In the Community
SAVE THE DATE – StoryFaire 2010
Saturday, April 24
11am-4pm
De La Guerra Plaza in Downtown Santa Barbara
StoryFaire is a fun-filled party for kids, a benefit for Storyteller Children’s Center and CALM – and most importantly, a literacy event for children to promote the joy of reading. This year, StoryFaire will feature storytelling and book signing by Valerie Tripp, author of the American Girl series, as well as several local children’s authors and illustrators including Marni McGee. Crafts and other children’s activities, refreshments, music, and a raffle will all be part of the festivities. Entrance is free and open to the public.
This year Storyteller Children’s Center and CALM are partnering to bring the community more authors, performances and children’s books! StoryFaire is a fun-filled party for kids, a benefit for Storyteller Children’s Center and CALM – and most importantly, a literacy event for children to promote the joy of reading.
Featured Authors
VALERIE TRIPP
Valerie Tripp says writing books for American Girl’s flagship historical line is her ideal job. It allows her to use her experience as a creator of educational materials for children, her interest in American history, and her imagination.
Ms. Tripp is the author of more than 30 American Girl books, including:
- Six books about Felicity®, who lived in Williamsburg, Virginia, during colonial times, and one about Felicity’s friend Elizabeth™.
- Six books about Josefina®, an Hispanic girl growing up in New Mexico in 1824.
- Three books about Samantha, an orphan living in 1904, and one about Samantha’s friend Nellie™.
- Six books about Kit®, who lived during America’s Great Depression.
- Six books about Molly®, who lived on the home front during World War II, and one about Molly’s friend, Emily™.
Ms. Tripp’s newest American Girl historical novel, Really Truly Ruthie, focuses on Kit’s best friend, Ruthie Smithens. “It was great fun to write about Ruthie because she is such a good friend,” says Tripp. “I put all my favorite things into her story: adventure, humor, friendship, love—and a surprise ending!”
In addition to the American Girl books, Ms. Tripp is the author of the plays in the American Girls Pastimes® series, the American Girls Short Stories® about Felicity, Josefina, Samantha, Kit, and Molly, and An Introduction to Williamsburg, a guide to Colonial Williamsburg.
James Buckly Jr. is America’s leading author of nonfiction sports books for young readers. He is the author of more than 60 titles on sports including baseball, football, basketball, motor sports, and the Olympics. Buckley, a former editor at Sports Illustrated and NFL Publishing, also is president of the Shoreline Publishing Group, which has produced more than 300 nonfiction books for young readers in the past decade. Among his most recent titles as author are Lou Gehrig: Iron Horse of Baseball (Sterling); Scholastic Ultimate Guide to Football and Ultimate Guide to Baseball; Eyewitness Baseball (DK); and the Scholastic Book of Firsts.
Joe Cepeda is an accomplished illustrator and writer with many books to his credit. Among them are MICE AND BEANS, SEARCHING FOR OLIVER WOODMAN, WHY HEAVEN IS SO FAR AWAY (written by Julius Lester), and two written by Toni Morrison – THE TORTOISE OR THE HARE and PEENY BUTTER FUDGE – a featured title to be launched at StoryFaire 2010.
René Colato Laínez is the Salvadoran award winning author of I Am René, the Boy, Waiting for Papá, and Playing Lotería. His picture books have been honored by the Latino Book Award, the Paterson Prize for Books for Young People, the California Collection for Elementary Readers, the Tejas Star Book Award Selection and the New Mexico Book Award. He was named “Top Ten New Latino Authors to Watch (and Read)” by latinostories.com. He is a graduate of the Vermont College MFA program in Writing for Children & Young Adults. His new children’s book are: René Has Two Last Names, My Shoes and I, The Tooth Fairy Meets El Ratón Pérez and From North to South.
