Kids here at the Tigard Public Library absolutely LOVE
Mo Willems and all his works, especially Elephant and Piggie, Knuffle Bunny, and Pigeon. Mo is up to big plans this year, which includes the release of the 25th and final Elephant and Piggie book,
The Thank You Book (insert the tears here). BUT the two BFF's will be returning in a new series called
Elephant & Piggie Like Reading where they retire from all their fun and shenanigans to live a life full of reading. This new spin-off will start with a collaboration between Mo and
Dan Santat, called
The Cookie Fiasco, and another,
We Are Growing! with author-illustrator
Laurie Keller. (Sorry folks, but these two titles won't be available until Fall 2016...but in the meantime, keep checking the online catalog.)
PLUS an exciting NEW book that will be out this fall called
Nanette's Baguette. This stand-alone title about a frog and his solo trip to the bakery will be released in October 2016. This book will be illustrated using cut paper, a style much different than Mo's previous works.
AND, if you and your family has plans to visit New York this year, swing by the
New York Historical Society Museum & Library for "
The Art and Whimsy of Mo Willems". This exhibit, running March 18-September 25, 2016 will offer opportunities for kids and parents to learn how to sketch different characters from Mo's books, plus they'll have the opportunity for a fun museum visit experience.
For more details on Mo's whereabouts this year, see the March 10, 2016 article in
Publisher's Weekly.
Beloved children’s
book author Beverly Cleary was born on April 12th, 1916, in
McMinnville and raised in Portland. As a librarian, Cleary learned that
elementary school children were looking for and struggling to find books about
kids like themselves. In 1950, Cleary published her first book, Henry Huggins, which is about a boy, his dog, and his friends who live in the
Hollywood neighborhood in Portland.
Since then,
Beverly Cleary has published over 40 children’s books, most of which are still
in print and relevant to kids today. She has won many literary awards, including
the John Newbery Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw and Newbery Honors for
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and Ramona and Her Father. Her most recent
book, Ramona’s World, was published in 1999. Beverly Cleary now lives in
California so she can be near her family.
OPB is
celebrating with an Oregon Art Beat special “Discovering Beverly Cleary”—the first-ever documentary about the author. It includes a rare, new
interview with Beverly Cleary herself! Watch the special on Thursday, April 7th at 8:00 p.m. on OPB TV or online at: www.opb.org/beverlycleary.
Kids here at the Tigard Public Library absolutely LOVE Mo Willems and all his works, especially Elephant and Piggie, Knuffle Bunny, and Pigeon. Mo is up to big plans this year, which includes the release of the 25th and final Elephant and Piggie book, The Thank You Book (insert the tears here). BUT the two BFF's will be returning in a new series called Elephant & Piggie Like Reading where they retire from all their fun and shenanigans to live a life full of reading. This new spin-off will start with a collaboration between Mo and Dan Santat, called The Cookie Fiasco, and another, We Are Growing! with author-illustrator Laurie Keller. (Sorry folks, but these two titles won't be available until Fall 2016...but in the meantime, keep checking the online catalog.) 
Don Freeman, the creator and illustrator of the Corduroy books passed away in 1978. I personally enjoyed the story of Corduroy and his missing button for his overalls as a child. I felt a very deep and emotional tug at my heart strings as he went around the department store without the button to keep his overalls strap down, the mischief he got into roaming the store, and how the eyes of a young girl made a connection with the little bear. Spoiler alert: It was such a relief for me when he went home with the girl and got himself a new button. *Sigh*
Newbery-winning author and naturalist Jean Craighead George, who inspired many children to pursue careers in the natural sciences, died May 15th in New York. George wrote more than 100 books for young adults, including the popular Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves. Since writing her first book in 1949, she strived to bring a love of nature to her readers. Click here for an obituary from School Library Journal.
