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2010 FRANKLIN COUNTY LITERATURE FESTIVAL

WELCOME

Children's eyes once again will light up as pages come to life.

More than 1,100 Franklin County third, fourth and fifth graders will load into buses bound for Ottawa University, where they will meet authors, illustrators and storytellers March 10 at the ninth annual Franklin County Literature Festival.

Not only can children have their books signed by the creator, but they can ask: "How did you come up with that?" "How long does it take to write a story?" and other questions they've thought of when they've found themselves lost in pages.

If you're looking for authors, illustrators and works that will be featured this year, just check below.

MEET THE AUTHORS - GET THE GOODS

NOLAN CARLSON

Dr. Nolan Carlson is retired teacher and school counselor who has lived in Kansas all of his life except for two years in the military. He has had 15 novels published. He is dedicated to writing wholesome adventures for middle school young adults. They include his "Summer" series. Throughout the past 16 years, Dr. Carlson has visited more than 200 schools, library associations, reading associations and many town libraries. His books are sold nationally and internationally.

Get the Book:
Nolan Carlson: "Summer & Shiner"

JULIA COOK

Julia Cook was born and raised in Salt Lake City. While living in Utah, she began teaching children how to ski. That experience led to a love of teaching in general. Julia now lives with her husband and three children in Fremont, Neb. While serving as a school guidance counselor, Julia often used children’s books to enhance her classroom lessons. The goal behind Julia’s books is to actively involve young people into her fun and creative stories and teach them to become “better.”

Get the Book:
Julia Cook: "My Mouth is a Volcano"

ALAN CUNNINGHAM

Alan Cunningham is Ottawa's Eugene Field and Eisenhower elementary schools music teacher and he has just released his second collection of children’s songs called “Colors All Around.” “It’s just a collection of crazy songs,” Cunningham, who began teaching at Pomona and Appanoose schools in 1981, said. Cunningham finds inspiration for his music from school and at home. Each song has its own story, he said. The title track he wrote for a teacher at school to mark Dr. Suess’ birthday. He took the colors from a Dr. Suess book and wrote the song.

Get More Info:
Alan Cunningham: Check out his Web site

DEBBIE DADEY

Debbie Dadey lives in Furlong, Penn., with her husband Eric, three children and dogs Bailey, Skip and Shadow. She describes herself as a kooky writer who also likes playing the piano, hiking, scrapbooking, fixing up my Buck's County house, tennis, and reading. She and co-writer Marcia Jones are in the midst of creating a new book series.

Get the Book:
Debbie Dadey: A list of her books to buy

ROBERT GOODIN

Dr. Bob Goodin has been a full-time professional presenter for more than 20 years. His professionalism and knowledge show in every educational presentation he gives. The fun programs are tailored to the specific age group/grade level and are based on state mandated curriculum. Kids love the presentations because they are fun, librarians love them because they promote self-directed education through the use of library resources, and teachers and principals love them because they make learning fun and stimulate children to read more and thus learn more.

Learn more:
Robert Goodin: "Check out his Web site"

PRISCILLA HOWE

Storyteller Priscilla Howe, a native New Englander, comes to us from Lawrence where she lives with her orange cat, Joe Fish. A former children's librarian, Priscilla has been a full-time storyteller and puppeteer since 1993. She travels all over the country and abroad, telling stories in schools, libraries, conferences, festivals and coffeehouses. She's always searching for new stories to tell, as well as for the best restaurant pie on earth.

Learn more:
Priscilla Howe's Web site

ARD HOYT

Ard Hoyt was born in Temple, Texas, and some of his very first memories are of being lost in the illustrations and the stories in children's books. He is a graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. He's illustrated several books including One-Dog Canoe by Mary Casanova and I'm a Manatee by John Lithgow. Other titles include Teacher's Night Before Halloween and Daniel Boone's Great Escape. He lives in Arkansas with his wife and three daughters and -- oh yes -- a lovable mutt named Lickerish.

Get the Book:
Books illustrated by Ard Hoyt

LAURA HULISKA-BEITH

Laura Huliska-Beith grew up in Omaha, the oldest of five children. Her siblings and husband were the inspiration behind her first picture book, “The Book of Bad Ideas” (although she takes full credit for Bad Idea #143). Her parents, both avid readers were generous providers of paper, crayons, encouragement, support, and every craft media the 1970s offered. After graduating from the Kansas City Art Institute, Laura went on to work as an artist at Hallmark Cards Inc. for several years before finally pursuing her dream of illustrating children’s books.

Get the Book:
Books illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith

KIMBERLY JOHNSON

Kimberly received the 2005 Paul Harris Fellow Award presented by Rotary International for her work in literacy. Kimberly visits schools throughout the U.S. speaking to children and adults about literacy and writing. She conducts staff development workshops on how to motivate children in the classroom. She also teaches creative writing to elementary and middle school students. She was invited by President and Mrs. George W. Bush to serve as a guest reader at the annual 2002 Easter Egg Roll at the White House.

Get the Book:
Kimberly Johnson: The Adventures of the Itty Bitty Bunny"

EVESTER ROPER

Do you wanna "see" a story? Evester Roper, professional storyteller, will delight both young and old as she brings stories to life with her high-energy performance style. Roper, Olathe, received "The Award of Excellence" from the H.W. Wilson Publishing Company of New York in 1993. She is also a Library consultant, publicspeaker, touring artist with the Kansas Arts Commission, Mid-West Arts Fund and a consultant for Kansas City’s Lyric Opera. She is Life-member of the National Association of African-American Storytellers.

Get more info:
Dr. Evester Roper: "Check out her Web site"

JEFF STONE

Jeff Stone lives in Indiana with his wife and two children and practices the martial arts daily. He has worked as a photographer, an editor, a maintenance man, a technical writer, a ballroom dance instructor, a concert promoter and a marketing director for companies that design schools, libraries, and skateboard parks. His book series, "The Five Ancestors," is an action-packed adventure series that follows five young "temple" brothers who have each mastered a different kung fu animal fighting style, including Tiger, Monkey, Snake, Crane and Dragon.

Get the Books:
Jeff Stone: "The Five Ancestors"

CHRISTINE TAYLOR-BUTLER

Christine Taylor-Butler says when she was growing up she lived in the library, but didn't know writers were ordinary people with an extraordinary passion — people like her. Multi-cultural children, she says, often don't see themselves depicted as being relevant in today's society, as making a difference or getting to be the "heroes." She decided to lend her voice and help change the climate.

Get the Books:
List of books by Christina Taylor-Butler

JENNY WHITEHEAD

Jenny Whitehead is an author/illustrator of children’s poetry books, including Lunch Box Mail and Holiday Stew. She also illustrated a poetry collection written by Elsa Knight Bruno called Punctuation Celebration. She majored in art at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She designed wallpaper before becoming an art director at Hallmark Cards. She lives in Kansas City, Mo.

Get the Books:
Books by Jenny Whitehead

JUNE RAE WOOD

June Rae Wood grew up with seven siblings and read every chance she got. Her first novel, The Man Who Loved Clowns, in 1995 won the Mark Twain Award in Missouri and the William Allen White Award in Kansas. She has written four other novels for young adults—A Share of Freedom, When Pigs Fly, Turtle on a Fence Post, and About Face. She also has contributed to anthologies and such publications as Family Circle, Reader’s Digest, School & Community, The Lookout, New Ways and others. She lives in Windsor, Mo., with her husband, William Wood.