6 to 6:30 p.m. (reception)
6:30 to 7:30 p.m. (conversation)

Leonard Marcus moderates a discussion with Karen Hewitt and Laura Ljungkvist. Together they explore the artistry that underlies the creation of toys and illustrated books that enrich young children’s lives. They reveal why some toys and children’s books have stood the test of time and have remained perennial favorites.

Karen Hewitt is founder and director of the Vermont-based Learning Materials workshop, a maker of innovative, award-winning toy blocks and other open-ended play materials, and a toy historian.

Laura Ljundkvist is a Swedish-born artist, designer, illustrator of many picture books, including the Follow the Line series and Pepi Sings a New Song.

Leonard Marcus is America’s leading historian and critic of children’s books and the people who create them. His award-winning publications include Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom (HarperCollins, 2000), The Annotated Phantom Tollbooth (Knopf, 2011), and Show Me a Story! (Candlewick, 2012).