NATASHA WING

Natasha Wing presents her new children's book An Eye for Color: The Story of Josef Albers Friday, September 11 at 7 pm at Northtown Books.

Her book is about a neighbor of hers when she was growing up in Connecticut, the artist of the "Homage to the Square" series who studied color for 25 years and changed how teachers taught color. The book features art by Julia Breckenreid.

Here's what Publisher's Weekly had to say about the book:

This creative biography explores how Albers, perhaps best known for his paintings of squares in different color combinations, “saw art in the simplest things.” Albers is pictured rummaging for scrap materials in a dump, which he turns into “collages that shined like jewels.” As a teacher, Albers told his students, “Watch what’s going on... and capture the accident.” After visiting Mexico—Albers is shown climbing an abstract temple-like structure of colorful rectangles—he reflects on the effects of combining different colors: “Colors came to life like actors on a stage!” An accessible and lively introduction to this artist and to color theory.

Natasha Wing is best known for her paperback series based on the popular story, The Night Before Christmas. The stories are about families celebrating holidays and other big events in kids’ lives such as the first day of school and losing a tooth. Her titles include The Night Before Easter, the original book in the series which was published in 1999, and The Night Before Kindergarten, the highest-selling title which has regularly been on bestseller lists since its publication in 2001.

Wing’s multicultural book, Jalapeño Bagels, is a favorite among second grade teachers and students since it is included in several textbook series. The story is based on Los Bagels in Arcata.

Wing is a graduate of Arizona State University and has been writing children’s books and articles since 1991.

For more info on Natasha and her books, visit her website.

BARBARA KERLEY

Friday, May 8th at 6 pm, Northtown Books welcomes local author Barbara Kerley.

A former Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal, and a one-time resident of Guam, she brings a unique life experience to her work.

She's written a wide variety of books for young people, on subjects as various as Walt Whitman, the artist who introduced dinosaurs to the world, and the importance of water in the world.

Her new book from National Geographic Books, One World, One Day, follows children around the world as they get up, wash up, and start a new day. It's an elegant picture book with contributions from top international photographers.

Her book What to Do About Alice? was recently reviewed in the New York Times, and you can read an interview with her here.

Two Bobbies

Friday, August 8th, at 7 pm, Northtown Books hosts local author Mary Nethery, in honor of her new book, Two Bobbies, co-written with Kirby Larson. The true story of a dog and cat who survive Hurricane Katrina, it also features vivid illustrations by Jean Cassels.

About two-and-a-half dog years ago, Mary and Kirby met at a writing conference led by Jane Yolen. Right away they discovered many things in common: they both had cats, sweet tooths, and a passion to write books for children. Since that first meeting, the two friends have written many books on their own. Mary's titles include Hannah and Jack, Mary Veronica's Egg, Orange Cat Goes to Market, and the forthcoming The Famous Nini: The Mostly True Story of a Plain White Cat Who Becomes a Star! Kirby's titles include Hattie Big Sky, a 2007 Newbery Honor book, and The Magic Kerchief.

Two years ago, they decided to try collaborating on a book. They were pretty sure the story would involve animals but that was all they knew. Then Hurricane Katrina hit. Mary watched CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 and learned about Bobbi and Bob Cat. "When I saw that interview," said Mary, "I knew the Bobbies' story of friendship and survival was a story of hope for all of us."

She called Kirby right away. "It was easy to say yes," said Kirby. After going to Louisiana and Mississippi to help with clean-up and rebuilding efforts, "I wanted to use my writing skills to bring attention to the overwhelming needs of the Gulf coast region," she said.

Both Mary and Kirby agree that the story of Bobbi and Bob Cat, animal best friends, was the perfect one for them, human best friends, to tell.

For more about Mary and her other books, please visit www.marynethery.com.

Find out more about Kirby and her other books by visiting www.kirbylarson.com.

To see a trailer for the book, go here.

Ten percent of author proceeds from the book go to Best Friends Animal Society, and Northtown Books will donate a portion of sales to local animal rescue efforts.

Please join us Friday, August 8 from 7 to 9 pm.