Steven Kellogg Booksigning Sunday At Booth Library

By Kaaren Valenta

Once upon a time a farmer’s daughter was courted by a gentleman.

The only problem is, the farmer, his wife, and their daughter are hopelessly silly. So silly, that the gentleman is flabbergasted.

“I shall set out traveling,” he announces, “and when I can find three sillies who are even sillier than you three, I’ll come back and marry your daughter.”

Do three sillier sillies exist in all the land? Will the gentleman find them? Is it possible that the gentleman himself is the sillier silly he seeks? Inspired by an 1890s folktale, author-artist Steven Kellogg of Sandy Hook has reinvented The Three Sillies as a delightful comedy for children.

 “This is a story that mischievously illuminates human pomposity and folly,” Mr Kellogg recently said. “In both literature and life, a dash of humor provides perspective and delight. It was a pleasure to retell and illustrate this bizarre and insightful tale with its welcome invitation to laughter.”

Mr Kellogg will be at Cyrenius H. Booth Library from 1 to 3:30 pm on Sunday, December 12, for a book signing and slide show. Many of Mr Kellogg’s books are available for sale at the library including two new titles for 1999, The Three Sillies and A Beasty Story:

“Don’t dare look ahead.

Don’t dare look around.

Don’t dare look behind.

In a dark, dark wood,

In a dark, dark house,

Lurks a beasty beast.”

The long-awaited first collaboration between Steven Kellogg and Bill Martin, Jr, two of the most beloved creators of children’s books, is part scary, part beasty and lots of fun. Bill Martin, Jr, is known for such classic books as Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Mr Kellogg has illustrated more than 100 books for children and his own tall tales of Johnny Appleseed, Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyan.

A resident of Sandy Hook for more than 30 years, Mr Kellogg and his wife, Helen, have six grown children and eight grandchildren. They also have a summer home, an old farmhouse overlooking the Champlain Valley in upstate New York, where he often works on his books.

Proceeds from the book sale will benefit the library. Anyone who wishes to purchase an autographed book but is unable to attend the booksigning can sign up in advance at the circulation desk at Booth Library, 25 Main Street in Newtown. For more information, call the library at 426-4533.