2010 Children’s Festival of Reading – Knoxville

Oh, wow! Look at the great authors appearing at the 2010 Children's Festival of Reading in Knoxville, Tennessee, including one of my son Joe's very favorites - Jack Gantos!

Per the Knox County Public Library website:

The 2010 Children's Festival of Reading will be on May 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Make sure to come prepared for all sorts of fantastic fun! There'll be great authors and illustrators, storytellers, musicians, magicians, a mad scientist with crazy water experiments, a hayride, fun craft projects and even a giant inflatable!

The Nine Lives of Rotten Ralph by Jack Gantos

It's official! My three year old son Joe is a fool for Rotten Ralph! He adores him and his rotten ways.

Amazon Product Description: Poor Rotten Ralph. His health just isn't what it used to be. Thanks to his rotten ways, he's down to the very last of his nine lives! One more slip and he'll be gone forever, warns the vet. Sarah, Ralph's doting owner, is fiercely determined to keep her cat safe. But how much coddling can Ralph take before he has to do something totally and utterly rotten? In this ninth tale about the most delightfully disobedient cat in town, being naughty has never looked so good to Rotten Ralph. But then again, after a hard day's rotten work, neither does the warmth and safety of Sarah's lap!

Author: Jack Gantos
Illustrator: Nicole Rubel
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (April 20, 2009) - Submission Guidelines
Publisher Jack Gantos is presently associated with: Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers "As of January 2010, Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, in compliance with The Macmillan Children's Publishing Group's policy, does not accept unsolicited manuscripts.  We recommend finding a literary agent to represent you and your work. "