Books make GREAT gifts for kids!

And kid of all ages are absolutely delighted by the mischievous rhymes and delightful illustrations of LET'S HAVE A BITE: A BANQUET OF BEASTLY FEASTS, by Robert L. Forbes (illustrated by Ronald Searle).

And a wonderful way to make the gift of a book a lifetime keepsake is to have it signed (or personalized!) by the author. If you're lucky enough to be in Palm Beach, Santa Barbara or Montecito over the next few weeks, you have a great chance to get Mr. Forbes to inscribe a personal message in this beautiful book.

Check out Mr. Forbes' web site or Facebook page to stay up to date on all of the latest happenings with this wonderfully whimsical book. A few to mark on your calendars...

December 7: Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens 3rd Annual Literacy Day
During their Annual Festival of the Trees, I will be reading here.
253 Barcelona Road
West Palm Beach, FL
From 10AM

December 8: The Channel City Club in Santa Barbara, CA

I will do a reading at their annual Holiday Luncheon, 12:30-2, including a book signing.
2:30 A reading at the Story Teller Children’s Center, Santa Barbara

December 9: The Crane Country Day School, Montecito, CA
2:15-3 A reading to students.

December 15: Palm Beach Book Store, PB, FL
5:30 Book signing until 7pm

2011 Lots of events in the works, such as a reading at the Princeton Club in New York, a Southern swing , a return engagement with the Creative Writing classes at Boca Raton’s Spanish River High School, a reading in Rome, more schools, and Easter Day with many kids in Palm Beach at the annual egg hunt. Stay tuned!

And don't forget that Monday kicks off our 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS AT OVERLOOK, with twelve days of giveaways that include autographed books, sets, swag related to the forthcoming TRUE GRIT film adaptation, and for those of you shopping with kids, just-in-time-for-the-holidays copies of LET'S HAVE A BITE! Check back Monday for more.

A Toast to Robert L. Forbes!

Robert L. Forbes, author of LET'S HAVE A BITE! A BANQUET OF BEASTLY FEASTS, hosted a party last night to celebrate the launch of his book. A wonderful time was had by all as guests dined on snacks featuring the mischievous creatures from his whimsical books.

Here are a few photos of the author himself and the wonderful decorations--lifesize blowups of the delightful Ronald Searle drawings that accompany his poems. Start your Christmas shopping early with LET'S HAVE A BITE!

A glimpse into the life of Robert L. Forbes

Check out this fantastic article in the Wall Street Journal profiling Robert L. Forbes, author of our wonderfully whimsical children's book LET'S HAVE A BITE! A BANQUET OF BEASTLY FEASTS. It's always fun for us to read author profiles instead of traditional reviews--especially when they lead lives as interesting as this. Go here to read the full article, but here's an excerpt you might enjoy! You can also keep up-to-date on the life and times of Robert Forbes and events surrounding the publication of Let's Have a Bite! on Facebook and by following @robertlforbes on Twitter.

As happy and well adjusted an adult as Mr. Forbes seems on the surface, I can't help but believe his latest book, published this week, "Let's Have A Bite! A Banquet of Beastly Rhymes," with drawings by the New Yorker cartoonist Ronald Searle, isn't the result of night terrors.

"The Giant Panda at the zoo just sits and chomps on fresh bamboo," goes one poem. "His belly is like a cooking pot, Which happens when you eat a lot. He's content to do not much but chew. Which is all he seems to do (That and poo!)"

People often take a stab at children's books after reading "Goodnight Moon" to their own kids and becoming convinced they can do better. But Mr. Forbes hasn't read to his son Miguel in decades. Miguel is in his thirties. Miguel is Forbes's president of television and licensing.

It seems Mr. Forbes simply has crazy rhymes going through his head. He'll wake up in the middle of the night, don his special Edward Beiner reading glasses with built-in reading lights, write for a couple of hours, roll over and go back to sleep.

