2025 Symposium
Katherine Roy is an award-winning and best-selling author and illustrator of science-based books for children, including the Robert F. Sibert Honor Book Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting with the Great Whites of California’s Farallon Islands, How to Be an Elephant: Growing Up in the African Wild, and Making More: How Life Begins. She is also the illustrator of numerous other books, including Otis and Will Discover the Deep and Sea Without a Shore, by Barb Rosenstock, Red Rover by Richard Ho, and NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book The Fire of Stars, by Kirsten W. Larson.
For the interactive art/science family night in Boone on April 9th, Katherine Roy will focus on her book Sea Without a Shore, an informational picture book that explores the rich and diverse communities of marine life that develop on the clumps of Sargassum seaweed for which the Sargasso Sea is named. Katherine Roy’s website describes the book in this way:
“From bryozoans and snails to shrimps, eels, swordfish, and whales, the Sargasso Sea provides a home to countless types of marine life, thanks to the prevalence of macroalgae called sargassum. Following a single blade of this extraordinary seaweed as it grows and spreads, readers see what it provides for the sea’s organisms: a base for hydroids and tube worms to filter and feed, shelter for anemones and nudibranchs and their nutritious waste, hunting grounds for crabs and amphipods, and a source of nourishment and protection for the fish, birds, whales, and reptiles that feed on these smaller creatures.
Through a widening scope on this intricate interdependence, [this book] celebrates one of our planet’s most diverse and important ecosystems and the unassuming seaweed that sustains it.”
Additionally, the book has been called a “poetic exploration and celebration of diversity, with a strong message about the abilities of communities to grow and thrive even where there might seem to be nothing to support them” (Harrison, n.d.).
As part of the art/science night, Katherine Roy will guide audience members in creating their own Sargasso Sea out of materials like paper plates and egg cartons. We hope you’ll join us in the unique opportunity to meet an award-winning children’s book author/illustrator whose work can help children better understand unique ecosystems and the interconnected nature of our world as a “set of systems in delicate balance with one another” (Climate Lit Glossary, n.d).
Katherine Roy is just one example of children’s book author/illustrators who are engaged in creating books that children, families, and educators can use to further the aims of universal climate literacy. The Center for Climate Literacy at the University of Minnesota argues that “climate literacy is best learned through engagement with story. Literature for young people is ground zero for addressing climate change. Why? Because young people have more stake in the future than anyone else” (Climate Lit Mission, n.d.).
Children and adults of all ages are welcome to attend. Registration is required, and we hope you’ll join us!
Previous Events
2023 Children’s Literature Symposium
Stories & Music Across Cultures, March 31-April 1, 2023
Visiting authors Jeff Zentner, Raúl the Third, and Rajani LaRocca.
On Friday, March 31, Jeff Zentner and Raúl the Third visited area schools.
On Saturday, April 1, Jeff Zentner, Raúl the Third, and Rajani LaRocca offered a professional development workshop for teachers and librarians in-person on the App State campus.
8:30-8:45 CHECK-IN
8:45-9:00 Welcome
9:00-9:45 KEYNOTE: Rajani LaRocca, "Not Just One Thing"
10:00-10:40 Breakout Session 1: Rajani (room C) and Raúl (room B)
10:50-11:30 Breakout Session 2: Rajani (room B) and Jeff (room C)
11:40-12:20 Breakout Session 3: Raúl (room C) and Jeff (room B)
12:30-1:50 LUNCH & KEYNOTE: Jeff Zentner, "Dreams are a Form of Energy"
2:00-2:45 KEYNOTE: Raúl the Third, "Origin Stories"
3:00-4:00 BOOK SIGNING
2021 Children’s Literature Symposium
Exploring Empathy, Imagination, and Agency in Children's Literature, March 24 & 31, 2021 via Zoom
Visiting authors Meg Medina and Lauren Castillo.
On March 24, Meg Medina visited area schools and offered a professional development workshop for teachers and librarians.
On March 31, Lauren Castillo visited area schools and offered a professional development workshop for teachers and librarians.
2017 Children’s Literature Symposium
Crafting Stories with Poetry and Prose, October 26–28, 2017
Visiting authors Allan Wolf, Alan Gratz, Heather Bouwman, and storyteller Donna Washington.
On October 26–27, Alan Gratz and Heather Bouwman visited area public schools, led discussions in Appalachian State University classrooms, and offered a program at the Watauga County Public Library.
The Saturday, October 28 program provided professional development opportunities for librarians and teachers. Allan Wolf presented the keynote address and joined Alan Gratz and Heather Bouwman in leading breakout sessions on the theme Crafting Stories with Poetry and Prose. Donna Washington provided a storytelling performance.
The symposium was sponsored by Chuck and Pauletta Parker, Mary Helen Ridenhour, Charles and Elaine Graham, and the Martha and Nancy Lee Bivens Distinguished Professorship for Children and Reading.
2015 Children’s Literature Symposium
Stories about Children with Disabilities, November 5–7, 2015
Visiting authors Kathryn Erskine, Joseph Bathanti, and the performance poetry group Poetry Alive!
2013 Children’s Literature Symposium
A Day of Stories, Songs, Poetry and Prose, November 9, 2013
Joseph Bruchac was the keynote speaker and author. Joseph Bathanti and Edie Hemingway offered breakout sessions. Lunchtime programming was provided by Native American drummers and dancers.
2011 Children’s Literature Symposium
November 5, 2011
Deborah Wiles was our keynote speaker and author. Poetry Alive offered a breakout session and lunchtime programming.