Children's Alley Stage

Friday, Nov. 13, 10:00 a.m. - Sunday, Nov. 15, 6:00 p.m., Children’s Alley (Plaza behind Building 1)

Productions in English and Spanish and readings from a variety of authors.

Among the highlights:

Melissa Conroy reads from her book, Poppy’s Pants; Geoffrey Hayes reads from his book Benny and Penny in the Big No-No!; Carmen Agra Deedy reads from her latest book, 14 Cows for America; and Carole Weatherford presents her book, Becoming Billie Holiday. Plus two Spanish-language authors - Margarita Cano, author of Isabel y su gato coco and Isabel y su cama nueva and Chely Lima, author of Abuela Trina y Marrasquina van a la ciudad, will also do readings.

There will be several opportunities to catch David Berardi’s Magically Reading Show, as well as the Fantasy Theater Factory’s The Dance Factory.

Plus, don’t miss Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina and Councilwoman Katharine Cue presenting When I Grow Up.

Author(s) and Guest(s)

Harry Bliss

Harry Bliss is a cartoonist and cover artist for The New Yorker magazine. His cartoon collection Death by Laughter, with an introduction by Christopher Guest, was published in 2008. His first children's book, A Fine, Fine School, with text by Newbery-award winning author, Sharon Creech, was a New York Times bestseller. Bliss went on to illustrate Which Would You Rather Be?, by William Steig; Countdown To Kindergarten by Alison McGhee, a winner of the Minnesota Book Award; and Diary of a Worm, by Doreen Cronin, a #1 New York Times bestseller. The School Library Journal says his new book, Luke on the Loose (Raw Junior), is “an ideal graphic novel for emerging readers.”

Margarita Cano

Llegó al sur de la Florida en 1962 y comenzó a trabajar en la biblioteca junto a la bahía, en lo posteriormente se convertiría en el Sistema de Bibliotecas Públicas de Miami-Dade, donde trabajó 29 años. A lo largo de las décadas creó y desarrolló la colección de arte del sistema. Cano colaboró con el Miami Dade College para crear la Feria Internacional del Libro de Miami, cuando comenzó en 1984 como Books by the Bay. Desde 1993 se dedica a la pintura. Presenta en la Feria sus dos libros para niños Isabel y su gato Coco e Isabel y su cama nueva.

Pablo Cano

Pablo Cano is an artist whose work can be found in public and private collections internationally, including the Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale; the Lowe Museum at the University of Miami; and the Cintas Foundation, New York. The Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami has commissioned his marionette productions each year since 1997. Cano lives in Little Havana.

Melissa Conroy

Melissa Conroy, an artist and doll maker, debuted her first picture book, Poppy’s Pants (Blue Apple Books), in September. With an offbeat cast of doll characters, the story is followed by a postscript by the author’s father, the novelist Pat Conroy.

Katharine Cue

Katharine Cue was born and raised in the City of Hialeah, Florida where she spent most of her youth involved with the city’s Cultural Arts Program. Years later, as Educational Liaison she suggested that she and the Mayor work on their own children’s book that they could read to elementary school students. When I Grow Up! is the story of a little boy’s quest to find out what he will do when he grows up as he learns many important lessons along the way.

Carmen Agra Deedy

Carmen Agra Deedy has written seven children’s books. The Yellow Star won more than a dozen awards, including the 2001 Christopher Award and the 2001 Jane Addams Peace Association Honor Book Award. Her most recent, 14 Cows for America (Peachtree, Aug.), written with Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah, tells the true story of a Kenyan village and its gesture of friendship following 9/11. Born in Havana, Cuba, she grew up in Decatur, Ga.

Geoffrey Hayes

Geoffrey Hayes has written and illustrated more than forty children's books, including the popular series of early readers Otto and Uncle Tooth: the classic Bear by Himself; and When the Wind Blew, with text by Caldecott Medal-winning author Margaret Wise Brown. In 2008, TOON Books released Geoffrey’s first comic book for early readers, Benny and Penny in Just Pretend, which was hailed in a Booklist starred review as "a charmer that will invite repeated readings." His second in the series, Benny and Penny in the Big No-No!, came out earlier this year.

Chely Lima

Narradora, dramaturga y poeta, periodista, editora, guionista de cine, libretista de radio y televisión. Es autora de un total de 21 libros –novelas, cuentos, poesía, y literatura para niños- editados en Cuba, México, Ecuador, Venezuela y Colombia -entre ellos las novelas Confesiones Nocturnas y Triángulos Mágicos, publicadas en 1994 por Editorial Planeta. Sus monólogos y obras teatrales para adultos y niños han sido puestos en escena en Cuba y Ecuador -tiene en su haber una ópera rock y una cantata, Violente y Señor de la Alborada. Ha impartido talleres de creación literaria, y guión y dramaturgia, en Cuba, Ecuador, Argentina y Estados Unidos. Este año participa en la Feria leyendo Abuela Trina y Marrasquina van a la ciudad.

David Plumb

David Plumb is the author of six books of poetry, including Music Stopped and Your Monkey’s On Fire, Man in a Suitcase, and Slight Change in the Weather (Smoking Mirror Press). His writing has appeared in the Washington Post, The Miami Herald, New Verse News, Blue Collar Review, Beyond the Pleasure Dome Anthology, 100 Poets Against the War, among others.

Julio Robaina

From the very beginning of his term in office, Mayor Robaina has supported and created initiatives that work on improving the educational system in his community. From the Mayor’s Educational Advisory Board to the creation of scholarships and the establishment of a charter school, education has always been a primary focus. When I Grow Up! written by Mayor Robaina and Katharine Cue encourages children to become positive role models and promotes community involvement. All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to help Hialeah educational initiatives.

Carole Boston Weatherford

Carole Boston Weatherford, author of Becoming Billie Holiday (Boyd’s Mills Press), is a New York Times bestselling poet and writer. Her many books for children have won the Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scott King Award, and other prizes. Born in Baltimore, she teaches at Fayetteville State University and lives in Highpoint, N.C. “This captivating title places readers solidly into Holiday's world.” --  School Library Journal.

Schedule

Friday, Nov. 13, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.	Free
Saturday, Nov. 14, 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.	Free
Sunday, Nov. 15, 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.	Free

Location

Miami Book Fair International * Miami Dade College
300 NE Second Ave., Miami, FL 33132
Children’s Alley (Plaza behind Building 1)