Community Calendar

Welcome to the first annual Picture Book Fair at the South Hadley Public Library! We are thrilled to welcome seven authors (including one author-illustrator) to present their latest picture books in an epic storytime! Odyssey Bookshop will be here offering books for sale, which the authors will be happy to sign, but buying a book is not required and this event is free to attend!

Our authors: Britt Crow-Miller (Thank You, Old Oak), Nicholas Day (How to Have A Thought), Mk Smith Despres (There's That Sun Again), Vicki Johnson (Mac Wears A Hat), Jeff Mack (Time To Make Art), Mara Rockliff (All at Once Upon A Time), and Christina Uss (The Island Before No).

This event is part of the Mass Kids Lit Fest (May 3-9, 2026) with the Massachusetts Center for the Book. See the complete calendar of events here: https://www.makidslitfest.org/

The Monson Free Library will host author Lisa Stringfellow for a family-friendly event celebrating her middle grade fantasy novel, Kingdom of Dust, which received Mass Book Award Honors in 2025. The event will open with a discussion of Lisa’s new book and the traditions and inspirations that shape her fantasy worlds. Following the presentation, attendees will have the chance to meet Lisa and learn more about her journey as a writer.

Kingdom of Dust follows Amara, a young girl on a quest to find her land’s lost storytellers in order to save her family and society. Inspired by West African mythology, the novel blends lush prose with accessible storytelling for readers of all ages. Rooted in themes of climate justice, cultural memory, and the restoration of her people’s stories, Amara’s journey has earned the book recognition within the contemporary fantasy canon.

​​This Mass Kids Lit Fest event is presented in partnership with the Massachusetts Center for the Book. For a full schedule, please visit https://www.makidslitfest.org/.

LISA STRINGFELLOW is a middle-grade author and longtime educator who has taught Language Arts and technology to middle-school students for over 30 years. She writes fantasy with a dark, folkloric twist, inspired by her love of fairy tales. A member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, the Authors Guild, and Black Creators HQ, she is an active advocate for equity and inclusivity in children’s literature.

Join us at The Mount for a special storytime and draw-along with acclaimed author and illustrator Astrid Sheckels! The event is focused on Astrid’s gorgeous new picture book, Flora and the Jazzers, a heartwarming tale of a determined young ferret who dreams of moving beyond her role as a scullery maid, and seeing her favorite band perform. A live drawing demonstration will follow the reading.

Books will be available for purchase through The Mount’s Gift & Bookstore, and an author signing will follow the program.

​​This Mass Kids Lit Fest event is presented in partnership with the Massachusetts Center for the Book and the Lenox Library. For a full schedule, please visit https://www.makidslitfest.org/.

*In the event of inclement weather, this program will be held at the Lenox Library.

Award-winning author/illustrator Astrid Sheckels cannot remember a time when she was not telling or illustrating stories, especially ones involving imaginary animals. A native of western Massachusetts and growing up in an artistic family, Astrid spent her childhood playing outside, using her imagination, and drawing. Her Scandinavian roots are evident in her artwork, which she describes as a “mix of classic realism and whimsy.” She is a member of the Western Massachusetts Illustrators Guild and has artwork in the permanent collection of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Astrid’s picture books include the Hector Fox and Friends series, the Sea Dog series, Flora and the Jazzers, and Nic and Nellie. Several exciting new titles are in the works with Waxwing Books.

Visit Astrid’s world at https://www.astridsheckels.com/

Join the Berkshire Botanical Garden for a special storytime with acclaimed children’s author Susan Edwards Richmond! The event is focused on Susan’s new book The Great Pollinator Count, which follows Mellie and her classmates as they explore the world of insect pollinators and discover the power of teamwork and community science. Following a fun and engaging read-aloud, attendees will learn more about how pollination works—and then head out to the gardens to search for pollinators in action.

Books will be available for purchase through the Garden Shop.

​​This Mass Kids Lit Fest event is presented in partnership with the Massachusetts Center for the Book. For a full schedule, please visit https://www.makidslitfest.org/.

