Audio By Carbonatix
Before he became the best-selling author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, Rick Riordan was a middle school teacher. You can’t get better market research than that. The formula that has earned Riordan legions of devoted young fans is simple: Combine adventurous mythology with snarky dialogue. Or as my mother liked to call it, backtalk. I call it awesomeness. For example: “Ever had a flying burrito hit you? Well, it’s a deadly projectile, right up there with cannonballs and grenades.” Meet Riordan, a San Antonio native, at Dallas Museum of Art’s BooksmART, a family-friendly festival celebrating literature. A passel of excellent children’s authors and illustrators will also be there, including Norton Juster (The Phantom Tollbooth), Laurie Halse Anderson (Speak and Chains), Caldecott Medal winners David Wiesner (Flotsam, The Three Pigs, Tuesday) and Jerry Pinkney (The Lion and the Mouse). Come for book signings, story time, workshops, gallery tours and music. The BooksmART Festival is Saturday at the Dallas Museum of Art, 171 N. Harwood St. Admission to the festival and museum is free from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.. For more information, visit dallasmuseumofart.org.
Sat., June 11, 2011
