Mary’s Idea
(Greenwillow Books, 2023)

Children’s Author Panel Discussion
Saturday, September 30, 2023
10:30 a.m.
Lewes Public Library Fireplace Reading Area

About the book
Mary’s Idea is an exquisite picture book about Mary Lou Williams, an American jazz pianist and composer who wrote hundreds of compositions, recorded hundreds of songs, and wrote arrangements for musicians such as Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman — yet, she has often been overlooked in the canon of American music because of her gender and skin color. With a text full of rhythm and movement, and illustrations that sing off the page, this book is equal parts biography and celebration of the imagination and creative process. 

About the author
Chris Raschka has illustrated more than 30 books for children. He was awarded the Caldecott Medal for The Hello, Goodbye Window, and A Ball for Daisy, and his 1994 book Yo! Yes? received a Caldecott Honor. He was also the U.S. nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 2012 and 2016. 

Raschka is one of three authors on the Children’s Author Panel Discussion, moderated by Nancy Sakaduski.

Nancy (Day) Sakaduski, an award-winning writer and editor, founded Cat & Mouse Press in Lewes in 2012 to support local authors and produce books that are humorous and entertaining. Writing for children and adults, she has authored 24 published books.

Purchase the book
Please help support local independent bookstores by purchasing this book at Browseabout Books, official bookseller of the History Book Festival. Online sources and digital versions are tempting; however, supporting local brick and mortar shops helps to preserve our vibrant main streets. Drop by Browseabout, order books online, or call the store at 302-226-2665. You also may purchase a copy at biblion in Lewes.

About the Festival
The History Book Festival is the first and only book festival in the United States devoted exclusively to history. With the help of our presenting funding partners — Delaware Humanities and The Lee Ann Wilkinson Group, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices I PenFed Realty — as well as our program and community partners, volunteers, and donors, the 2023 History Book Festival will be full of great discussions with authors of newly published narrative nonfiction and historical fiction. Our Keynote Address is presented by Sally Mott Freeman and John K. Freeman, and our Closing Address is presented by Dogfish Head Beer & Benevolence.

Special thanks to our program partners for their continuing support: the Lewes Public Library for event promotion and venue; Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, official bookseller of the History Book Festival; Lewes Chamber of Commerce for event promotion, and the Cape Gazette and Delmarva Public Media, our media partners.

Additional thanks to our community partners: ACLU Delaware, Beebe Healthcare, CAMP Rehoboth, Historic Lewes Farmers Market, Lewes Historical Society, Rehoboth Art League, Rehoboth Beach Historical Society & Museum, Seaside Jewish Community, and Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice (SDARJ).