Book Party and Signing at Books of Wonder, Saturday, May 20th: Gary Golio on Billie Holiday; Susannah Reich on Pete Seeger

Authors Gary Golio and Susannah Reich join book illustrator Floyd Cooper for a panel on picture-book biographies at 

Books of Wonder
18 West 18th St, NYC
Saturday, May 20th, 1  - 3 pm

A presentation and book signing of their latest publications:

Award-winning author Susanna Reich’s Stand Up and Sing! Pete Seeger, Folk Music and the Path to Justice (Bloomsbury), with a foreword by legendary singer-songwriter Peter Yarrow

New York Times-bestselling author Gary Golio’s Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday and the Power of a Protest Song (Millbrook Press).

(The following is taken from the press release):

Stand Up and Sing!, illustrated by Adam Gustavson, is the first picture book biography of Pete Seeger, one of the twentieth century’s leading advocates for human rights. Pete dedicated his life to bringing people together through song. Surrounded by music from an early age, he discovered the banjo as a teenager and soon put its rhythms to work. Moved by the suffering he witnessed during the Great Depression, he sang in support of workers’ rights and racial equality. During the McCarthy Era he went from the bestseller list to the blacklist, displaying extraordinary courage in the face of power and injustice.

In Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday and the Power of a Protest Song, illustrated by Charlotte Riley-Webb. Golio tells the story of a young jazz singer who put her life and career on the line by debuting a song for which she'd be insulted, assaulted, and spat upon. "Strange Fruit," written by Bronx schoolteacher Abel Meeropol, was a haunting piece of music about a horrifying subject—lynching. When asked by Barney Josephson—owner of a new nightclub in New York City open to both white and black customers—to sing it, Billie Holiday was at first unsure. But when she witnessed its effect at a Harlem party firsthand, she agreed to perform "Strange Fruit" at Barney's club. From that night on, Billie's life would never be the same.

Susanna Reich is the author of many books for young people, including Fab Four Friends: The Boys Who Became the Beatles, Minette’s Feast: The Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat and José! Born to Dance. Her honors include the Tomás Rivera Award, International Latino Book Award, NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor, ALA Notable and ALA Best Books for Young Adults. The immediate past chair of the Children's Book Committee of PEN America, she lives and sings in Ossining with her husband, children’s book author Gary Golio.  

Gary Golio also wrote Bird and Diz Two Friend Created Bebop, 2016; Spirit Seeker: John Coltrane's Magical Journey, 2012, When Bob Met Woody: The Story of  Young Bob Dylan, 2012; JIMI: Sounds Like a Rainbow, the Story of Young Jimi Hendrix, 2011.  The recipient of numerous awards and accolades, Golio's books have been cited among the top children's books in Kirkus Review.  His book on Bob Dylan won the National Parenting Publications Award in 2012.

Adam Gustavson has illustrated more than twenty books for children, including Rock and Roll Highway: The Robbie Robertson Story and The Yankee at the Seder, a Sydney Taylor Honor book. Adam holds an MFA from the School of Visual Arts and teaches at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He lives in New Jersey with his family and several guitars.