Siri Weber Feeney is a published poet and illustrator whose work has been featured in many books, magazines, and science journals. Her varied styles appeal to children of all ages as well as to adults. Her artwork has appeared in Cricket, Highlights for Children, and Southern Living – to name a few. She has illustrated three children’s books so far, including a picture book biography of Booker T. Washington.
Mary Ann Fraser is the author and/or illustrator of over sixty books for children in fiction and non-fiction, from preschool to middle grade. Most recently she wrote and illustrated PETSHOP LULLABY, MERMAID SISTER and II.Q. GETS FIT. tHer awards include a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, Book Links Book of the Year, IRA Young Readers Choice Award, and American Booksellers “Pick of the List.” She has taught classes on writing and illustrating children’s books and is a member of several children’s literature organizations including SCBWI, California Readers Association, and the Children’s Literature Council.
Edgar-nominated author Bruce Hall is passionate about inspiring reluctant readers to open books (and read them). He has written or illustrated more than 25 seriously funny books for children, including the popular Chet Gecko Mysteries series, Snoring Beauty (one of Oprah’s Recommended Reads for Kids), and the comics-novel hybrid, Underwhere.
An actor and Fulbright Scholar in Storytelling, Bruce is in demand as a speaker, having presented at conferences, universities, and schools across North America from the Maui Writers Conference to the Surrey International Writers Conference in British Columbia. His acting resume includes regional commercials, theater, and an independent film, The Ride. Bruce also sings with the VocalPoint jazz group of Santa Barbara.
Dan Hanna lives a life of quiet solitude, high in the Bavarian Alps, where he devotes his life to illustrating (and trying to write) picture books. Most of his income is from a modest bee-keeping operation where he produces a thick and tasty Bavarian honey.
Carol Heyer has written/illustrated twenty-six children’s picture books. Her most recent projects were, “HUMPHREY’S FIRST CHRISTMAS”, a story about a cantankerous camel and his journey to the manger and the sequel to ONCE UPON A COOL MOTORCYCLE DUDE titled, ONCE UPON A ROYAL SUPERBABY, Fall 2010.
Heyer’s art has appeared on everything from book covers to bookmarks. She has done work for BAEN BOOKS, WIZARDS OF THE COAST, RAY BRADBURY, and many others.
Heyer graduated from CALIFORNIA LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY. She has won awards from Spectrum, The International Competition for Fantastic Art, Print’s Regional Design Annual, The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and The Society of Illustrators LA. etc.
Barbara Jean Hicks might never have started writing children’s books except for an unkind review of one of her romance novels: “Ms. Hicks really ought to be writing for children—no one else could possibly appreciate such silliness!” After hiding in bed for a week, certain she would never write again, Barbara made up her mind to take the comment as a personal challenge.
The result was Jitterbug Jam, which received numerous starred reviews and children’s book awards, was translated into five languages and released in nine countries, and sold stage and audio rights. Even better, Barbara discovered that writing for children is her true love. Her additional books for kids include The Secret Life of Walter Kitty, I Like Black and White, I Like Colors, and the recently released Monsters Don’t Eat Broccoli.
Barbara also holds a California credential and teaches English for an online high school in Ventura.
Valerie Hobbs was a Publisher’s Weekly “Flying Start” author after the publication of her first novel for young adults, How Far Would You Have Gotten If I Hadn’t Called You Back. In 1991, she was the winner of the PEN/Norma Klein award for “an emerging voice of literary merit among American writers of children’s fiction”. In 2003 she was the Judy Goddard/Arizona Library Association Young Adult Author of the Year.
Valerie Hobbs lives in Santa Barbara, California, with her husband, Jack, a high school teacher, and is an Emeritus Lecturer in the Writing Program at the University of California Santa Barbara.
Marni McGee is the author of 16 well-loved books for children with four more currently in press. Although her work for children includes ancient histories published by Oxford University Press and National Geographic, most are picture books which have been published in more than a dozen countries in Europe, Asia and South America. They include such favorites as FOREST CHILD, THE NOISY FARM, WINSTON THE BOOK WOLF, THE COLT AND THE KING, WHILE ANGELS WATCH, and SILLY GOOSE. Her latest picture book, BUMBLE, THE LITTLE BEAR WITH BIG IDEAS, was published this spring by Little Tiger Press of London.
