This Saturday, May 14th, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in Baltimore will be holding their 4th Annual African American Children’s Book Fair. This free book fair is open to anyone who wants to learn more about books by and for African Americans and people of other ethnicities, and every family will receive a free children’s book for as long as supplies last. Picture book illustrators Shadra Strickland (Sunday Shopping) and London Ladd (Frederick’s Journey) will be participating, and Shadra will be awarding the first annual Jack Ezra Keats Bookmaking Competition. The festival will be running from 12 to 4 pm, with London taking part in the Illustrator’s Painting Presentation at 2 pm and Shadra participating in the Quick Draw Contest at 2:20. If you’re in the Baltimore area, make sure to stop by! You can find more information about the book fair on the museum’s website here.

Picture book artist Shadra Strickland has created an online course called “The Art of the Picture Book” to  teach the aspiring illustrator the basics of the art. Shadra’s course includes seven videos on topics such as how to develop characters and structure your picture book, tons of downloadable material, and the chance to ask Shadra direct questions on the virtual classroom. Check it out online here!

In an article about children’s picture books that explore new words for children, the New York Times gave high praise to Il Sung Na‘s new picture book, The Opposite Zoo, which explores the concept of opposites at a zoo closed for the night. The New York Times praised Il Sung for “bring[ing] fresh energy” to the familiar idea of opposites. They appreciate his humor and clever touches, and especially complimented his art, writing that he has “a coloring style that feels as if someone took a firecracker to a box of crayons.”

You can read the full review of The Opposite Zoo on the New York Times site here, and you can purchase your own copy here.

Liz Zunon will be busy this May! On Friday, May 6th she’ll be doing a book signing from 10:15 to 11 am at the SSL Conference at the Desmond Hotel in Albany, New York. You can find out more on the SSL site here.

On Saturday, May 7th, Liz will be reading Don’t Call Me Grandma, written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and illustrated by Liz, and other books at the Hudson Children’s Book Festival from 12:30 to 1. You can find her in the Author Tent in the Gymnasium. To find out who else will be participating in the festival and other information, check out the book festival site.

Saturday, May 14th, you can find Liz at Mango Tree Imports in Saratoga Springs, New York. She will read One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia, written by Miranda Paul and illustrated by Liz, and participate in a plastic bag craft activity for children. She’ll be there from 1:30 to 3:30 pm.

Tuesday, May 17th is Young Author’s Night at Ichabod Crane Primary School. Liz will be participating by signing books from 4:30 to 6:30 pm.

To finish her busy month off, on Wednesday, May 25 she’ll be participating in a symposium at the Library of Congress Young Readers Center in Washington, DC. The symposium will be on “Immigration and Children’s Literature: The Role of Heritage in Storytelling” and will run from 1 to 2 pm, followed by book signing. The invitation below contains more information.

The Central Library of Brooklyn is featuring an exhibition called The Turn of the Page, curated by children’s book author/illustrator Pat Cummings. Included in the display is artwork by illustrators that Cummings has taught and mentored, including Shadra Strickland, award winning illustrator of picture books such as Sunday Shopping. The exhibition runs June 5 and can be seen in the foyer and balcony cases at Central Library, so if you have a chance, make sure to drop by to see this beautiful exhibition!

Jill Dubin, illustrator of the Over In… series of picture books, will be at the North River Library in Bridgewater, Virginia this Saturday, April 30th. Jill will be participating in the North River Library’s “It’s All About Books” series of events and will be speaking about collages. If you want to drop by, the event is at 11 am. You can find out more information here.

This Saturday, April 30th is Independent Bookstore Day. Independent bookstores across the country are celebrating in various ways, such as selling special merchandise and hosting author talks.

For April 30th only, participating independent bookstores will be selling Draw Me!, a book aimed at teaching children how to draw a variety of favorite characters. Constance Lombardo, author/illustrator of the Mr. Puffball: Stunt Cat to the Stars series, is one of the featured authors in Draw Me! To find out more about Draw Me! and other special merchandise, check out Independent Bookstore Day’s website.

The Bank Street Book Store in New York is celebrating the day by having authors and illustrators drop by to discuss their books and do signings. Liz Zunon, award winning illustrator of picture book such as Don’t Call Me Grandma and Poems in the Attic, will be at Bank Street from 12:30 to 1 pm. If you’re in the area, drop by to say hi! You can find out more here.

Happy Independent Bookstore Day!

Not only is April National Poetry Month, but this year actually marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of National Poetry Month! To help students, teachers, and parents celebrate, the New York City Department of Education put together a list of recommended books of poetry for students. Included are Poems in the Attic, written by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Liz Zunon, and Edgar Allan Poe’s Pies: Math Puzzlers in Classic Poems, written by J. Patrick Lewis and illustrated by Michael Slack.

You can find out more about National Poetry Month on the DOE’s site.

This Saturday, Marilyn Sadler, author of Charlie Piechart, will be participating in the Ohioana Book Festival, a book festival that celebrates Ohio authors. The book festival will be held at the Sheraton Columbus Hotel in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, April 23rd. Marilyn will be participating in the Writing and Publishing for Young Readers panel from 2:00-2:30 pm. If you’re in the area this Saturday, she would love to see you!

For more information, you can visit the Ohioana Book Festival site here.