On Saturday, March 30 from 11 am to 1 pm, Plaid Elephant Books will welcome four Kentucky creatives to the shop for a “Meet the Authors Day” event.

Visitors to the shop will have the opportunity to meet authors and illustrators, purchase their books, and learn more about the creative process.

Store owner Kate Snyder said, “Fostering these types of connections between authors or artists and the public is one important way that independent bookstores contribute to the social fabric of their communities.”

Bowling Green Author and Illustrator Stacy Schilling is one of the authors who will be at the event.  Her new children’s picture book series, “The Frizz Girls” aims to empower young girls with wavy or curly hair to embrace and care for their natural curls. The Frizz Girls series is born from Stacy’s personal experiences, aiming to provide a valuable resource for young readers with wavy or curly hair, promoting self-acceptance and confidence in embracing their unique hair types.

Kids attending the event will be able to pick up an activity worksheet and a coloring page related to hair from Stacy’s soon-to-be-published coloring and activity books. Stacy will also have a limited number of bookmarks and stickers available.

Jeanette Fazzari Jones is a Kindergarten teacher at the Jessamine Early Learning Village and author of the picture book “Meatballs for Grandpa.” In this sensory-rich picture book, a little girl and her grandparents make the family’s traditional spaghetti and meatballs recipe together—and hope to jog Grandpa’s fading memory.

Woven with vibrant sounds, smells, and flavors, this is a heartwarming story about food, family, and heritage. A glossary of Italian words and a recipe for tomato sauce and meatballs is included.

The event will also feature two Centre College freshmen – author Ollie Gibson and illustrator Greta Gonzalez.  Ollie is the author of a middle-grade fantasy trilogy that tells the story of five friends blessed with supernatural elemental powers who band together to defeat the darkness haunting their kingdom.

She started writing the first book in the trilogy when she was just a fifth grader, citing the release of the Percy Jackson book series by Rick Riordan as inspiration.

“Those books were a big hit among my classmates, prompting my peers to get excited about writing fan fiction and their own stories. I was the only one that saw my very first novel to the end, and afterwards I decided that there was no reason I shouldn’t become an author, even though I was a tad younger than most,” she said.

Greta Gonzalez created the artwork for the newly-published picture book “Silly Lily’s Rhyming Adventures in Nature” by Jack Cooper. The book is a collection of humorous poems and playful drawings meant to be fun and educational for all ages. Greta primarily uses colored pencils for her artwork and dabbles in watercolor, oil, and acrylic painting.

Of illustrating a book, she says “It’s a very fun experience. It inspires you to think like a child, and imagine the imagery and colors that will be the most fun to look at. I usually create more realistic art, and so this was a great opportunity to play around and find a new style.”

Plaid Elephant Books is central Kentucky’s only independent children’s bookstore. Located at 116 N. 3rd Street in the heart of downtown Danville, Plaid Elephant Books stocks books for babies through adults, along with toys, games, and puzzles for all ages.