Author-Illustrator Program: Linda Sue Park

The 36th Annual Author-Illustrator Program features Linda Sue Park, renowned author of books for children and teens. On Thursday, October 3, at the Bluebonnet Regional Branch, Linda Sue Park will present a free program for adults, teens, and children at 7:00 p.m.

On Friday, October 4, Linda Sue Park will lead a workshop for teachers, writers and students at the Bluebonnet Regional Branch. A continental breakfast will be offered at 8:00 a.m., and Linda Sue Park’s program will begin at 8:30 a.m. Registration is required to attend the Friday workshop; the registration fee is $25 for adults and $10 for students. The Author/Illustrator Program affords teachers, librarians, parents and other interested adults an excellent opportunity for an exchange of ideas with prominent writers, artists, scholars, and performers of literature for children and young adults.

Previous notable artists in the field of literature who have been featured include Avi, Patricia and Fred McKissack, E. L. Konigsburg, Stephen Kellogg, Paula Danziger, Mercer Mayer, and Richard Peck. Both events will include a book sale and autograph session, sponsored by Patrons of the Public Library. Linda Sue Park will autograph copies of her books that will be sold at the program.

With several books for children and young adults to her name, Linda Sue Park has won numerous awards including the Newbery Medal, ALA Best Book for Children, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, and the Skipping Stones Honor Award.

For more information about the program and to register, call (225) 231-3760.

Author Focus: Judy Blume

by Louise Hilton

Judy Blume is a beloved American author, best known for her books for children and teens. Her children’s books include several titles featuring Peter Hatcher and his irrepressible little brother Farley, better known as Fudge (highlights are Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing, Superfudge, and Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great), while her teen books such as Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, Blubber, and Tiger Eyes have spoken to generations of young women in particular, focusing on adolescent rites of passage and female friendship.

With Banned Books Week just around the corner (September 22-28, 2013), it’s the perfect time to revisit an old favorite by Judy Blume, since she is one of the most frequently challenged authors, in particular for her teen novel Forever.

Visit her official website at http://judyblume.com/ for more on her books, her life, and a great section for budding writers. To see all the books that we have by Blume, search the library catalog.

Author Focus: Cara Black

Cara Black

by Louise Hilton.

Cara Black is an American author best known for her bestselling Aimée Leduc mystery series set in Paris in the mid-1990s.  Black lived in Paris for many years and her intimate knowledge of the city comes across in her writing. There are currently 13 novels in the series and each one is set in a different quartier in the French capital. Black deftly weaves in tidbits about each neighborhood’s unique flavor and history into each mystery, which enhance the appeal of the series. The heroine is Aimée Leduc, a half-American, half-French private investigator, a quirky, smart, fiercely independent 30something with a  penchant for “bad boys” and vintage Chanel. Her best friend and partner at Leduc Detectives is René, a dwarf, computer hacker, and martial arts expert. A host of other eccentric characters round out the cast in this intriguing series that is definitely worth a read. Check out the author’s official website for more details on each title.

Bastille Day’s tomorrow so curl up with one of Black’s novels and a café crème – or glass of vin rouge – and be swept away to the City of Lights!

Author Focus: Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl is a much-loved author, that millions of children around the world have grown up listening to, and reading his stories. I still vividly remember the first time I was taken into Dahl’s universe, reading The BFG. So many of his children’s stories have been adapted for the big screen and for the theatre. They are timeless fairy tales, often with a dark humor, with the hero almost always a child.  It was the long term partnership with illustrator Quentin Blake that brought Dahl’s characters to life even more, with such memorable representations.

So today we want to pay tribute to the Welsh writer with the incredible imagination. You can find out more about his life and his work by visiting www.roalddahl.com. Take a trip down memory lane and read one of these classics or introduce a little one to them. To see all the books that we have by Dahl (too many to feature here!), search the library catalog.

Author Focus: Jo Nesbø

As a Scandinavian thriller writer, Jo Nesbø will always draw comparisons with Stieg Larsson. His work in no way lives in the shadow of Larsson though. He has found incredible success with his series of crime thrillers featuring his gritty character, Detective Harry Hole. I’m currently reading my way through the series and can’t recommend them highly enough. It’s only a matter of time before adaptations of these books end up on the big screen. Unfortunately some of the earlier books in the series are taking a while to be released in the United States.

Many of his novels have won awards and we have them available at the library in various formats. Funnily enough, as well as the dark Harry Hole Series, Nesbø also has a series of children’s books, the Doctor Proctor series. Nesbø is quite the versatile writer! I also have to mention that his mother was a librarian, so that also makes him automatically awesome, of course. Enjoy the interview below where Nesbø tells us about Harry Hole.

Harry Hole Series:
1. The Bat (coming soon)
2. Cockroaches (coming soon)
3. The Redbreast
4. Nemesis
5. The Devil’s Star
6. The Redeemer
7. The Snowman
8. The Leopard
9. Phantom
10. Police (coming soon)