Shadra Strickland: "Jump In!"

This bright, joyful picture book celebrates a community at play!

It's a sunny spring day, and the tic tac tic tac sound of jump ropes hitting the ground floats through the wind.

"Jump in!"

Everyone lines up for a turn. The Delancy twins, double dutch divas. Leroy Jones with the hip-hop tricks. Even Ms. Mabel, showing the youngstas how it's done. And after a day of fun, when the street lights start to flicker, it's time to . . . jump out!

With a bold graphic style, read-aloud enhancing gatefolds, and an exuberance that leaps off the page, acclaimed artist Shadra Strickland's author/illustrator debut will make readers of all ages get up on their feet!

This program isa part of the Baltimore Book Festival. The Baltimore Book Festival celebrates Baltimore’s rich literary history, vibrant present, and bright future by connecting readers and authors and making the literary arts more engaging, entertaining, relevant, and accessible for all Baltimoreans. The festival will include literary salons, panel discussions, writing workshops, poetry readings, author talks, book signings, children’s activities, live podcast recordings, and more.

About the Author:

Shadra Strickland studied design, writing, and illustration at Syracuse University and later went on to complete her M.F.A. at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She won the Ezra Jack Keats Award and the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent in 2009 for her work in her first picturebook, Bird, written by Zetta Elliott. Strickland co-illustrated Our Children Can Soar, winner of a 2010 NAACP Image Award. Her books have received recognition from the American Library Association, Junior Library Guild, and other prominent literary organizations.Shadra currently teaches illustration at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland.

About the Program:

• Doors will open to registered attendees at 3pm.
• All registered in person attendees will receive a free copy of the book while supplies last.
• Bike parking and metered street parking are available.

Host or Publisher Enoch Pratt Free Library