A long-time resident of Santa Barbara, Marni is a popular speaker at libraries, schools and churches. She founded StoryFaire in 2007 in collaboration with – and to benefit – Storyteller Children’s Center. Like Winston the Book Wolf, Marni thinks words and stories are delicious! Sharing that love through her books and through StoryFaire is a source of great joy to her.
Lynn Montgomery won a Los Angeles area Emmy for writing and producing a documentary on Child Abuse. She won a Writer’s Guild Award for her adaptation of the beloved MRS. PIGGLE-WIGGLE books.
She created the NBC and Disney Channel series, THE TORKELSONS. Lynn has worked for Disney Feature Animation, developing classic children’s literature for motion pictures. She has written for television, radio, and newspapers. BUTT UGLY is her first children’s book. It won the 2009 Eric Hoffer Award for Best Children’s Book.
Every year 20 million trees are cut down to make paper. BUTT UGLY is printer on recycled paper, using vegetable based inks by a printer that runs on wind power. Lynn has partnered with Eco-Libris, a “tree-offset” company. For every book purchased, a tree will be planted in a developing country.
Dan Santat has illustrated many popular books for kids. Among them are CHICKEN DANCE, GUILD OF GENIUSES, BOBBY THE BRAVE, and THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER KITTY, written by Barbara Jean Hicks who will also be a featured presenter at StoryFaire 2010. He created for Disney’s animated film, “The Replacements.” His magazine clients include the Wall Street Journal, Esquire, and Time for Kids.
Joan Bransfield Graham’s award-winning books, Splish Splash and Flicker Flash–shape poems about water and light–inspire students to write their own poetry. Both books were SLJ Best Books of the Year and NCTE Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts. Instructor Magazine selected Splish Splash for its list of 71 TOP BOOKS OF THE CENTURY, Nonfiction. Flicker Flash, an NSTA-CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book, was nominated for Children’s Book Awards in five states, among many other honors. Joan’s poetry has been widely published in journals, anthologies, textbooks, and magazines. She’s done freelance writing for ABC-TV and The Writer. A former teacher, Joan enjoys speaking at conferences, schools, and libraries around the world. With Sheldon Cohen, former Assistant Music Director for the Tonight show, she’ll have a poetry/music CD—The Song We Chose to Sing—out in 2010 from ACTA.
Sherry Shahan has 30 children’s books to her credit, fiction and nonfiction. Her Alaskan-based novel FROZEN STIFF is currently on “Battle of the Books” list nationwide. Books for younger readers include bilingual SPICY HOT COLORS/COLORES PICANTES, COOL CATS COUNTING and FIESTA! A CELEBRATION OF LATINO FESTIVALS. An animated version of SPICY HOT COLORS appeared on PBS “Between the Lions.” Sherry holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and
teaches a writing course for UCLA Extension. Visit: www.SherryShahan.com
Greg Trine is the author of seven chapter books published by Henry Holt and Company. His eighth book, Invasion From Planet Dork, will be available this summer, and his first young adult novel, The Second Base Club, will be out in October. When Greg is not writing funny books or visiting schools, he can be found in the vicinity of chocolate.
In the Community
Summer for Kids Donating All Profits From Store To Benefit Children
In an extraordinary effort to make a lasting impact in the lives of children, Summer For Kids boutique owner Adriana Shuman and her husband Mark decided to donate 100% of all store profits to benefit local children’s charities in Santa Barbara. CALM is honored to be one of the recipients for 2010. To find out more about the Summer For Kids Children’s Charities initiative, stop by the store at 1235 Coast Village Road, Suite C in Montecito, visit www.summerforkids.com, or call (805) 565-2277.
