We love A2SF (or the Ann Arbor Summer Festival for newcomers to the fun!).
On Friday, June 23 from 5-8 pm, Booksweet is bringing three of our favorite picture book authors to the A2SF KidZone tent for a super special A2SF Storytime! This event is FREE and open to the public. Donations to A2SF are always appreciated.
At the start of each hour, from 5-7 pm, families enjoy a story together, followed by a kid-led author Q&A. This is a chance for the youngest readers to ask authors about their work and their very cool job. We’ll also do a fun zine craft together, helping kids tell and draw their own stories. Booksweet will be on-site with a little pop-up shop, selling books by all of the authors featured at the event.
Featuring three incredible storytime readings, including:
- 5PM: Erin Leary, author of Nenookaasi Mawadishiwe: Hummingbird Visits, a dual-language Anishinaabemowin/English book
- 6PM: Kelly Baptist, author of The Electric Slide and Kai
- 7PM: Debbie Taylor, author of Sweet Music in Harlem
ABOUT THE AUTHORS //
Kelly J. Baptist was born and raised in the great state of Michigan, and although she has lived in Alabama, Florida, and Minnesota, she found her way right back home. She’s been writing since…well, since she learned how to write! Kelly won the 2015 We Need Diverse Books short story contest with The Beans and Rice Chronicles of Isaiah Dunn, which is included in the middle grade anthology, Flying Lessons and Other Stories. As a result of her work in an urban school district, Kelly felt compelled to continue Isaiah’s story with Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero and Isaiah Dunn Saves The Day. Kelly has also written a picture book, The Electric Slide and Kai, and the middle grade novels, The Swag Is In The Socks and Eb & Flow. Kelly is a huge Kobe Bryant fan and incorporates Mamba Mentality in all aspects of her life, especially writing! She keeps beyond busy with her five children, who always give her plenty of story ideas and background noise to write to.
Erin Leary is a graduate student at the University of Michigan. She wrote and illustrated Nenookaasi Mawadishiwe: Hummingbird Visits, the story of a young hummingbird, as a final project in an Ojibwemowin language course. With encouragement from Margaret Noodin, translator of Bebikaan-ezhiwebiziwinan and now of Nenookaasi Mawadishiwe, Erin continued to work on this story. Her love of the language, of the wildlife around her, and her art come together in harmony in her debut children’s book. To view more of Erin’s art, visit her on Instagram.
Debbie Ann Taylor is an author of picture books, including Sweet Music in Harlem, Over in Motown, Step It Up French Dukes, and nine books for an educational series. Her short stories for children appear in magazines including Cricket, Spider, New Moon, and Pockets. Taylor’s contemporary and historical fiction focus on the importance of community and the value of family. Visits to museums and botanical gardens provide a rich source of material for her historical fiction. A native of Columbus, OH, she relocated to Ann Arbor 30 years ago and worked for decades to increase diversity in STEM fields.
This event is generously sponsored by C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.