"Celebrate Children’s Book Day" Sunday at Washington Irving's Sunnyside

The 14th annual holding of "Celebrate Children's Day at Sunnyside," will mark the debut of Mary and Her Little Lamb, written by Will Moses and being published this month by Penguin Group. The fair will take place Sept. 25 on the grounds of Washington Irving's estate in Tarrytown. 

According to Penguin, the book reveals "the true story behind the famous nursery rhyme and shows how Mary went from being a small-town Massachusetts girl to an American folk hero."  The famous children's rhyme, written by poet John Roulstone, was based on an actual event.

Moses' first illustrated book The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, was a retelling of Washington Irving's immortal tale; it was published by Philomel (now a Penguin owned company) in 1995.

Moses was taught to paint by his grandfather, folk artist Forrest Moses, who learned from his mother, Anna Mary Robertson Moses, better known as Grandma Moses. His art appears in collections worldwide and at the White House. The new 40-page, picture-packed book is priced at $21.

Books by all of the attending writers and illustrators will be offered for purchase and autographing.

The signers on hand will include Tarrytown resident Nick Bruel, author of the Bad Kitty series, and Boing, a book about the experiences of a baby kangaroo learning to jump.

New authors bow in

Authors making their first appearance at the fair include Peter Brown, author/illustrator of You Will Be My Friend!, Jerry Davis, writer of Little Chicken’s Big Day, Daniel Kirk, author/illustrator of the Library Mouse series, Lena Roy, author of Edges, and Helen Perelman, the author of the Candy Fairies series.

Entertainment at the fair will be provided by Carole Demas of Irvington and Paula Janis, the creators and hosts of the legendary children’s television show: The Magic Garden. Celebrating 40 years in show business, Demas and Janis will appear from 4:30-5:30 p.m.  

The non-profit Historic Hudson Valley (HHV) owns and operates Sunnyside, the homestead of Washington Irving, the author best known for writing The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle.

Picnic food from Irvington-based Geordane’s will be available for purchase. The fair is sponsored by Sunnyside Federal Savings and Loan of Irvington and produced by Beth Vetare-Civitello and Susan Brandes. 

The hours are noon to 6 p.m. The admission cost is $12 for adults; $10 for seniors; $6 for children 5-17; and free for children under 5 and HHV members. Tours of Irving’s house are included in the price of admission. Tickets can be purchased online at www.hudsonvalley.org. Washington Irving’s Sunnyside is at 89 West Sunnyside Lane in Tarrytown, one mile south of the Tappan Zee Bridge, off Route 9.