I Must Go Down to the Beach Again

It's a scorcher out there. For that matter, it's a scorcher in the office today as well. It's on hot summer days like these that I miss Hawaii. While I'll have to wait until next year to get my Hawaii beach fix, Greensboro, North Carolina, author Karen Jo Shapiro is already taking advantage of the summer months here in New England. She's on vacation, visiting family and friends. Well, she's not exactly on vacation. She's visiting bookstores in between.

I decided to drop in on her story hour at the Harvard Co-Op two Saturdays ago. I worked closely with KJ over the last couple of months for our Poetry Contest and felt like I already knew her, although we had never met. There's nothing like meeting someone face to face. When I arrived, I was pleased to see two rows of little ones attentively listening to KJ's poems. The Co-Op certainly knows how to run a story hour. There were plenty of snacks (cookies and pretzels) to munch on and juice to wash it down.

KJ had plenty of props to keep the little ones captivated, including her beloved Beach Pig. After the reading, the young poetry enthusiasts made a beach craft, using sand paper, shells and a magnet. Not a bad idea at all. I'll have to keep that in mind for our next beach-related book.

The Co-Op also ran their own poetry contest. I was able to read the winning poems on their great display.

I was also pleasantly surprised to see illustrator Judy Love at KJ's and Beach Pig's side. It was the first time the two had met and they had much more in common than they realized. The two figured out that Judy painted a mural at a local Belmont elementary school that the entire Shapiro family attended.

If you missed Karen Jo at the Harvard Co-Op, fear not. She will be at Wellesley Booksmith this week Thursday and at Where the Sidewalk Ends at the end of July. It's as much fun as going to the beach.

Posted by Jenny