Susan Edwards Richmond is the award-winning author of The Great Pollinator Count, which was selected as a Children’s Book Council “Best STEM Book of the Year.” Her other picture books include Bioblitz! Counting Critters, Bird Count, and Night Owl Night, a Massachusetts Book Award Honors Title and Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Book selection. A passionate birder and naturalist, Susan teaches preschool on a farm and wildlife sanctuary in eastern Massachusetts and learns the native wildlife wherever she travels.

Join the Hitchcock Center for the Environment for a special storytime with award-winning children’s author Mary Wagley Copp on Saturday, May 9! The event will focus on Mary’s picture book, Yoshi’s Big Swim: One Turtle’s Epic Journey Home, which tells the true story of Yoshi, a loggerhead sea turtle who was rescued and cared for by scientists before being released back into the ocean. Discover an amazing story celebrating teamwork, conservation, and an animal hero who swam more than 22,000 miles to her true home—the longest journey of any animal ever tracked.

Following a fun and engaging presentation on the book, attendees will learn more about Yoshi’s real-world counterparts and have the chance to meet some of the Hitchcock Center’s turtles in residence.

Books will be available for purchase through Odyssey Bookshop.

​​This Mass Kids Lit Fest event is presented in partnership with the Massachusetts Center for the Book. For a full schedule, please visit https://www.makidslitfest.org/.

Mary Wagley Copp’s debut picture book, Wherever I Go, won numerous awards, including NPR’S 100 Best Children’s Books 2020, Notable Social Studies Book by CBC 2021 and was the 2022 winner of the Massachusetts Book Award. Her nonfiction book, Yoshi’s Big Swim: One Turtle’s Epic Journey Home was longlisted for the 2024 Mass Book Award and was the winner of the 2024 Nutmeg Award. Mary’s students in her ELL class were the inspiration for her new book, Sometimes We Pray (2026). She and her husband live on a farm in Westport, MA. They have 3 grown children. You can learn more about Mary at marywagleycopp.com.

Join the Grafton Public Library for an evening of tea and conversation with Margot Livesey, whose novel The Road from Belhaven received Honors in the Fiction category of the Massachusetts Book Awards. This relaxed, discussion-based program invites readers to engage directly with the author, asking questions and exploring the themes, craft, and inspirations behind her work. Attendees are encouraged to have read at least one of Livesey’s novels and to bring their own questions for the conversation. Leading up to the event, the library will host a book club discussion and feature a display of Livesey’s novels, offering readers an opportunity to revisit favorite titles or discover her work for the first time.

The Road from Belhaven is a richly imagined historical novel inspired by Livesey’s mother and her “gift of second sight.” Set in late nineteenth-century Scotland, the book illuminates the social constraints faced by women while paying homage to the classic novels that shaped Livesey’s literary imagination. Blending careful historical detail with a subtle strain of magical realism, the novel explores questions of fate, free will, and feminine agency, suggesting that even the most grounded realities are touched by mystery.

This program is sponsored by the Mass Book Awards Speakers Bureau and is presented in collaboration with the Massachusetts Center for the Book.

MARGOT LIVESEY grew up at a boys’ boarding school in the Scottish Highlands, where her father taught and her mother worked as the school nurse. She is the author of nine novels, including Eva Moves the Furniture, The Flight of Gemma Hardy, Mercury, and The Boy in the Field, as well as The Road from Belhaven, which received Fiction Honors in the Mass Book Awards. Her nonfiction book The Hidden Machinery, a collection of essays on writing, was published by Tin House Books. Livesey has taught at numerous institutions, including Boston University, Emerson College, and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she currently teaches. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the N.E.A., and other organizations, and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

This three-day retreat invites women to deepen their relationship with themselves and others through expressive arts, reflection, and heartfelt connection. Held at the historic Wiawaka Center for Women on Lake George, The Art of Relating: Pathways to Expression offers a spacious, restorative environment to slow down and reconnect with what feels true.

Now in its third year, the retreat blends intentional creativity, movement, time in nature, and soulful conversation to support women in strengthening self-trust, clarity, and authentic expression. Guided by relationship coach and author Joëlle Lydon, and rooted in the teachings of her book Unbreakable Us: Removing the Barriers to Love, this experience is ideal for women seeking meaningful connection, personal renewal, and grounded insight into how they relate.

No artistic experience required. Lodging and meals included.