Open Book Players

Our Reading Rumpus event will occur on August 30th at 2:00 p.m. at the Johnson Hall Opera House in Gardiner. We will be performing the books of these talented authors and/or illustrators who will be attending this event and will also be available to autograph their work as the books will be available for purchase on site.
Meet our third author/illustrator, Neesha Hudson:

Neesha grew up on the coast of Maine where she spent most of her time drawing, painting, and playing in the woods. Her latest picture book, THE BEST FLOWER EVER! (Dial June 13, 2023) is a companion to TURTLE IN A TREE (Dial 2021) and is about learning to appreciate what you have with the help of friends. She is also the illustrator of WALK YOUR DOG (Putnam 2018), and has illustrated for Harper Collins, Cricket Media, The North Face, Home Depot, among others. When not in the studio, Neesha enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband, their two children, dogs, and chickens.

Our Reading Rumpus event will occur on August 30th at 2:00 p.m. at the Johnson Hall Opera House in Gardiner. We will be performing the books of these talented authors and/or illustrators who will be attending this event and will also be available to autograph their work as the books will be available for purchase on site.

Our second author is Chris Van Dusen…

Chris Van Dusen is an author/illustrator of children’s picture books who lives midcoast Maine. His first book, Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee was published in 2000. Since then, he has written an illustrated 12 books, including The Circus Ship, the If I Built series, and Hattie & Hudson. He has also illustrated 18 books for other authors including the popular Mercy Watson books written by Kate DiCamillo.

Our Reading Rumpus event will occur on August 30th at 2:00 p.m. at the Johnson Hall Opera House in Gardiner. We will be performing the books of these talented authors and/or illustrators who will be attending this event and will also be available to autograph their work as the books will be available for purchase on site.
We start off our “Meet Our Authors/Illustrators” with Lynn Plourde:

Lynn Plourde (www.lynnplourde.com) is the author of more than forty children’s books from board books to picture books to middle grade, including her newest middle grade novel, The Bionic Boy. She worked as a speech-language therapist in public schools for twenty plus years. Lynn does numerous author visits to schools, teaching students writing mini-lessons. She is a Maine native who currently lives in Winthrop.

Website: https://lynnplourde.com

The Bionic Boy webpage: https://lynnplourde.com/book/the-bionic-boy/

Here are the children’s books that we will be performing at our Reading Rumpus event on August 30th at 2:00 p.m. at Johnson Hall Opera House in Gardiner. Information regarding each individual author/illustrator will be posted beginning in a couple of days. They will be attending the performance and will be available to autograph their books which can be purchased on site through our host book store, Mockingbird Bookshop! Picture books will be presented in full while sections of the chapter books will be performed! Mark your calendars and help us spread the word…this will be awesome!!! The books are:
“My Teacher is a Monster (No, I Am Not)” and “Children Make Terrible Pets” written and illustrated by Peter Brown.
“We Are Definitely Human” and “Broken” written and illustrated by
X. Fang.
“If I Built A Town” written and illustrated by Chris Van Dusen.
“Turtle in a Tree” and “The Best Flower Ever” written and illustrated by Neesha Hudson.
“Who Loves Blueberries?” written by Rebecca Rule and illustrated by Arpita Choudhury and “The Iciest, Diciest, Scariest Sled Ride Ever” written by Rebecca Rule and illustrated by Jennifer Thermes.
“School Dance”, a graphic novel, written and illustrated by Sarah Sax.
“Bionic Boy”, a chapter book, written by Lynn Plourde.

Good news…we have heard from all authors/illustrators whose children’s books we will be performing for our Reading Rumpus event on August 30th, 2:00 p.m. at Johnson Hall Opera House in Gardiner! The program announcement will be presented by June 22nd so look for it! This will be followed by several posts featuring each author/illustrator. You won’t want to miss this so mark your calendars and come meet these talented authors/illustrators and see their works come to life on the stage!!

We only have two authors/illustrators to get final approvals for our Reading Rumpus event scheduled for August 30th at 2:00 p.m. in Johnson Hall Opera House in Gardiner…we expect the final okays hopefully by the end of this coming week!! We will also start featuring the authors/illustrators who will be participating on our Facebook page and website also starting by the end of the week. We are so excited to present their children’s literature…remember that the books will be available to purchase on site and can also be autographed by the authors/illustrators who will be attending the event. MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND HELP US SPREAD THE WORD!!

This year’s senior award goes to Adryanna Smith who will graduate from Oak Hill High School. She is graduating with summa cum laude distinction and has earned more than 100 community service hours. She is accepted to the University of Southern Maine and will be majoring in Studio Art. She has also been accepted into the university’s honors program. She has also been active as a “techie” for the Oak Hill High School’s Drama Club. Her contribution to OBP consisted of creating promotional posters for our productions of “The Laramie Project” and “Worlds Afire”. The quality of her work has been outstanding. We wish her the very best and are positive that she will be successful in whatever endeavor she pursues. Congratulations, Adryanna!!

Hopefully, within a week or so, we will announce the children’s books that will be performed for our Reading Rumpus event being presented on August 30th at 2:00 p.m. at Johnson Hall Opera House. Just waiting on a couple of final permissions from the authors/illustrators and once that is complete, the titles will be announced! At this time, we are pleased to report that all authors/illustrators who have granted permission will plan on attending the event and will be available to autograph the books which will be available to buy at the theatre that day, serviced by the Mockingbird Bookshop (Bath, Maine). Will keep you posted!!!

As promised…here are the shows for our 2026-2027 season. All shows will be performed at Johnson Hall Opera House in Gardiner. Performance dates are included but audition dates will be provided later this summer! Fun show on the horizon…🎭

Children’s Show:
“Pinocchio…The Puppet in Funland”
Oct. 3rd at 7:00 p.m. & Oct. 4th at 2:00 p.m.

“Celebrating Short Stories” (to include works by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, and Anton Chekhov)
Feb. 27th at 7:30 p.m. & Feb. 28th at 2:00 p.m.

“Classical Worldwide Myths” (to include Greek, Native American, and African myths)
April 3rd at 7:30 p.m. & April 4th at 2:00 p.m.