Local authors came together on July 22 to host a children’s book expo at American Legion Post 1066 in Massapequa. The authors come from a variety of backgrounds and expertise but are united in their passion for writing and hope to inspire young readers. Booths were set up in the Legion Post’s main hall so families and children could meet the authors, do some crafts, and purchase the books.
For Lawrence Dupkin, “Jeb on the Farm” was a family treasure come to life. “Jeb is a story I made up when [my kids] were very little. It kind of took over our family,. They loved hearing it every night. After I retired, [my kids] said ‘Dad, why don’t you make Jeb into a book?’ So I did, and I’ve been on a book tour telling my story, and it’s been a lot of fun. [When the book was ready] I gave it to my kids as a surprise, and it was wonderful. This book is part of our family.”
Margot Harris is a children’s yoga and mindfulness teacher. She grew up with a lot of anxiety, and wanted to find a way to bridge the gap between anxiety management and child education. “I love talking about the coping strategies that helped me, and that I wished that I had as a child, and how can that help today’s generation.” Her book “Cookie Doughga” outlines techniques children can use to quell anxious feelings.
Christina Testut wrote her book, “Embrace Your Features,” after years of struggling with her self-image. “I was really inspired to write this book… we get so many messages every day telling us we’re not good enough. That normal parts of us are not enough, or wrong, and we need to change ourselves.” Testut remembered hearing the phrase ’embrace your flaws’ all the time growing up, but hated the connotation that our natural features are ‘flaws’ in the first place. “I wanted to change the narrative from ‘flaws’ to ‘features’. When you look in the dictionary, flaws are defined as imperfections, defects. But features are just a normal part of you, something you have.”
Alongside the book booths, there were other activities for visitors to do. Splashes of Hope, a nonprofit that paints murals in healthcare facilities to brighten them up, had their own face painting station. There was also a raffle for a lucky winner to receive a bag of all the books for sale at the expo.
