Virtual Author Talks

Surviving the Summer with The Last Kids on Earth and Max Brallier (3rd - 6th Grade)

Tuesday, July 16th at 2:00 PM EDT

Would you survive a zombie apocalypse? Join us to talk with New York Times bestselling author Max Brallier about The Last Kids on Earth, both the book series and the animated series on Netflix. In this virtual event, Max will share how he came up with the different monsters and villains as well as the unique ways that Jack and his friends figure out to defeat them.

Ever since the monster apocalypse hit town, average thirteen year old Jack Sullivan has been living in his tree house, which he’s armed to the teeth with catapults and a moat, not to mention video games and an endless supply of Oreos and Mountain Dew scavenged from abandoned stores. But Jack alone is no match for the hordes of Zombies and Winged Wretches and Vine Thingies, and especially not for the eerily intelligent monster known only as Blarg. So Jack builds a team: his dorky best friend, Quint; the reformed middle school bully, Dirk; Jack’s loyal pet monster, Rover; and Jack’s crush, June. With their help, Jack is going to slay Blarg, achieve the ultimate Feat of Apocalyptic Success, and be average no longer! Can he do it?

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Learning the Power of Poetry with Bestselling Author Elizabeth Acevedo (9th - 12th)

Tuesday, July 23rd at 2:00 PM EDT

You’re invited to learn about the power of poetry with Elizabeth Acevedo! In this exciting author conversation and Q&A, Acevedo will provide a short reading from her National Book Award winning and New York Times bestselling novel-in-verse, The Poet X serving as the backdrop to this amazing chat!

The Poet X is about an Afro-Latina heroine who tells her story with blazing words and powerful truth. Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about.

With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out. But she still can’t stop thinking about performing her poems. Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.

A virtual author talk you don’t want to miss–come create out loud with Elizabeth Acevedo! Register now!

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Graphic Novels are Life! Telling Your Own Story in a Graphic Novel with Dan Santat (5th - 8th Grade)

Tuesday, July 30th at 2:00 PM EDT

Join this year’s winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, Dan Santat, as he inspires tweens and teens to tell their own stories through graphic novels. His winning book, A First Time for Everything, is a graphic memoir based on his own awkward middle school years and the trip to Europe that changed his life.

Dan Santat began drawing as a young boy and although he first studied microbiology, he pursued his passion in illustration. He spent many hours as a child and teenager teaching himself to draw by copying illustrations from comic books until he developed the unique, recognizable style that we see today. His talk will inspire listeners to draw their own story as well as give them practical tips on the creation of graphic novels.

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