For
Release: March 31, 2008
Nationally Recognized Authors in
April Celebrates 25 Years of Helping Create a Community of Readers
2008
Authors Have Strong Michigan Ties
Rochester Area Program Set for
April 21-25
Contact:
Rochester,
MI --- Authors In April, Inc., a Rochester-based independent, non-profit
organization dedicated to promoting quality children’s literature, announces
that Authors In April is set for the week of April 21 to April 25. 2008 marks
the 25th anniversary of Authors in April.
This
year’s visiting authors/illustrators are:
Lisa
Wheeler: K-1
Laurie Keller: 2-3
Gary D. Schmidt: 4-5
Christopher Paul Curtis: Middle School
For the first time in Authors in April history, all
four of the authors have a strong Michigan connection. Lisa Wheeler (K-1) moved
to Michigan when she was 15 and raised her family in Trenton, Michigan. Lisa’s
latest book, Jazz Baby, was named the
2008 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Honor Book, a 2008 Charlotte Zolotow Highly
Commended Title, and a 2008 American Library Association (ALA) Notable Book.
Laurie
Keller (2-3), the clever writer and illustrator of such books as Arnie the Doughnut, Do Unto Otters, and Open Wide, is originally from Muskegon.
Following her graduation from the Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand
Rapids, Laurie went to work for Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, Missouri as a
greeting card artist. After living in New York for several years, Laurie is
back home on the shores of Lake Michigan in North Muskegon.
Gary
Schmidt (4-5) lives with his wife and six children on a 150 year-old farm in
Alto, Michigan and is a professor of English at Calvin College in Grand Rapids.
Gary’s book, The Wednesday Wars, was named a 2008 Newbery Honor Book. He
also earned a Newbery Honor and a Michael L. Printz Honor in 2005 for
his young adult novel Lizzie Bright and
the Buckminster Boy.
Christopher
Paul Curtis (Middle School), a resident of Windsor, Ontario, was born in Flint
and spent his first 13 years after high school on the assembly line of Flint’s
historic Fisher Body Plant #1. He made his debut in children’s literature with
the highly acclaimed book, The Watsons Go
to Birmingham—1963. His second novel, Bud,
Not Buddy, is the first book to ever receive both the Newbery Medal and the
Coretta Scott King Author Award.
Christopher
was awarded a 2008 Newbery Honor, the Coretta Scott King Medal for
Distinguished Contribution to American Literature, and the Scott O'Dell Award
for Historical fiction for his most recent book, Elijah of Buxton.
The
Authors In April, Inc. Board is comprised of children’s book lovers from the
community at large, Rochester Community Schools and parochial school educators
and parents, and the Rochester Hills Public Library. Authors in April brings
nationally acclaimed children’s authors and illustrators to public and
parochial school children from K – 8 in Rochester, Rochester Hills, and Oakland
Township. According to Authors In April, Inc. Board Chairman and Rochester
Hills resident
“The 25 year anniversary
of Authors In April is not only a celebration for our students but for the
greater Rochester area as well,” affirms Ms. DeCuir. “It has become an integral
part of the fabric of our cultural lives here, thanks to tremendous school,
library, community and business support. For 25 years, Authors In April has
been helping to create a community of young readers who move on in their
education and into adulthood with a deepened understanding and appreciation of
literature and art.”
In
addition to the authors’ school visits, there is a dinner for adults in the
community who want to meet the authors. This year’s dinner is on Tuesday, April
22 at Twin Lakes Golf Club in Oakland Township, with book signing from 6:00 to
7:00 and dinner at 7:00, followed by remarks from the authors. The dinner will
be emceed by the Honorable 52nd District Judge Lisa L. Asadoorian. The dinner is a much-loved Authors
in April tradition and tends to sell-out quickly. To secure dinner tickets, please contact
There
will also be an Authors In April autograph party on Wednesday, April 23 between
4-6 p.m. at the Rochester Hills Public Library, 500 Olde Town Road in Downtown
Rochester. There is no charge for the
party and the authors’ books will be available for sale.
The goal
of the annual Authors In April event is to encourage students to become
lifelong readers, improve their own creative writing ability, and develop
greater appreciation, understanding and discernment for quality literature and
art. Rochester is the only community in the nation to have a weeklong
children’s literary celebration of this magnitude. Previous visiting authors/illustrators
include Megan McDonald, creator of the popular Judy Moody series, Newbery award
winners Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, E.L. Konigsburg, and Cynthia Voigt, and
Caldecott winners, David Small, David Wisniewski and Chris Raschka. To learn more about Authors In April, Inc.
please visit www.authorsinapril.org.
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