LITERATURE + LECTURES

Blue Willow Bookshop presents  Sharon Creech.   We are thrilled to welcome Sharon Creech, Newbery-award-winning author, who will be in town to discuss her newest book, Unfinished Angel.

In an old stone tower high in the mountains of Switzerland lives an angel with attitude. The angel is annoyed with "peoples" and unsure of her (or his?) mission. When a colorful American girl, Zola, arrives, she challenges the angel, and figs start flying. Together Zola and the angel rescue a band of orphans, reawaken the sleepy village, and explore what it means to be a 'peoples' and to be an angel.

Known for writing with a classic voice and unique style, Sharon Creech is the best-selling author of the Newbery Medal winner WALK TWO MOONS, and the Newbery Honor Book THE WANDERER. She is also the first American in history to be awarded the CILIP Carnegie Medal for RUBY HOLLER. Her other works include the novels LOVE THAT DOG, BLOOMABILITY, ABSOLUTELY NORMAL CHAOS, CHASING REDBIRD, and PLEASING THE GHOST, and two picture books: A FINE, FINE SCHOOL and FISHING IN THE AIR. These stories are often centered around life, love, and relationships -- especially family relationships.

Ms. Creech's first novel for children, ABSOLUTELY NORMAL CHAOS, was based on her own "rowdy and noisy" family. Growing up in a big family in Cleveland, Ohio, helped Ms. Creech learn to tell stories that wouldn't be forgotten in all of the commotion: "I learned to exaggerate and embellish, because if you didn't, your story was drowned out by someone else's more exciting one."

With a knack for storytelling and love of reading, a young Ms. Creech aspired to become a novelist: "To be able to create other worlds, to be able to explore mystery and myth -- I couldn't imagine a better way to live. . .except perhaps to be a teacher, because teachers got to handle books all day long." In college, Ms. Creech took her first writing courses and attended writing workshops. This renewed her enthusiasm for becoming a novelist. Following her studies in college and graduate school, Ms. Creech worked as an editorial assistant before deciding to become a teacher overseas. Now, after spending eighteen years teaching and writing in Europe, she and her husband have returned to the United States to live.

Sharon will discuss the inspiration for the story and read a few short excerpts. There will be time for questions and answers about any of her books. Signed bookplates will be available for those who have purchased books from Blue Willow Bookshop.

Join us Wednesday, October 7, at 4:30 p.m. for an opportunity to meet this very talented author!