What's New in Children's Books?

I had a "busman's holiday" kind of Saturday...and time well spent. I attended "What's New in Children's Books?" on October 25th, sponsored by the Foundation for Children's Books, an annual gathering highlighting young authors and newly published books for children and young adults. Adults interested in books for young people heard from children's bookseller Alison Moore about the best of the new books, always a treat, and we heard from three book creators -- Jeff Mack, Marcella Pixley, and Jeff Kinney -- each with a unique perspective on their lives as authors and artists. If you look very closely at the notebook Jeff Kinney is holding below, you can see the seeds of his Diary of a Wimpy Kid, a smash-hit series of books based on his own grade school life. He was delighted to autograph his books for Lawrence School library readers.