3rd Annual Children’s Books Authors and Illustrators Event at Barrington Books!

Barrington Books, one of our favorite local independent book stores welcomes award-winning area children’s book authors and illustrators to its Annual Children’s Books Authors and Illustrators Event on Saturday, October 29, 2024 from 10am — 4pm.

This FREE festive, family event will feature many tricks and treats throughout the day, including book signings, costumes, crafts, a “spooky story hour” and more.

Event Schedule

10 AM-12 PM

• Jamie Michalak — Joe and Sparky, Superstars!; Joe and Sparky Get New Wheels
• Alison Paul — The Crow; Sunday Love

Noon-2PM

• Anika & Christopher Denise — Bella and Stella Come Home; Pigs Love Potatoes
• RW & Zoë Alley — There’s A Princess In The Palace; There’s A Wolf At The Door
• Willa Perlman - Goodnight, World; Pocket Kisses

* Spooky Story Hour will begin at 1pm — costumes encouraged!

2 PM - 4 PM

• Pamela Lowell — Returnable Girl; Spotting for Nellie
• Liz McGrath — The Ghouls Go Haunting One by One
• Sarah L. Thomson — Mercy: The Last New England Vampire; Dragon’s Egg; The Dragon’s Son, Pirates, Ho, Three Cups of Tea (Young Reader’s Edition)

Get to know the Authors and Illustrators:

Jamie Michalak is a children’s book author and editor. She has written more than fifteen books, including Joe and Sparky, Superstars! Joe and Sparky Get New Wheels, Fairy Goodnight Kisses, Fairy Tea Party, Larry and Rita, and the upcoming So You Want to Catch a Bigfoot! (Candlewick Press, 2011). Joe and Sparky Get New Wheels, illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz, was named a Kirkus Best Children’s Book of the Year, Chicago Public Library Best Children’s Book of the Year, and Junior Library Guild Selection. When not writing or editing, she can often be found playing with her two boys–marching in parades, walking planks, or singing back-up in their pots-and-pans band. Jamie was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and grew up in the same neighborhood that Dr. Seuss once lived in. She now resides in Barrington, Rhode Island with her husband and sons. For more on Ms. Michalak, visit www.jamiemichalak.com.

Alison Paul was born on a Halloween morning. (Her parents still wonder whether she was a trick or a treat.) She grew up in sunny California and lived a comfortable snow-free existence until moving to New England. Alison attended the Rhode Island School of Design where she wrote her first book, The Crow, A Not So Scary Story (Houghton Mifflin). When she finished illustrating that one, she thought, “Hey maybe I should try to write another book.” And so she did. Her second book, Sunday Love, (Houghton Mifflin) is in stores now. For more about Alison, visit www.alisonpaulart.com.

Anika and Christopher Denise are the husband-and-wife team behind the picture books Bella and Stella Come Home and Pigs Love Potatoes, as well as the upcoming The Best Part of Middle (Philomel, 2013). They live in Barrington, Rhode Island with their three young daughters. In addition to working on his wife’s books, Chris has collaborated with best-selling authors Brian Jacques, Jane Yolen, Phyllis Root, J. Patrick Lewis and others. Chris also works as a visual development artist and character designer for animated films. To learn more about the Denises’ work, visit www.anikadenise.com and www.christopherdenise.com.

RW and Zoë Alley live in Barrington, Rhode Island with their children, Cassandra and Max. RW Alley is the acclaimed illustrator of the Paddington series as well as more than a hundred other wonderful books for children, including the book by his wife, author Zoë Alley, There’s A Princess In The Palace, a follow up to the couple’s first collaboration: There’s A Wolf At The Door. To learn more about the Alleys visit www.rwalley.com.

Willa Perlman is the author of two children’s books, Pocket Kisses, and Goodnight, World, which were published respectively in 2011 by Beach Lane/ Simon & Schuster. Her interest in publishing books for children has evolved from a 20+ year career in book publishing and intellectual property development including the titles of president of Hasbro Properties Group, at Hasbro, Inc; president of Golden Books Publishing Group; president & publisher of Simon & Schuster Children’s Books Division; and vice president, editorial director of “Willa Perlman Books,” an imprint of the HarperCollins Children’s Division. Willa started her publishing career at Harcourt Brace Jovanovich where she held senior level positions in trade book marketing, publicity and advertising and launched the children’s trade imprint, “Gulliver Books.” Visit Willa’s publisher’s page at http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Willa-Perlman/67347445.

Pamella Lowell is a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in counseling adolescents and their families in Barrington, Rhode Island. Ms. Lowell began writing about ten years ago, and has published poems, essays, and a self-help book for parents. Returnable Girl her first novel, (Marshall Cavendish, 2006) has won numerous awards, including 2008 Young Adult Choices from the International Reading Association. Spotting for Nellie was released in 2010. She has also won awards on behalf of her work with children who are adopted or in foster care, and is a consultant for Adoption Rhode Island. She welcomes comments from readers and can be reached at www.pamelalowell.com.

Liz McGrath grew up in very rural Montville, Connecticut, the fourth of six children (all 12-18 months apart!). Drawing and coloring became great ways to escape the chaos and find privacy. Liz graduated from Boston’s Chamberlayne with an Associate of Arts degree. Liz, her husband Tim, and their two daughters, Caleigh and Maeve, live in New England where they continue to create various artworks. Liz has illustrated two children’s books: Even More/Todavía más— a bilingual publication and The Ghouls Go Haunting One By One (written by Tom McDermott.) For more about Ms. McGrath’s illustration work visit http://www.lizmcgrathillustrations.com.

Sarah L. Thomson has published more than twenty-five books for young readers. Her young adult titles include Dragon’s Egg (Junior Literary Guild Premier Selection and Maine Lupine Award winner, 2007), The Dragon’s Son, which Booklist called “a spellbinding tale of love, intrigue, and betrayal,” The Manny (“worthy of Jane Austen,” according to the Washington Post), The Secret of the Rose, and The Young Reader’s Edition of Three Cups of Tea (a New York Times bestseller). Her newest novel: Mercy, The Last New England Vampire released on October 11, 2011. A former children’s book editor for HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster, she now lives and writes in Portland, Maine. For more information on Ms. Thomson visit http://home.earthlink.net/~slthomson.

Category: books / stories, community news