LONG BEACH, CA — Laura Numeroff, bestselling author of the beloved picture book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, is coming to Long Beach Public Library (LBPL)! The children’s author is scheduled for a reading and interactive session with her fans this Saturday (Sept. 21).
Numeroff’s visit to LBPL is a two-part celebration. First, Saturday’s occasion commemorates the five-year anniversary of the Billie Jean King Main Library. The City of Long Beach unveiled the location at the corner of Broadway and Pacific on September 21, 2019.
Billie Jean King reacted to Long Beach naming a library in her honor weeks before the big unveiling. “I still can’t believe it,” the Long Beach native said. “As President Obama placed the Medal [of Freedom] around my neck [in 2009], I thought about the people of Long Beach,” King shared.
“From my school friends, to the teachers and the local school system, to the men and women of the Long Beach Tennis Patrons and the Long Beach Century Club, there are so many who have been supportive of me and our family for more than six decades. I share this wonderful honor with the people of Long Beach.”
Saturday’s day of activities includes meeting inside the main library’s Kidspace at 2 PM for loads of fun. Laura Numeroff will read two of her bestsellers at 3 PM.
If You Give A Mouse a Cookie was published in 1985. Numeroff went on to turn If You Give into a series, which has sold more than 15 million copies to date.
“One of my favorite things is re-writing or editing because writing is really hard,” Laura Numeroff said of her writing process during a 2017 interview with Pine Reads Review. “Once I’m finished with the story, it’s kind of a relief,” the author shared.
“Having the basis for my book, then going back and reading through it and hearing the way I’ve written it, I decide what could be clearer or determine what words don’t work. I even enjoy editing other people’s work.”
Those interested in attending Saturday’s family event with Laura Numeroff at the Billie Jean King Main Library should register here!