Meet Local Author Claire Bobrow

This event is free to attend. Seating is first come, first served.

Meet the author, find out about a terrific new book, ask questions and hear directly from the author, and get personalized signed books!

You don't need to have read the book beforehand to enjoy the event, but we do recommend reserving your copy ahead of time:

Bookshop West Portal is absolutely thrilled to announce that our very own bookseller, Claire Bobrow, author of When Bumblebees Go to Sleep, is releasing a new book, Cowboys at the Ballet! Join us at 7pm on the evening of April 2nd to celebrate!

About the Book

A spirited picture book about the epic struggle and dramatic breakthrough of Agnes de Mille, the legendary choreographer of Oklahoma! and Carousel, whose work changed the course of Broadway history.

Something new is about to happen,
something extraordinary.

In a dusty California town, Agnes de Mille dreams of becoming a dancer. She gallops to New York, then London, performing a show here, a dance there, combining old steps with new. But no one knows what to make of Agnes. She's not a ballet dancer or a modern dancer or a folk dancer. So what is she? Then one summer she attends a rodeo, where the cowboys' powerful and unbridled movements transform her life--and the history of dance--forever.

Claire Wrenn Bobrow sprouted by the banks of the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tennessee, sledded off to snowy Vermont for college, then made a whimsical move to San Francisco, California, which stole her heart for good.

Over the course of her life she has been a flower girl, sung in a church choir, babysat a mob of emus, learned to knit, played rugby, rowed a boat in San Francisco Bay, rafted down the Grand Canyon, hiked on a volcano, forgotten how to knit, been yelled at by a museum guard (twice), and had an otter climb in her sea kayak. But she mostly stays home and drinks tea.

Her adventures have included a variety of jobs, from zoo volunteer to retail salesperson paralegal, graduate student, landscape designer, and practically professional school volunteer. But the constants in her life have always been books, reading, and a big imagination. So, one day, when her daughter and son were almost grown, she decided to try writing. Since childhood, Claire has been inspired by many books and authors.

These days Claire puts her degrees in German and Landscape Architecture to good use by gardening and attending the opera. She also works at a local independent bookstore and volunteers as a creative writing tutor to elementary school students. Claire buys new rose bushes more often than she should, makes a mean chocolate chip cookie, and loves spending time with her family and friends. Dogs make her very, very happy.

Ilaria Urbinati is an Italian illustrator, born in Turin and based in Bologna. She began her career as a character designer and colorist for animated television series before working as a freelance illustrator creating children's books, graphic novels, and editorial and commercial illustrations. She has illustrated several picture books, including Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit and Cowboys at the Ballet: The Story of Choreographer Agnes de Mille. Ilaria is also a professor teaching illustration, watercolor, and visual development. Visit her at IlariaUrbinati.com.

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