Children's books celebrated at The Greene

Characters in our favorite stories can seem larger than life in our imaginations. But on Saturday, at the first Children's Book Festival, held at The Greene, the characters were larger than life and they were not just in our imaginations.

Martha from Martha Speaks, Wyatt from Super Why!, Cassie from Dragon Tales, and WordGirl all made an appearance at the festival to delight children of all ages.

The festival was sponsored by Project Read, Legacy AudioBooks, The Greene County Public Library, The Dayton Metro Public Library, Children's Historial Publishing, Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, and Sylvan Learning. The event brought together local children's book authors and illustrators for an afternoon of fun, games like Book Walk, and of course, good books.

The festival showcased the works of many local authors and illustrators including: Liz Ball, creator of Hidden Picture Puzzles; writer Donna J. Shepherd, whose titles include Sully's Topsy Tale and Dotty's Topsy Tale; author Chucko Greathouse and illustrator Kim Williams presented their first book Life and Adventures of Andy & Scooter Series I: Beeee True to Your Friends which tells the story of an adventurous ant couple learning about love and support.

"We hope this is the first in a series of 10," Greathouse said.

Illustrator Christina Wald presented her illustrations including those found in the children's book Henry the Impatient Heron by Donna Love.

"I've been illustrating since the early nineties, and I've been doing children's books for the last five to six years. I do a lot for Scholastic News. I really enjoy working on the books," Wald said.

Author and illustrator Clarice Moore presented her children's book, Dilly the Violin, and author Valerie L. Coleman, highlighted her book Blended Families, a book about parenting and stepfamilies.

Liz Ball, author and illustrator of Hidden Picture Puzzles books, presents her work at the Children's Book Festival held at The Greene on Saturday. Photo by DeAnn Owens.Author Cyndy Driehaus was encouraged by her two daughters to record the bedtime stories she told to them when they were young, Driehaus wracked her memory and her daughters' memories and created The Royal Adventures of Princess Darcy and Daisy. The two princesses are based on her daughters Marcy and Rose, and the additional characters in the book are based on Driehaus' nieces and nephews. The book was illustrated by Jessie Huser, Driehaus' cousin.

Visual artist, poet, and writer Annie Ruth, presented I Can Read and the CD What's the Word? READ.

"I think it's really good to have a festival especially for children. I know this is the first year, and I am looking forward to seeing it grow," Ruth said.

Author Marcella Barrett presents her book And the Tree Cried Out at the Children's Book Festival held at The Greene. Photo by DeAnn Owens.Author Marcella Barrett was inspired during a walk with her husband to create And the Tree Cried Out, a story that encourages children to take care of the Earth and each other. Barrett teaches sixth grade math and science in the Dayton School System.

Author Melissa Leembruggen presented Benny the Baffled Behemoth a story of a behemoth living in a plain world. This story was illustrated by Trish McKinney who also presented her book, Do Trees Nap?

Storyteller Raymond Ruka collaborated with illustrator Libby Rudolf to bring his grandmother's stories to life in the book The Family Tree of the Rainbow.

"This story is imploring children to take care of the colors of the rainbow," Rudolf said adding that the book is available at Living Green in Yellow Springs.

Author Nancy Roe-Pimm presented two of her books, Indy 500 The Inside Track and The Heart of The Beast. The first book was inspired by her husband, a race car driver, and the second was inspired by her time as a docent at the Columbus Zoo.

The Children's Book Festival filled an afternoon with a love of reading for everyone, those young and young at heart.