Two-time Caldecott Award-Winner Chris Van Allsburg will make an appearance at Book Beat on “small business” Saturday, November 29 from 1:00-3:00pm to sign copies of his latest book, The Misadventures of Sweetie Pie. Misadventures is currently in stock at Book Beat, and will be available for purchase at the event. If you are unable to attend but would like a personalized book, please contact the Book Beat (248) 968-1190. Please Note Autographing Rules: There will be a limit of one book autographed from your home library, and no limit on books purchased from Book Beat. Van Allsburg will personalize books but will not write long inscriptions, non flash photography is permitted, please do not ask for posed photos.
“The inclination to believe in the fantastic may strike some as a failure in logic, or gullibility, but it’s really a gift. A world that might have Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster is clearly superior to one that definitely does not.”
— Chris Van Allsburg
Chris Van Allsburg is one of children’s literature’s most beloved authors. He is the best-selling author of: Jumanji, The Polar Express, The Widow’s Broom, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, and many others. He has twice been awarded the Caldecott Medal, received a Caldecott Honor for The Garden of Abdul Gasazi, and was awarded the Regina Medal for lifetime achievement in children’s literature. He lives in Rhode Island with his wife and two children.
The Misadventures of Sweetie Pie is a poignant story of one hamster’s struggle with destiny. Being a pet store hamster isn’t much fun for Sweetie Pie, but life in human homes proves downright perilous. As Sweetie Pie longingly gazes out of his cage at the squirrels frolicking in the trees, he wonders if he’ll ever have the chance to feel the wind in his fur. Allsburg’s expressive, soft-hued illustrations artfully capture a hamster’s-eye view of the wide and wonderful world where maybe, just maybe, Sweetie Pie could someday run free.
Chris Van Allsburg’s Ted Talk on Queen of the Falls and the positive side of crazy ideas…April 11, 2011 at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor: