Children’s Literature Shines in Port Washington Public Library Programs

The Port Washington Public Library presents Past, Present and Future: Insiders Look at Children’s Literature in the 21^st Century and the Children’s Illustrator Exhibition featuring prestigious authors, artists, and experts involved in publishing and library service to children.

Past, Present and Future: Insiders Look at Children’s Literature in the 21^st Century, a panel discussion on Sunday, November 10 at 1:30 p.m., will be led by author and artist Jane Breskin Zalben. This all-star panel will present an overview of the industry, examining important questions about the evolution and future of children’s literature. 

·        What is the influence of multimedia and electronic publishing?

·        Where is the book in all of this?

·        What is the best way to market children’s books in these rapidly changing times? 

·        And how will professionals provide children with literature that inspires a lifelong love of reading?

Panelists are Rita Auerbach (librarian and former Caldecott Chair), Elizabeth Harding (vice president of Curtis Brown, Ltd.), Sandra Jordan (author and former editorial director of Farrar, Straus & Giroux and Orchard Books), Renee McGrath (librarian, Director of Youth Services, Nassau Library System), Neal Porter (editorial director of Neal Porter Books/Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan), Laura Vaccaro Seeger (artist and author), Caroline Ward (librarian and former Newbery Chair) and moderator Jane Breskin Zalben (artist, picture book and young adult fiction author, and former chair of the Society of Illustrators’ Original Art Exhibition).

The Children’s Illustrator Exhibition will hang in the Library’s Main Gallery from November 1 to December 1, featuring original art by renowned children’s book illustrators Brian Floca, Roxie Munro, Jerry Pinkney, Sergio Ruzzier, Amy Schwartz, Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Paulis Waber, Jane Breskin Zalben and the late Bernard Waber.

A reception and book signing from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 10, follows the panel discussion. The exhibition is sponsored by Astoria Federal Savings, The Port Washington Branch. Gallery hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.