Patricia Polacco at the Oak Park Library this Saturday!
Saturday, May 17th, from 11:00-12:30 PM artist & author Patricia Polacco wil be reading & signing at the Oak Park Library,located at 14200 Oak Park, Blvd., in Oak Park. Join us for this rare area appearance and book signing event with Patricia Polacco. Please call 248-968-1190 for more information or to reserve book titles.
Polacco is one of Americas most cherished and bestselling author-illustrators, with over two dozen published books including the classic autobiographical folktales; Babushka Baba Yaga, The Keeping Quilt, Pink and Say, Mrs. Katz and Tush, Casey at the Bat, and Rechenka’s Egg. It is a great honor for us to be hosting this event in our community. Book Beat will have on hand many of Polacco’s stunning picture books including her most recent titles, The Lemonade Club and Ginger and Petunia.
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2nd Annual "Read in the Park" Book Festival at Berkley High School, this Sunday Afternoon, May 18
Join us Sunday, May 18th from 1 PM- 4 PM on the front lawn of Berkley High School for the 2nd Annual READ IN THE PARK Book Festival! Aimed to promote reading for children and young adults, there will be authors, celebrity readers, music, storybook characters, food and fun activities for the whole family. Authors planning to attend include; NPR host Charity Nebbe, Susan Collins Thomas, Denise Rodgers, Howard Fridson, Stephen M. Jones and Bryan Chick. Sponsored by the Berkley Educational Foundation and the Book Beat bookstore, funds raised at the Read in the Park festival go to support community literacy programs. Elevate your mind and Discover the Joy and Fun of Reading!
Suggested donation: $3.00 per person; $10.00 per family
Meet the authors and their books at Read in the Park:
Our Walk in the Woods (Hardcover) “Nothing is more fun than a walk in the woods on a sunny spring day. Abbey and her dog Kirby get up early every Saturday to explore the hills above the river, but they don’t always see things quite the same. Abbey likes to smell the lovely spring flowers. Kirby likes to chase the small animals he smells along the way. Abbey checks out the animal footprints in the mud. Kirby loves to burrow in the dirt. Abbey sits in the sun on the riverbank, feeling the wind on her face. Kirby paddles in the water, chasing the ducks and geese. Although they may not always agree, they’ll walk in the woods again tomorrow.” - Mitten Press
Chinwag Theater producer Charity Nebbe spent much of her childhood in rural Iowa of the 1850’s. There she enjoyed milking cows, churning butter, and tending the geese. Attacked by an enraged goose, young Charity’s life was despaired of–but a scientist, Dr. Sylvester Lapa-Lapa, At Des Moines’ famous Zoroastrian Hospital, put the child into a primitive form of suspended animation. Thus, she came to live in this century, Raised by her great-great-nephew’s family. This experience accounts for her unusual knowledge of, and interest in, Iowa history, odd experiments, and Daniel Pinkwater.
In this century Charity claims to have been born in 1975, she has two brothers, two foster brothers, a foster sister, and two parents (one mother and one father–actually collateral descendants). She grew up just outside of Cedar Falls, Iowa where she spent the bulk of her time raising baby animals (her family rehabilitates wild orphaned and injured animals with state and federal licenses), reading books, pretending to be Wonder Woman, and playing with the dogs and cats. Charity went to Iowa State University where she majored in political science with minors in English and Biology.
She now lives near Ann Arbor, Michigan with her husband (Rob), two dogs (Sara, pictured above, and Mandy), and five cats (Arthur, Vivian, Toby, Chance, and Q). She works at Michigan Radio where she produces The Todd Mundt Show from NPR and cleans the restrooms. Nebbe is the host of All Things Considered on Michigan Public Radio. “Woods” is her first book.
Denise Rodgers: A Little Bit of Nonsense (Hardcover) This attractive hardcover book is filled with 65 whimsical poems by The Poetry Lady herself, Denise Rodgers, and illustrated by Michigan artist, Julie Martin. The book is divided into four sections; Characters I’ve Known, Monster Meat Stew, Noah’s Ark, and Looney Ideas.Known to many Michigan school children as “The Poetry Lady,” Denise Rodgers is a metro Detroit poet and writer. Several of the poems from her “Great lakes Rhythm and Rhyme,” (River Road Publications),collection have been included in the MEAP (Michigan Educational Assessment Program). She is also the author of “A Little Bit of Nonsense,” (Creative Writing Press),a collection of nonsense verse. Two of the poems from the “Nonsense” collection have been included in Jack Prelutsky anthologies, “The 20th Century Children’s Poetry Treasury” (Knopf) and “Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme,” (Knopf). Rodgers visits schools statewide and conducts Poetry Visits and Poetry Workshops. She has also presided over Young Authors Conferences in Grand Rapids and Oakland County. See her web site, www.ThePoetryLady.com for examples of student poetry.
