This author is scheduled to appear at the NH Book Festival which will be held at the Capitol Center for the Arts & NHBF Festival Village on South Main Street in Concord, NH on October 2-3, 2026.
8/24/26
NHBF Author: Emilie Christie Burack
Book of the Week (8/24/2026)
1940. Britain is at war. Rector's daughter Wilhelmina Harkness longs to do her duty for her country, but when her strict mother forbids her to enlist, their bitter argument has devastating consequences.
Unable to stay in the village she loves, Wilhelmina - reinventing herself as Billie - spends everything she has on a one-way ticket up north. Hull is a distant, dangerous city, but Billie is determined to leave her painful memories behind and start afresh, whatever the cost.
The last thing Billie expects on her first evening in Hull, however, is to be caught in the city's first air raid - or to stumble across the body of a young woman, suspiciously untouched by debris.
If the air raid didn't kill the glamorous stranger, what did? Billie is determined to get justice, and her persistence earns her an invitation to the newly formed Women's Police Constabulary. But as the case unfolds, putting her at odds with both high-ranking members of the force as well as the victim's powerful family, Billie begins to wonder if she can trust her new friends and colleagues . . . or if someone amongst them is working for the enemy. --Publisher's blurb
About the author:
Jessica Ellicott loves fountain pens, Mini Coopers and throwing parties. She lives in New Hampshire where she obsessively knits wool socks and enthusiastically speaks Portuguese with a shocking disregard for the rules of grammar.
As Jessie Crockett she’s the author of the nationally bestselling Sugar Grove Mysteries, and the Daphne du Maurier Award winner, Live Free or Die. She also is the author of the books in the Change of Fortune mysteries as Jessica Estevao.
8/23/26
NHBF Author: Lisa Borders
This author is scheduled to appear at the NH Book Festival which will be held at the Capitol Center for the Arts & NHBF Festival Village on South Main Street in Concord, NH on October 2-3, 2026.
8/22/26
NHBF Author: Valerie Bolling
This author is scheduled to appear at the NH Book Festival which will be held at the Capitol Center for the Arts & NHBF Festival Village on South Main Street in Concord, NH on October 2-3, 2026.
8/21/26
Ladybug Nominee Profile
The Man Who Didn't Like Animals by Deborah Underwood and LeUyen Pham (Clarion Books, 2024)
There once was a man who loved his tidy home and who didn’t like animals. Then, one day, a cat appeared. The man and the cat both liked napping and watching the rain and eating dinner precisely at six.
Well, maybe this one animal could stay.
Next came a dog . . .
This bighearted and funny tale with delightful artwork from Caldecott Honor artist LeUyen Pham celebrates the joy of embracing new perspectives.
About Deborah Underwood
Deborah Underwood is the author of New York Times bestsellers The Quiet Book, The Loud Book, Here Comes the Easter Cat and Outside In. Deborah grew up in Walla Walla, Washington, but now lives in Northern California with her cat Bella. Her website is: https://www.deborahunderwoodbooks.com/
About LeUyen Pham
LeUyen Pham is a children's book illustrator and author who was born in Saigon, South Vietnam. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California, with her artist husband Alexandre Puvilland, two children and cat named Sardine. She has illustrated and written more than 120 books, including Outside Inside, Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn and Lunar New Year Love Story. Her website is: https://leuyenpham.com/
Activities & Links
- Check out this Read Aloud at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBoSbmAFiDU&t=2s
- Here's an interview with Deborah Underwood, author of "The Man Who Didn't Like Animals": https://www.mariacmarshall.com/single-post/2019/10/28/the-picture-book-buzz-interview-with-deborah-underwood
- Here's an interview with LeUyen Pham, illustrator of "The Man Who Didn't Like Animals" about her illustration process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRSm9TVOk1E
- Creative Writing & Drawing exercise: Have children write or draw about an animal they love and what they would share with it.
- Reflection exercise: Have children talk about a time they changed their minds about something new (food, a book, a place), mirroring the main character's growth.
- Here's a link to the song "Old MacDonald" that this book is based off of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaQk_sds7Ek
Suggestions for Further Reading
- Check out the other 2026 Ladybug Longlist titles featuring Animals at: https://nhbookcenter.blogspot.com/2026/01/ladybug-longlist-animals.html
- Don't Worry Wuddles by Lita Judge, a 2024 Ladybug Longlist title and Llama Destroys the World by Jonathan Stutzman & Heather Fox, a 2022 Ladybug Longlist title are both fun books about animals that you can count on.
- For more books by Deborah Underwood, consider Outside In, a 2021 Ladybug Nominee Finalist title, or Interstellar Cinderella, a 2016 Ladybug Nominee Finalist title.
This is the last of nine titles nominated for the 2026 Ladybug Picture Book Award. We will issue a pdf voters guide featuring all the titles by Labor Day.
NHBF Author: Jenna Blum
Jenna is based in downtown Boston, where she’s the proud human of her black Lab Henry Higgins.
This author is scheduled to appear at the NH Book Festival which will be held at the Capitol Center for the Arts & NHBF Festival Village on South Main Street in Concord, NH on October 2-3, 2026.
8/20/26
NHBF Author: Winsome Bingham
This author is scheduled to appear at the NH Book Festival which will be held at the Capitol Center for the Arts & NHBF Festival Village on South Main Street in Concord, NH on October 2-3, 2026.
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