Woodson wows at the library

Despite some nasty weather over the weekend, acclaimed author Jackie Woodson delighted the young crowd at Island Free Library during a story hour held on Saturday morning, June 3.

Woodson read her book "The Day You Begin," a New York Times Bestseller to the kids. But first, Woodson talked a bit about herself and the process of writing and publishing a book, especially the role of the illustrator. Woodson told the children she often never meets the illustrator, nor does she always see the pictures before publication. The writing and illustrating are two separate processes with the publisher as middleman. One time, Woodson said, it took three years to get the illustrations done for one of her books. By the time the illustrations were done, she had forgotten she even wrote the book.

After the story, Childrens’ Librarian Morgan Walsh put on some music, and the bubble machine so the kids could dance around with silken scarves before going upstairs where Woodson signed each of the books the children had been given in advance of her visit. Later in the day, Woodson read passages from her books and talked about her career and the writing process for the adult crowd, which was standing room only.

The next author event at the library will be on June 20 with Martin Podskoch, author and creator of "R.I. 39 Club."