Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures Words & Pictures presents acclaimed children’s authors and illustrators to readers of all ages.
2023/24 Words & Pictures Season
Jon Klassen – The Skull
Thursday, October 5, 2023
Caldecott Medalist and #1 New York Times best-selling author-illustrator Jon Klassen delivers a deliciously macabre treat for folktale fans.
Klassen’s sweet spot of deadpan humor and gentle musings on right and wrong have made his books favorites with parents, kids, booksellers, librarians, and educators. His fans run the gamut from celebrities to five-year-olds; John Kelly of the Washington Post called him “Tarantino for toddlers” and Neil Gaimon has said “Everything illustrated by Jon Klassen should be compulsory.” YA author Maggie Tokuda-Hall calls I Want My Hat Back “a perfect story” and Cate Blanchett describes it as “a political metaphor for our age.” Jon’s books have become staples in nurseries, libraries, and classrooms, and have secured his place as one of the preeminent children’s book creators.
The publisher lists this book for ages 6-9. The book is 112 pages.
Rachel Renee Russell – Dork Diaries 15: Tales from a Not-So-Posh Paris Adventure
Thursday, November 2, 2023
Nikki Maxwell deals with the trials and triumphs of middle school in this fifteenth installment of the #1 New York Times bestselling Dork Diaries series! In the next installment of the blockbuster series, will Nikki Maxwell and her friends make it to Paris?
Rachel Renée Russell is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dork Diaries, an international blockbuster series chronicling the life and misadventures of middle school students, Nikki Maxwell, and her best friends, Chloe and Zoey. With humor and wit, Russell’s books encourage tweens to embrace their individuality and always let their inner Dork shine through. The Dork Diaries series has been translated into 42 languages worldwide and its characters are as diverse as the millions of tweens who read the books.
The publisher lists this book for grades 4-8, ages 9-13. The book is 336 pages.
Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris – The First Cat in Space and the Soup of Doom
Thursday, November 30, 2023
Award-winning creators Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris are back with the second volume in the bestselling The First Cat in Space graphic novel series! Secret tales of woe, hilarious new characters, and dangerous plans of sabotage will keep readers delighted and laughing until the thrilling climax.
Mac Barnett is a New York Times bestselling author whose books have been translated into more than thirty languages. His picture books include two Caldecott Honor–winning collaborations with Jon Klassen: Sam & Dave Dig a Hole and Extra Yarn. Among his other popular books are I Love You Like a Pig, illustrated by Greg Pizzoli, and The Magic Word, illustrated by Elise Parsley.
Shawn Harris’s first illustrated book, Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers, received seven starred reviews, was an Orbis Pictus Award Honor Book, an ALA Notable, and a PW Best Book of the Year. His other picture books include Eggers’s What Can a Citizen Do, which was a Time Magazine Best Children’s Book, Everyone’s Awake by Colin Meloy, A Polar Bear in the Snow by Mac Barnett, and his own author-illustrated works Have You Ever Seen a Flower? and Doing Business. Harris also occasionally moonlights as singer/songwriter of the popular Oakland, California, band The Matches, whose early 2000s album art sparked his illustration career.
The publisher lists this book for ages 8-12. The book is 272 pages.
A.S. King –Attack of the Black Rectangles
Thursday, February 22, 2024
Award-winning author Amy Sarig King takes on censorship and intolerance in a novel she was born to write. In Attack of the Black Rectangles, King shows all the ways truth can be hard… but still worth fighting for.
A.S. King has been called “One of the best Y.A. writers working today” by the New York Times Book Review. King is the author of highly-acclaimed novels including 2021’s SW/TCH, 2020 Michael L. Printz Award winner and LA Times Book Prize finalist DIG, 2016’s Still Life with Tornado, 2015’s surrealist I Crawl Through It, Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future, Reality Boy, the 2012 Los Angeles Times Book Prize winner Ask the Passengers, Everybody Sees the Ants, 2011 Michael L. Printz Honor Book Please Ignore Vera Dietz among others. She also writes Middle Grade fiction as Amy Sarig King, including Attack of the Black Rectangles. In 2022, King received the Margaret A. Edwards Award for her significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.
The publisher lists this book for grades 4-7, ages 9-12. The book is 272 pages.
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