The Exquisite Corpse Adventure Celebration
at The Library of Congress
National Book Festival 2010
On the Mall in Washington DC
The dramatic, wild, and wacky final episode of the year long
Exquisite Corpse Adventure was finally revealed at the
Library of Congress' National Book Festival this past Saturday!
An enthusiastic crowd of kids, moms and dads, grandparents, teachers , librarians, and children's book enthusiasts filled the 350 seats in the Children's Pavilion, and hundred or so more fans stood two and three deep in the back of the tent. All were eager to hear and see a "Readers' Theater" performance of "Episode 27: Over Easy," written and directed by National Children's Book Ambassador Katherine Paterson.
Aiding Ms. Paterson in this hilarious production, were Exquisite Corpse Adventure contributors, award-wining authors and illustrators M.T. Anderson, Timothy Basil Ering, Linda Sue Park, James Ransome, and Mary Brigid Barrett. All gave stellar performances, playing multiple characters.
The Exquisite Corpse Adventure
audience perusing
the scene . . . .
while the performers get themselves organized!
Preparations for the Exquisite Corpse Adventure presentation began on Friday with the one and only rehearsal scheduled for the afternoon. Director Katherine Paterson guided everyone through the script. James Ransome, Tim Ering, and Mary Brigid Barrett had never performed in such a production, but luckily, Linda Sue Park and Tobin Anderson were experienced performers and gave the novices great advice!
The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance was thrilled to announce that The Exquisite Corpse Adventure will be published in a traditional book format in Fall of 2011 by Candlewick Press! And with that announcement, Dr. John Cole, the director of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, shared with the crowd that, YES!, there will then be one more wonderful wacky Exquisite Corpse Adventure presentation next year at the festival!
The NCBLA Board has dedicated all proceeds from the sale of upcoming Exquisite Corpse Adventure book to future joint NCBLA/Center for the Book projects and events that promote young people's literacy and literature!
The NCBLA was also thrilled that Candlewick Press provided 20 copies of the new paperback edition of the NCBLA's award-winning book, Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out, to award as door prizes at the Exquisite Corpse Adventure presentation. Our White House features a new, moving poem by Nikki Grimes that articulates her own personal experience journeying to our nation's Capitol to witness the historical inauguration of President Barack Obama. This new updated edition is available in local bookstores and online at a family and classroom friendly price!
The Exquisite Corpse Adventure
will be available online,
all episodes, at READ.gov throughout the school year.
Read all the great Exquisite Corpse Adventure episodes at:
Play the Exquisite Corpse Adventure game at:
Parents, Teachers, Librarians-- Discover all the great Exquisite Corpse Adventure educational support materials (annotated bibliographies, discussion questions, writing activities and art appreciation information and activities) at:
