Children’s Author Maggie Kemp to Visit Local Libraries

The Accident, Grantsville, and Oakland libraries will host Maggie Kemp, author of children’s book Sam, Fisherwoman: The Reel Story, for readings and book signings the first week of July. The events are scheduled as follows: Accident Library, Monday, July 2, 1 – 2 p.m.; Grantsville Library, Monday, July 2, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.; Oakland Library, Thursday, July 5, 10:30 – 11:30 am. Copies of Kemp’s book will be available for purchase. For those attendees registered for Summer Reading Club, this event will count as a program that can be recorded in the Reading Log.

Inspired by the author’s own childhood experiences at Deep Creek Lake, “Sam, Fisherwoman tells the story of one spirited little girl convinced that she can do big things without anybody’s help, even her big brothers,” reads the book description. “So she sets out to prove it, showing she’s a real fisherwoman early one summer morning at her family’s lake cottage. When things seem to go awry, families will cheer for Sam as she faces each new hurdle with a can-do attitude. But will this spunky little girl catch her fish?”

The book is illustrated by Waldorf art educator Melody Zahn Russell. Described as “visual haiku,” Russell’s potato prints embody Sam’s story beautifully, grounding it in the adventures of a life on the water.

“Sam, Fisherwoman is definitely a winner,” noted Carolyn Vanaman, elementary school librarian. “Children will instantly be drawn to the colorful cover and illustrations. They'll enjoy Sam's worm and fishing line dilemma and will undoubtedly be eager to relate their own fishing tales. The book is a terrific read aloud with a clever title and priceless ending.”

Having come to New Hampshire in the 1990s to practice medicine, the author today lives, and writes, on a pond in Lempster, NH with her husband and their dogs: long-haired miniature dachshund, Russell, and Bassett hound, Phoebe. A number of her poems can be found in journals, newspapers, and anthologies.

Russell received her Master’s in Early Childhood Education at the University of New Hampshire, then studied Waldorf Education, Sculpture and Eurythmy in England for three years and New York for five. She specializes in watercolor, poetry, and potato printing.