the NC Literary Festival & our cats

Saturday, we took Enid to the NC Literary Festival at UNC-Chapel Hill. I love free events like that. During the 4-day festival, there were a bunch of well-known authors there including John Grisham, Clyde Edgerton, and R.L. Stine and several not-so-well-known. BUT Our sole purpose for going was to see Judy Schachner, the author and illustrator of the Skippyjon Jones books and more.

After seeing some costumed characters (Clifford, Mama & Papa Berenstain Bear, & Little Critter), Enid decorated her own mask and made a paper plate puppet. It was hotter than I thought it was going to be, so it was great that they had big tents set up!



The highlight of course was Judy Schachner's appearance and reading of her new Skippyjon Jones book, Skippyjon Jones Lost in Spice. She told how she created and named Skippyjon and a little about herself growing up and becoming an artist. She also very clearly dared parents to unplug and support their children's imaginations and creativity more. That was so great! She was kooky and funny and very willing to answer questions. We were going to wait in line to have her sign Enid's books, but after standing there for about 10 minutes, we decided lunch at Carrburritos was calling us. After all, the line wasn't moving. It was well worth the trip, and Enid has been reading her Skippyjon Jones collection over and over since then. Oh, and the Skippyjon Jones mask she got (also free) was good quality stuff and has already been worn a ton.





Okay, here's the part of the post where I show you how cute our cats have been lately. Wasabi has claimed Enid's rocking chair as his own. Yes, he props his paw up most of the time. Inari is still a cockroach a lot of the time, and here she is doubling as one of those draft stoppers at the front door.