I know I’m two weeks late, but here at last are some photos from a great day at the Words in Whitby Author’s Festival.
It was a beautiful April day, with the sun shining down and the chill in the air nowhere to be felt. Melanie and I arrived to the Centennial Building in downtown Whitby to find the tables overloaded with my Pet Tales picture books, stuffed toys and all.
Many young visitors had difficult choices to make. What would it be? Adorable puppies, irresistable kittens or playful ponies?
After a bit of wrangling, the program for the afternoon was set and myself and Sharon Jennings got underway (Sharon wisely chose to read first, ensuring I had a tough act to follow.)
As the kids streamed into the theatre, we decided that having them join us on stage would work best. Both Sharon and I had picture books to read from and those overstuffed chairs looked too comfortable to resist. So, the audience clomped up the wooden steps onto the stage and we all settled down for storytime.
It was great to look out to the kids around me and see several of them clutching their own little stuffed versions of Baxter or Duncan as I read from each pet’s story (I also feel the black curtains really gave it that Charlie Rose feel I always try to capture with my readings.)
The audience was definitely a bright bunch, full of suggestions on what Baxter and his pals should do throughout the stories.
After the readings, it was time to sign some books.
I was thrilled to see so many young readers buying books and very happy to meet them all one by one.
As you can see from my smile, I was really having fun.
I was happy to see a few Max Finder fans in the crowd too.
And that is Words in Whitby in photos. Thanks to all the organizers and volunteers who made it such a great day. And thanks to the kids for coming out. It was an honour to be part of the fun.
tagged: [writing] [whitby] [appearances]
