Tomie Depaola gave a talk today in the Skidompha Library and signed books here at the bookshop. I had the pleasure of trying to entertain him while he signed some of our stock before he went over to the library. He was really nice and funny, which are always the two most important things to me when I meet an author. I love it when authors are nice, because then it's even easier for me to try to sell their books to people! He is also just a really interesting person. The stories that he told gave me an insight into what the world of being a children's book author is like. The behind the scenes stories are always the most interesting.

Tomie at Skidompha Library reading to the audience.


A large crowd of kids and adults showed up to see him speak and to get their books signed. I don't think I have seen a crowd as big as the one that showed up today since our Harry Potter event this summer. I tried to get a picture of the line, but I'm not quite sure that it really conveys how many people were actually in the store at that time.





It was great to see all the kids so excited about the books. I even saw a baby looking through one of Tomie's books while he was speaking. It was one of the most touching things that I have seen in a little while. It's always so thrilling for me to see so many people excited about reading.