Vermont Picture Books Featured in Interactive Exhibit at T.W. Wood Gallery

Downtown Montpelier Celebrates Vermont Picture Book Authors and Illustrators Nov. 7 – Dec. 22

The T.W. Wood Gallery celebrates Picture Book Month with “The Art of Stories: A Vermont Picture Book Exhibit.” Throughout November and December, the gallery will be joined by other  Montpelier institutions and businesses to highlight five critically acclaimed Vermont children’s book authors and illustrators.

Vermont authors/illustrators Jason Chin, Sarah Dillard, Linda Di Sante, Amy Huntington, and Ashley Wolff will be featured in the city-wide event. At the gallery, visitors will view original illustrations from the authors’  picture books in the Nuquist Gallery, where they can also engage in self-directed art projects geared for the young and the young at heart or cozy up to read in a special reading nook.

In addition to the exhibit at the gallery, the following events will occur at other Montpelier locations during the run of the exhibition:

• Kellogg-Hubbard Storytime: Saturday, Nov. 6 at 11 a.m. Kevin Marlier, an art educator with the T.W. Wood After School Arts program, introduces young readers to some of the books in the exhibit for a special children’s story time in the children’s library room.
• Storywalk and Bundle Up Storytime with Sarah Dillard and Amy Huntington: Saturday, Nov. 13, at 10 a.m. Bear Pond Books is the starting point for a story walk through downtown Montpelier, featuring “Frankie Gets a Doggie” by Vermont author and illustrator Amy Huntington. A special map will direct young readers/walkers to find laminated pages of the book posted in the shops along Main Street and ending at the Wood Gallery, where Amy Huntington and Sarah Dillard, another Vermont author/illustrator, will lead story time at 11 a.m. in the playground behind the gallery, located at 46 Barre St. Children are encouraged to bring their stuffed animals to the event. The authors will be signing copies of their books. Families will be welcomed to visit the gallery to view the larger exhibit.  The Story Walk is sponsored by Bear Pond Books and will be in shop windows until Nov. 22.
• First Friday Artwalk: Dec. 3, 4-8 p.m. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet the artists while visiting the gallery and option to bid on auction items raising funds for the T.W. Wood Art Education Scholarship Fund, an endowment that enables all children, regardless of income, to attend the gallery’s acclaimed afterschool and summer art camps.

The following Vermont author/illustrators and books will be featured in “The Art of Stories: A Vermont Picture Book Exhibit”:

Jason Chin: Award-winning author/illustrator of books about science and nature. Books featured in “The Art of Stories” exhibit include “Water is Water,” “Island: A Story of the Galapagos,” “Coral Reefs,” and “Gravity.”

Sarah Dillard: Critically acclaimed author of young graphic readers. Exhibit books include “Blueberry Cake,” “I Wish It Would Snow,” and “Extraordinary Warren.”

Linda Di Sante: Artist of natural settings, Di Sante has authored and illustrated her first children’s book, “Will You Be My Friend?,” which will be part of the exhibit.

Amy Huntington: Author and illustrator of over 15 books for young children. Exhibit books include “Frankie Gets a Doggie,” “Let’s Go Out and Look,” and “Let’s Go Out and Listen.”

Ashley Wolff: Author and illustrator of over 40 books for children. Books for the exhibit include “How to Help a Pumpkin Grow,” and “Wildfire,” a new book expected to be released this November.