Event guidelines:

• All attendees are encouraged to wear face masks at all times.
• RSVP is highly encouraged but not required.
• Additional copy of the event book will be available for purchase in-store.
• The reading will be followed by a book signing.
• As a reminder: If you are not feeling well, please do not come to the event, even if you have a ticket; email us and we’ll work it out.

If you have any questions regarding these guidelines or to request accessibility accommodations, please contact [email protected].

Follow along with lovable forest creatures as they discover what a self is and what makes each of us unique.

Your self is the only self you have, and my self is not your self . . . but what is a self? Whatever it is, it’s what makes you you!

From the way you button your coat to the way you tap your toes, from the top of your head to your adorable tummy, there are so many reasons to love yourself, and so many reasons to be loved. Join a group of endearing forest creatures as they bake and eat cranberry-butter-pie muffins, sing silly songs at bathtime, and stop to smell the chestnut-nettle roses, all the while exploring their individuality.

This joyously affirming picture book from the inimitable Esmé Shapiro encourages the youngest readers to get to know and love and be kind to their wonderful selves and the equally wonderful selves around them.

Esme will also be reading from What Feelings Do When No One’s Looking by Tina Oziewicz, illustrated by Aleksandra Zajac, and translated from the Polish by Jennifer Croft.

An unruly cast of emotions comes alive in this romping dreamworld, a place Maurice Sendak’s Wild Things could call home.

Curiosity, a lithe and floppy-eared creature, perches above the open world and gazes out with a zippy blend of hope, wonder, and longing. From the tip of a chimney, we bound into the quiet and mischievous world of feelings, meeting a troupe of tufted creatures as we go. Sympathy helps snails cross a sidewalk to safety, fear pirouettes in an attempt to camouflage with wallflowers, and pleasure reclines across a doily-donned reading chair, sipping a cup of tea.

Tina Oziewicz’s words hum with truth, and Aleksandra Zajac’s illustrations bloom and burst with charming details like a sail constructed out of a pair of billowing long johns or a red slipper falling from a contented paw. Taking in the perfect harmony of this book is like taking a long gulp from a trusty thermos and filling it up with warmth. What Feelings Do When No One’s Looking surprises and soothes, inspires us to feel.

Esmé Shapiro is an author and illustrator of books for children. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Esmé is a past recipient of both the Nancy Lee Rhodes Roberts Scholarship and the SILA West 53 Gold Award-Phillip Hayes Scholarship. Her books include My Self, Your Self, Carol and the Pickle-Toad, Alma and the Beast, and OOKO, which was nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Award. Esmé also illustrated A Garden of Creatures by Sheila Heti and Yak and Dove by Kyo Maclear. She has exhibited at The Society of Illustrators and her work has been featured in Taproot, Quill and Quire, and Plansponsor Magazine. She will never say no to a bagel.

Time: 11:00-11:30 am EDT

Free!

Registration