2008 Events

Chapter & Verse: a book club for adults discussing children's lit

Please join us for a stroll along Lake Minnetonka, an early supper outside at Sunsets, a Ben & Jerry's cone, a Caribou iced drink, then we'll settle in for discussion of a picture book and novel at 7:00 pm. First we'll take a look at We Are the Ship by Kadir Nelson, a picture book about the Negro Baseball League that is turning admiring heads. Then we'll discuss Box Out, a book about making tough decisions on one's own, separation of church and state, and boys' and girls' basketball. At 8:00 pm, author John Coy will join us for more about the book and you can ask him questions directly. At 8:30, feel free to look around the store, which has recently expanded its collection of children's and young adult books.

Plan to join us the third Thursday of every month when adults who read children's and YA books will indulge themselves about talking about these books with fellow readers. Led by Vicki Palmquist of Children's Literature Network, Chapter & Verse participants are invited to purchase books under discussion at a 25% discount. Books may be ordered by visiting the store or calling to have your books shipped to you. Book club participants are also entitled to a 25% discount on any book purchased in the store between 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm on the evening of the book club.

If you'd like to join us, please reserve a chair by contacting Nancy Caffoe, children's book buyer at The Bookcase.

Chapter & Verse takes place at The Bookcase of Wayzata, 607 East Lake Street, Wayzata, Minnesota. 952-471-8341. This book club is co-sponsored by The Bookcase of Wayzata and Children's Literature Network.

Upcoming book discussions:

September 18, 2008: This is Just to Say by Joyce Sidman (picture book) and Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers (young adult novel)

October 16, 2008: Picture book (to be announced) and Brooklyn Bridge by Karen Hesse (middle grade novel)

November 20, 2008: Psst! by Adam Rex (picture book; we'll talk about radical change in picture books) and The Remarkable and Very True Story of Lucy & Snowcap by H.M. Bouwman (middle grade novel)

December 18, 2008: The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson (picture book) and The Lincolns: a Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary by Candace Fleming (nonfiction for middle grade and up)

CLN members are invited to join us in Mankato, Minnesota, on Sunday evening, August 24th, at 5:00 pm for a conversation with author and illustrator, Debra Frasier. Her books, On the Day You Were Born, A Birthday Cake is No Ordinary Cake, and Miss Alaineus: a Vocabulary Disaster are classics found on bookshelves in every home, library shelf, and classroom in the nation and around the world. Chat with Debra in this casual setting as we share conversation and a tasty salad buffet and beverages.

An outstanding school visitor and keynote presenter at conferences, Debra is noted for her ability to hold the delighted attention of kindergarten through fifth grade classes for an hour! Her name is also passed from school district to library district as people enjoy her ideas for classrooms and libraries.

In other words, this is a Conversation that will help you and make you feel good at the same time. It's always fun to get together and chat with people who understand what you do and share your enthusiasms.

This Conversation is open to 30 CLN members (and guests). The fee is $20, which is payable by credit card by clicking on the button below or by check, mailed to CLN, 13570 Grove Drive #353, Maple Grove MN 55311-4400. It is necessary to send us an e-mail to register as space is limited. Registrations will be taken on a first-come, first-serve basis. Reminder: bring your Frequent Conversationalist card to be punched!

The Conversation will be held at Twin Rivers Center for the Arts, Emy Frentz Arts Guild, 523 South Second Street, Mankato, Minnesota.

Sponsored by the Anderson Center and Red Balloon Bookshop

When you visit the Children's Literature Network tent at the Red Wing Festival, you can take part in "Learn to Draw with Rick Chrustowski" for free!

We'll have materials available for you to try your hand at drawing living things the way Rick does in his many books. In fact, Rick will have a brand new book out, Big Brown Bat, that you won't want to miss.

His other books, Turtle Crossing, Blue Sky Bluebird, Hop Frog, and Bright Beetle offer rodent, reptile, bird, and insect information that children find fascinating. And Rick researches by crawling into tight spaces, building animal habitats, and patiently observing the creatures he draws with colored pencil.

Do you have a budding illustrator in your family? Are you one yourself? Come learn from one of the best and brightest illustrators in our region.

While you're with us, learn more about Children's Literature Network and the benefits we have to offer.

The Red Balloon Bookshop will have Rick's books for sale at the Festival so you can have them autographed.

Celebration of Minnesota Children's Authors and Illustrators, Anderson Center, 163 Tower View Drive, Red Wing, MN 55066, 651-388-2009.