By Julie Huss
11Last Saturday, Derry Village School Cultural Arts Committee, along with the PTA, hosted a Festival of Children's Authors and Illustrators, bringing together a long list of authors, artists, and families for a day-long session full of activities and literary fun.
Parent volunteers worked to organize the event, attended by hundreds of local families and young readers, who got a chance to get up close and personal with many authors including Mark Karlins, author of "Starring Lorenzo and Einstein, Too" and DC and Marvel Comic illustrator Mark McKenna, who hosted a workshop to show children how he draws his characters.
Other authors visiting Derry Village included Jean Marie Cochran, illustrator Jennifer Morris, and Kathy Brodsky, many hosting workshops and special activiities for their young fans and offering a lot of information about how to write a children's book and how they come up with their ideas.
Along with the authors' presentation and workshops, families had a chance to stroll among the books and purchase their favorites, while gaining a few autographs from the authors along the way.
