On Saturday, A Chance to Celebrate Children's Books

Before you head down to Town Hall Deli on Saturday for the Sloppy Joe eating contest, or to the Sloan Street lot to dunk your favorite Village Trustee, stop by 15 Scotland Rd. You'll be glad you did.

In the very back of the Sparkhouse Kids toy store is a quaint children's book "corner," better known as the SOMe Book Nook. This weekend, that space will turn into the home of 21 local authors and illustrators who will participate in book signings, workshops, readings, discussions, and more. (Some events will be held at The South Orange Public Library and South Mountain Yoga, both also on Scotland Road.)

The SOMe Book Fest, done in collaboration with Main Street South Orange and Celebrate South Orange, looks to celebrate  and support local talent, and to get the community to see that there's talented people "right here in our backyards," in the words of SOMe Book Nook owner Marietta Zacker, an expert in children's literature herself.

The event makes "a whole lot sense" to Zacker because "sometimes local libraries and schools reach out to authors in, let's say, California, while there are so many local authors they can easily call and say, 'why don't you do a school visit?,'" she said.

The roster of local authors and illustrators is quite impressive and diverse. (Take a look; their books and illustrations are on display at the Book Nook.) They all live in Maplewood and South Orange, but come from all walks of life.

"South Orange pulls many people who used to live in New York City and it's an artist community in all kinds of ways," said participating writer Meredith Sue Willis. Both South Orange and Maplewood "have become popular with people in the arts. It's a very welcoming community."

Willis grew up in a family of teachers in West Virginia and now lives in South Orange with her husband. Her first novels were inspired by her time as a Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA) and her participation in the 1968 Columbia University anti-war sit-ins. On Saturday, she will be leading a "creative writing moment," an exercise for kids to get a glimpse of where the writer finds inspiration for her books.

Brendan January, a Maplewood resident who's written over 20 non-fiction titles,  will be teaching "Channeling Khomeini - Zen and the Art of Writing Non-fiction for Kids,"  a workshop based on his book "The Iranian Revolution." On Saturday, January will attempt to bring the book's main character, revolution leader and founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, to life by talking about his experiences as a young man. "When you take the events and characters in a book and relate them to your own experience, suddenly this remote figure from another time and place becomes more accessible," said January. "You can make history come alive through language." 

Sheri Halpern, a South Orange resident originally from Boston, graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and worked in the children's apparel industry before she "got her foot in the door." On Saturday, she will be directing a collage project. She has illustrated over 20 books and has worked with a number of publishing houses, such as Harper Collins, North South, Scholastic Press and Macmillan.

Irene Kelly, a native of Morristown and a Maplewood resident for 19 years, will be reading from her new book, "Even An Ostrich Needs A Nest," a non-fiction book inspired by her fascination with nature.

Kelly thinks that artists of all types–authors, musicians, painters, dancers–are drawn to Maplewood/South Orange because "it's somewhat affordable, though this is less true today than when I moved here; the proximity to New York City means you can have a house and yard with the city just down the road (or tracks); and, of course, the community," she said. "I think we have an unusually dynamic community here."

These days, Kelly is working on another book about animal homes. "Today, I discovered that, because an octopus has no bones, it can fit into a one-inch opening in a sea cave and make its home," she said. "I love stumbling onto remarkable facts like that!"

For a full list of authors and illustrators, and a schedule of events, click here.