Before this ingenious campaign by our own Mitali Perkins (of Rickshaw Girl fame), Valentine's Day was merely the annual homage to unlabeled and often surprisingly gross pieces of chocolate that you ate out of obligation, or to fill that lonely place in your heart. Now you can save your palate and your sense of dignity by marching down to your local independent bookstore and hanging out with children's authors and illustrators. You may even get a couple of hugs!
Kids Heart Authors Day is a new campaign to support literacy, children's authors and illustrators, and independent bookstores. What else could you want? Here's how it works: authors, illustrators, and bookstores from around New England can sign up to participate at www.kidsheartauthors.com. They will then be paired up and on February 14th, kids can show up to the bookstore nearest them to get signed copies of their favorite books and meet the people that created them. The events will take place from 10:00 a.m. til noon. More details are at the website, and we'll keep you up-to-date about Charlesbridge authors and illustrators who plan to attend.