Library Mouse and more

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a presentation by author and illustrator, Daniel Kirk.

He read his book Library Mouse and walked us through the process of writing and illustrating and of course, publishing, a children's book. Library Mouse was written in response to his publishers request for a library-related picture book. It's a delightful book that tells the adventures of Sam, a mouse that lives behind the shelves of the children's reference department. Sam writes books at night and leaves them on the librarian's desk. When the stories become popular with the children at storytime, everyone wonders who the mysterious Sam might be. They don't find out in this book, but Daniel Kirk has a Library Mouse sequel in the works. He read the galley for our group. I like it even better than Library Mouse. Look for it soon!

Kirk also entertained us by performing poems from his poetry collections, Dogs Rule! and Cats Rule! He sang several poems and accompanied himself on the guitar. He could easily be a children's entertainer. After hearing the poems, it was difficult to believe that he's actually not a dog or a cat person and is allergic to both!

Finally, I received an advance copy of his new YA novel, Elf Realm: The Low Road. It will be the first in a trilogy, and I believe it's due out in September. More on that later.