Howard Fridson: Our Family Treasue (paperback) An inspiring book about creativity, friendship and family. The story is taken from the author’s own family history and tells the story of his lovely eccentric aunt Else who collected odd bits of things and made her life a joyous creation. The book is a heartfelt journey of two friends who share a creative afternoon. Fridson’s illustrations are soft pastel pencil and crayon drawings that add to this timeless tale of memory and family. Included is a diagram to help children and adults create their own version of Else’s cut-out paper square dance.
“When Howard’s Aunt Elsie turned 75, Howard wrote a story about her and drew a few pictures to present at her party. Elsie had always been like a second mother to Howard and his brother, Marty. After she passed away, Howard thought it would be nice to finish the book as a gift to all the cousins and their children. In this way they would always remember their wonderful Aunt Elsie. To his surprise, Howard discovered cousins he never knew existed, from Canada to Viet Nam. The cousins were very excited to read the book, and they insisted that everyone should be able to read about their aunt. The result is “Our Family Treasure.”Howard Fridson is an artist who lives in Huntington Woods, Michigan with his wife Cathy. They have three grown boys named Nate, Blake and Russel. Howard studied art at Wayne State University where he drew a comic strip for the school newspaper called “The Adventures of Captain Bopper.” He majored in Fine Arts and began painting murals upon graduation. Since then he has continued to paint and has illustrated books, including “Maya’s First Rose” by Martin Scot Kosins. 
Steven M. Jones: Charlemagne Mack: Rise of the Queen (Paperback) It’s time to discover “The Urban Harry Potter”Detroit, Michigan based playwright Stephen M. Jones has created a buckle up and hold on rollercoaster of an adventure novel for teens in his new book Charlemagne Mack: Rise of the Queen.It all began with a toad in a bowl of Jell-O. Smart, sassy and cool Charlemagne (Charley) Mack is a twelve year old African American, living in The City. Raised on MTV and VH1, Charley is a pure product of our culture. She’s an honors student (or a “colored egg” as she refers to herself), a gymnast, and … the queen of the Sky Conjuring People??Most little girls dream of being a princess, but Charley is thrust into her position as queen at the age of twelve and finds that the glamorous benefits of royalty are swept aside in the face of mystery, danger, adventure and responsibility.Charlemagne’s journey is that of a child who reluctantly leaves childhood behind for a reality nothing like she could ever have imagined. The book is filled with the desire and struggle to; find out who you really are, to learn from adversity, to embrace curiosity and education, and to cherish the value of friendship along the way.America’s first African American princess is on her way, hip hop, pop and lock and dreadlock. Steve speaks to a generation of urban youth and we believe is the next great African American author. 
Stephen M, Jones is a copywriter and playwright, with his first play “Back in the World” voted best Play by the Detroit Free Press. Charlemagne Mack is the first of a trilogy and Stephen Jones first children’s book.
Bryan Chick: The Secret Zoo (Paperback) “This book, which is the first of a series, is a fast-paced mix of mystery and fantasy. There is enough action and suspense to keep the most reluctant reader entertained while simultaneously emphasizing the importance of friendship and teamwork. It promises to be the beginning of a popular series.” –School Library Journal Noah Nowicki and his younger sister live next to the Clarksville Zoo. One night, Megan mysteriously vanishes, leaving behind only a few pages from her diary as clues. Noah and his friends, Ella and Ritchie, who call themselves the Adventure Scouts, set out to rescue her. They befriend a batch of sentient yet nonspeaking zoo animals that include a polar bear named Blizzard; Podgy, a penguin; and Marlo, a Malachite Kingfisher. These creatures, who claim to know what happened to Megan, lead the Scouts into the zoo, which has a secret entrance to a fanciful land called the City of Species where animals and humans live alongside one another.
About the author: 
Bryan Chick spent most of his childhood bumping into things. Mostly awkward and shy, he wasn’t particularly good at paying attention, and he was bored with things his imagination couldn’t manipulate. His love for writing began when he realized how cool and rewarding it is to flood the contents of his mind across stacks of paper.The idea for The Secret Zoo came to Bryan when he was only nine-years-old. He used to wonder what it would be like if zoo exhibits had secret doors for kids to get in—and the animals to get out. Why would the exhibits have secret passages? What would this mean? Over time (lots of time—like twenty years), the idea matured in complexity and length, until finally developing into what it is today, a story outlined as seven full novels.
Bryan lives with his wife and three young children in Clarkston, MI. Overall, he’s a pretty simple man—a father and a husband before anything else. He is terrible with remembering names, simple math, and geography (on last account he could name maybe two-thirds of the fifty United States—and don’t ask him to convert that fraction to decimal).
For more information on Book Beat signings please call: 248-968-1190. You may also reserve books for inscription if unable to attend.
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The Book Beat is an independent locally owned bookstore serving the metro Detroit community since 1982. Thank you for your support. We are located at 26010 Greenfield in Oak Park, hours: Mon-Fri 10 AM- 9 PM, Sat. 10 AM -7 PM, Sunday 12-5 PM.