Book Signing By Newtown Author/Illustrator Jennifer Thermes

Newtown author/illustrator Jennifer Thermes will be at the C.H. Booth Library, Saturday, December 1, between 10 am and noon, for a book signing of Rebecca Rule’s children’s book titled The Iciest, Diciest, Scariest Sled Ride Ever! Ms Thermes has provided the lush, fanciful watercolors that illustrate the book, released November 9, by Islandport Press in Maine.

“It’s a fun story of kids in the wintertime and of the fun I think everyone recalls of sliding down a big hill. I’ve tried to convey that through the pictures,” said Ms Thermes. As is the case in most author/illustrator relationships, Ms Thermes and Ms Rule did not collaborate on the story. The paintings for The Iciest, Diciest, Scariest Sled Ride Ever! come solely from the imagination of Ms Thermes, inspired by the text.

“I think about the story and spend a lot of time visualizing it,” she said, “and it almost becomes a movie in my head.” From there, the illustrator sketches out her ideas, finesses them, then it is on to the publisher and final copy.

“I encourage people to come and meet a fellow Newtowner who is a published illustrator,” said Alana Bennison, children’s librarian at the C.H. Booth Library. “This is an opportunity for people who might never get a chance to meet a published author and illustrator to do so. It would be great for us to show our support for her, and for literacy,” said Ms Bennison.

Copies of the book, appropriate for ages 4 and up, can be preordered for signing by calling the library at 203-426-2751, for $16, or purchased the day of the book signing. Additional copies for inscription can be ordered the day of the signing, as well.