Join award-winning children’s book author Kari Percival as she shares from her newest book, Safe Crossing, which tells the story of how people of all ages come together on the first rainy nights of spring to help salamanders and frogs cross roads during their spring migration. Hear what inspired Kari to write this story, learn what you can do to help these amazing creatures, and participate in some awesome amphibian activities. Prizes will be awarded for the best frog call! Harris Center ecologist Brett Amy Thelen will also be on hand to talk about the Harris Center’s Salamander Crossing Brigade efforts in Keene and other Monadnock Region towns.

10 to 11 a.m. in Heberton Hall at the Keene Public Library. Space is limited, and registration is encouraged. For more information, including questions about accessibility, contact Susie Spikol.

Co-sponsored by the Harris Center for Conservation Education, Keene Public Library, and the Toadstool Bookshop.

About Kari Percival

Kari Percival has always loved connecting with nature, from sketching seals and puffins at the zoo during art school to studying tree communities outdoors while earning her environmental science degree. As a public school science teacher, her favorite lessons took students outside to explore the natural world.

In her children’s books, Kari shares her passion for learning outdoors, encouraging readers of all ages to connect with the ecology around them. Her wood-cut inspired illustrations bring these stories to life.

Her debut picture book, How to Say Hello to a Worm (Rise x Penguin Workshop), won an Ezra Jack Keats Award for Writer, CLEL Bell Award, and ALA Notable, and was featured in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Her latest book, Safe Crossing (Chronicle Kids), a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, celebrates amphibian conservation. Kari lives near Boston, where she enjoys picking raspberries barefoot.

Praise for Safe Crossing

“With wondering, reiterative language and luminous ..images…, Percival celebrates the wonder of biodiversity—every pictured creature is marquee-worthy—alongside the passion and hard work that animate conservation efforts.” – Publishers Weekly Starred Review

“(A)n inspiring and aspirational choice for youngsters looking to get more involved with bettering the world around them.” – Bulletin of the Center of Children’s Books