to have our school's copy of Kenny and the Dragon signed by author and illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi.  He was so nice and I really enjoyed chatting with him.  Later on I got to attend his presentation and it made me an even bigger fan.  He's a very engaging speaker! 

Another highlight of the day was learning more about James Dean and his famous feline, Pete the Cat.  While he warned that all of his stories might not be strictly true (he insisted that he had invented the color green as well as "cat language"!), he did share some insights on what had brought him to the stage that day.  As he put it, "One word from a teacher can change your life."  While he had been interested in art, he established a solid career as an electrical engineer and was making a good living in the field.  However, the encouraging words of a teacher resonated within him, and ultimately he decided to pursue his dream.  There was a touch of astonishment in his voice when he rhetorically asked, "How do you go from being an electrical engineer for 20 years to drawing pictures of your cat for 20 years??"  We are all so glad that he did!

While he ended up a popular character in children's books, Pete the Cat was originally the subject of paintings created for adults! 

The last presentation I attended was by Caldecott medalist Dan Santat.  We were lucky enough to have him visit Ashaway School back in 2013, and I was super excited to see him again.  He has a terrific sense of humor and had the audience in a near-constant state of hilarity!  One of my favorite moments was when he talked about "an unfortunate thing that happened in 2015":

I also really enjoyed when he told the audience, especially the kids, about the importance of perseverance.  He displayed one of his drawings from grade school, an impressive rendering of Garfield and Odie, and said that he became a good at drawing by drawing.  A lot. 
He pointed out that you only learn to ride a bike by sticking to it and practicing until you can do it.  He declared, "None of us were born bike-riding babies!"  (That's a quote I plan on repeating!)

 It was another fabulous day and my favorite fall event.  

Thanks so much to Meagan Lenihan and all the organizers who make this event happen every year!  We are all so grateful!!!

p.s.  At the book festival a couple years ago I took a chance and asked Jon Scieszka if he wouldn't mind taking a whole bunch of selfies with me so I could create a collage, and he kindly indulged me.  (Scroll down to the bottom of this post from 2017!)  Inspired by that success, I approached Dan at his autographing table and asked if he'd be interested in trying to out-weird Jon Scieszka while displaying that collaboration on my phone.  Dan replied, "I'm always interested in trying to out-weird Scieszka."  Thus, I do hereby proudly share...

A Set of Silly Santat Selfies!