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Storytime at Fort Collins Nursery
July 15, 2023 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Bring your kiddos to Fort Collins Nursery on July 15 for some summer-reading fun at our first ever Storytime event! A wonderful group featuring seven local children’s book authors and illustrators will be on-site to read the fabulous stories they have created. We’ll gather on our outdoor patio, nestled along the banks of Dry Creek and the Cache la Poudre River and surrounded by beautiful plants, trees and wildlife.
This FREE event will also feature fun crafts and activities for the children and books will be for sale by The Crowded Bookshelf.
Participants are encouraged to bring lawn chairs for additional seating. Well-behaved pets on leashes are welcome!
Presenters:
Lynn Becker
Lynn has been a reader and creator all her life. After growing up in New York, she spent many years in the Southern California desert with her husband, children, cats, dog, and lots and lots of chickens. She now lives in Colorado. The chickens stayed behind, but a few mythical beasties may have followed her to her new home…!
Featured Story:
MONSTERS IN THE BRINY. Written by Lynn Becker & illustrated by Scott Brundage (Sleeping Bear Press).
MONSTERS IN THE BRINY has been named a Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of 2022. It was shortlisted for SCBWI’s Crystal Kite award in the SW division, and is currently a finalist for a Reading the West Award. In their review of MONSTERS IN THE BRINY, Kirkus says, “…The perfectly scanned rhymes are complemented by delicious words like bilious, slewing, and peevish…. Arrr! Bring out the piratical storytimes! This catchy read-aloud demands to be sung at the top of your lungs.”
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Brooke Boynton-Hughes
Brooke grew up in Loveland, Colorado, where she spent her childhood days drawing cats, mermaids, and treehouses. When not drawing she could be found making shoe box dioramas, building snow forts with her brother, or watching anything by Jim Henson.
In 2001 she earned a BFA in Printmaking from Colorado State University. After a brief move to Austin, Texas, she headed to New York City where she attended the New York Academy of Art and earned an MFA in Figurative Art with a concentration in drawing and relief printmaking. Brooke has been a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators since 2005.
She lives in Colorado with her husband, their 5 year old twins and 1 year old baby, and two goldfish.
Featured Story:
Heart String. Written & Illustrated by Brooke Bounton-Hughes.
“…delivers a positive and unified vision of the world to which readers may aspire…. This heartwarming narration will provide readers with reassurance as well as opportunities to explore social-emotional health and global citizenship.” -School Library Journal
“The notion that our humanity connects us is a worthy message, as is the idea that even when separated from loved ones, something binds us.” -Kirkus Reviews
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Tara Dairman
Tara writes middle-grade novels and picture books about kids with strong passions and big questions about the world. Tara’s books include The Girl from Earth’s End, the All Four Stars series, The Great Hibernation, and Desert Girl, Monsoon Boy (illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan). These titles have been named to best-of-the-year lists by A Mighty Girl, Kirkus Reviews, Bank Street College of Education, and CCBC. Tara holds a BA in creative writing from Dartmouth College and has traveled to more than 90 countries. After a few years of adventuring around North America in an RV, Tara and her family now live in Colorado.
Featured Story:
TBA
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Cathy Morrison
As an illustrator Cathy is passionate about nature, science and the environment. Combining her degrees in fine arts and education along with her background in animation and graphic design, she now researches and illustrates a variety of books ranging from picture books, creative nonfiction and chapter books. Cathy’s studio is in the foothills northwest of Fort Collins with a panoramic view of the peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park. She enjoys travel, hiking, and gardening, especially with native, drought-tolerant plants that encourage pollinators.
Featured Story:
The Tiny Giant. Written by Barb Ciletti & illustrated by Cathy Morrison
How do forests grow? Follow the journey of one tiny acorn from seed to tree and celebrate how the power of one can touch so many. As the seasons pass and the weather changes, the tiny acorn steadily supports a thriving ecosystem and eventually grows into a giant oak tree—one day destined to become a magnificent forest. Accompanied by information on various oak varieties and how to grow your own oak tree, young readers will delight in learning how one small thing can create something so significant.
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Michelle Schaub
Michelle Schaub is an award-winning children’s author and poet. She loves using wordplay and the sounds and rhythms of language to delight, inspire, and empower kids, especially when it comes to caring for the Earth and each other. Her books include Fresh-Picked Poetry: A Day at the Farmers’ Market, which won the 2018 Growing Good Kids Award and 2019 Northern Lights Book Award; Finding Treasure: A Collection of Collections, a National Council of Teachers of English notable poetry book for 2020; Dream Big, Little Scientists; and Kindness is A Kite String. Michelle lives in Colorado with her husband, three children, and a golden retriever named Bear. When she’s not writing, you’ll find Michelle visiting her local farmers markets and hiking in nature.
Featured Story:
Fresh-Picked Poetry: A Day at the Farmers’ Market. Written by Michelle Schaub & illustrated by Amy Huntington.
Spend a day at the farmers’ market with food, fun, and a fresh harvest. Through eighteen lively poems, follow the adventures of two new friends and their canine companions as they discover how much there is to love at the market.
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Julie Rowan-Zoch
Julie is a reformed graphic designer, concocting and sculpting story ideas and illustrations – every day. She’s been called opinionated (She likes to share) and hyper (ready for anything), and a Pollyanna (isn’t that nice?).
Featured Story:
I’m a Hare, So There! Written & Illustrated by Julie Rowan-Zoch.
I’m a Hare So There! was released in March 2021 with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. It is an Amazon Best Book of the Month and an Amazon “Best Books of the Year so far” pick.
“For anyone a bit hazy on the differences between a rabbit and a hare, a tortoise and a turtle, or, for that matter, a hog and a javelina, this cactus-country confab begins to clear things up.”—Booklist
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Natasha Wing
Natasha Wing is best known for her paperback series based on the popular story, The Night Before Christmas. The stories are about families celebrating holidays and other big events in kids’ lives such as the first day of school and losing a tooth. Her titles include The Night Before Kindergarten which has sold more than 2.4 million copies and has regularly been on bestseller lists since its publication in 2001. Her latest release is The Night Before Moving Day (May 2023). Natasha Wing has published 47 children’s books, with more in the works. She lives in Fort Collins with her husband, Dan, and cat, Purrsia.
Featured Story:
The Night Before Moving Day. Written by Natasha Wing & Illustrated by Nathalie Beauvois.
It’s the night before a little girl and her family move away! They pack everything they own into boxes, have a garage sale to sell anything that they don’t need, and have a farewell party with all of their neighbors. Join her and her family as they move to a new home in this installment of the Night Before series, told in style of Clement C. Moore’s classic tale.
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The Crowded Bookshelf
The Crowded Bookshelf is a woman-owned, independent pop-up and online bookstore based in Fort Collins, CO. Their pop-up shops offer a curated selection of diverse titles, including everything from literary fiction, romance, fantasy, to death and dying, memoir, and nature writing. They carry books for readers of all ages. In addition to new and used books, They’re also proud to provide audiobooks to their patrons via Libro.fm. Anything they don’t have on their shelves can be special ordered through their website.
Originally published on June 2nd, 2023. Updated on June 15th, 2023.