Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for December 17, 2024

 Montgomery Ward department store in Chicago put out a coloring book every Christmas, and in 1939 they assigned an ad writer to come up with a character for the book. He chose an animal like the ones his daughter loved at the zoo, but his idea was rejected because his character had a trait associated with alcoholism. When the art department made the animal cute enough, the story was accepted and went on to become a book, song, and animated tv show. The writer was Robert L. May and his red-nosed subject was Rudolf. A legend that he wrote the story to help his daughter get over the loss of her mother turned out not to be true.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for December 10, 2024

 This American writer, born in 1779, was primarily a seminary professor and real estated developer in early New York City. He is best known for a poem he wrote--or did he?--which first appeared anonymously in a Troy NY paper in 1823. Some scholars suspect another writer, a relative of his wife, was the true author. At any rate, his poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" is still a part of holiday traditions today. This is Clement C. Moore, and the title we use now is "The Night Before Christmas."

Come support these book events on Dec. 13th!

FREE BOOKS!

 The Free For All book giveaway will take place on Friday, December 13 at the Glenwood Springs Community Center! Books make great gifts, so come find some treasures at the Free For All! It starts at noon. But on the same day at 11:00, come hear three local authors read their books and sign them at Alpenglo Book Store, 720 Grand Ave. in Glenwood by the bridge. Wendi Silvano from Grand Junction will read and sign her turkey books, and Glenwood authors Nancy Flood and Deborah Williams will read and sign theirs.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for November 26, 2024

I must have read this Brooklyn born author's 1983 book Jamberry out loud more than a hundred times through the years--"One berry, two berry, pick me a blueberry,,," He also illustrated the work of other writers, such as the Magic School Bus series by Joanna Cole, the Commander Toad stories by Jane Yolen, and the Jesse Bear books by Nancy White Carlstrom. He worked as an art teacher, a printmaker, and even painted scenery for operas. He wanted to make books for children that could be "funny and beautiful." He and his wife and two sons lived in Connecticut, where he died of pancreatic cancer this month on Nov. 7th, 2024. This was the author/illustrator Bruce Degen.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for November 12, 2024

 This Indiana-born writer wrote non-fiction for children, often illustrated with her husband's photographs. She wrote The Weaver's Gift about how wool becomes a child's blanket, and The Puppeteer which explored the crafters' artistic concerns. For her 1990 book Dinosaur Dig she and her husband packed up the kids and moved from Cambridge, MA to the Badlands of Montana. She was greatly interested in history, and her book The Night Journey tells of a Jewish girl and her family's dangerous flight from Czarist Russia. She once said that she didn't care if her readers didn't remember a single fact, as long as they came away with a sense of joy. Her name is Kathryn Lasky, and her husband is Christopher Knight.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for October 29, 2024

 When this German-born 12 year-old recieved a diary for her birthday, she never expected her daily entries would one day become a banned book in Florida. Her writings (the original version, not a later graphic novel illustrated version) joined Schindler's List, Maus, The Fixer, along with dictionaries, the Guinness Book of World Records, science books by National Geographic and even thesaureses being removed from school libraries and classrooms in Escambia County, FL in 2024. The book is Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, first published in 1947, and the group wanting it banned due to "sexual content" has ties to the national organization, Moms For Liberty.