"I write to amuse me," he said. "I write stuff I'd like to read." Such as, apparently, "A chicken-stewing cat named Shauna slipped on her sweat in the sauna. She moaned on the floor, 'I must reach the door, Or I'll be a fricasseed goner.' "

Mr. Forbes said he contacted Mr. Searle, who lives in the south of France, and whose work he collects, out of the blue, fully prepared to be rejected, but figuring it couldn't hurt to ask. But Mr. Searle said yes. "I'll write a couple of lines about the poem," Mr. Forbes said of their collaborative process, "and a month or two later back this package comes with all these illustrations. It's like a little boy opening a Christmas present."

This is actually Mr. Forbes' second book of poems and critters. The first, "Beastly Feasts," also illustrated by Mr. Searle, was published in 2007. And Mr. Forbes shot the photography for "A Year of Dancing Dangerously," about his wife Lydia Raurell's successful quest to be crowned newcomer of the year on the pro-am ballroom dance circuit, though partnered with Brian Nelson, her professional dance partner.

Mr. Forbes divides his time between Manhattan, where he lives in Forbes Magazine worker housing, Palm Beach where his wife and Lamborghini reside, and the road, having just returned from dance competitions in Irvine, Calif., Las Vegas and Phoenix. "She's three to four hours a day practicing with a coach," he said of his wife. "She takes it very seriously."

However, she'll still condescend to dance with her husband. "Happily," he said, "she lets me lead."

And the poems keep coming. The drawings too. Last month the 90-year-old Mr. Searle delivered five more. "I've got at least two more books done by him," Mr. Forbes said. "I have no idea whether my publisher will do it—but I don't care."

LET'S HAVE A BITE reviews are starting to arrive!

While Robert L. Forbes' delightful book of children's poetry LET'S HAVE A BITE! doesn't officially hit shelves until Sept. 16, a few lucky bloggers and media people have already gotten copies. Glad to see they're enjoying the fun rhymes and wonderful drawings by Ronald Searle as much as we are!

Naida at The Bookworm has one of our first reviews for this title, which she read with her 10-year-old daughter.

With rhymes like Hugh the Emu, The Rhino's Wine, The Inchworm Sprint and Flick the Fly, coupled with great illustrations to match, Let's Have A Bite! A Banquet of Beastly Rhymes makes for a fun book to read to the kiddies in your life.

... I really liked this funky collection, and my daughter(10) and I read them together. This one would make a great gift as well, especially if you're looking for something a little different than your everyday children's nursery rhymes.

Thanks, Naida! Check out her full post here, and hope that those of you with kids will get a chance to sit down and read something fun and whimsical as you gear up for the school year to start!

The Overlook Press with Robert Forbes at ALA Annual 2010!

The Overlook Press was excited to be a first-time exhibitor at this year's ALA Annual Conference in Washington, DC. 13,000 librarians in a huge conference center in our nation's capital--what's not to love?

We were excited to have Robert L. Forbes, author of Let's Have a Bite! A Banquet of Beastly Rhymes there with us, signing copies of his new book for the show's resident rock stars--children's librarians.

If you follow us on Twitter (@overlookpress!) you've already seen lots of our pictures from ALA, but here are a few for you to enjoy that are slightly higher quality than those taken on a BlackBerry.

Thanks again, ALA, for a fantastic event!

Our display of Beastly Feasts!, Let's Have a Bite!, and a menagerie of classic and modern animal crackers.

The other side of the booth. Animal crackers welcome, but not required.

Some of Robert Forbes' librarian friends from Palm Beach, FL--they were instrumental in getting us to the conference and helping us prepare for it.

Signing a copy of Let's Have a Bite! for an elementary school teacher from Maryland.

BEASTLY FEASTS! Robert Forbes Offers Mischievous Rhymes for Kids and Grown-Ups

Reading poetry aloud to children is a terrific way to celebrate National Poetry Month, and with Overlook's Beastly Feasts! A Mischievous Menagerie in Rhyme, parents can provide both fun and entertainment. With 40 poems by Robert Forbes and zany illustrations by Ronald Searle, Beastly Feasts! will keep kids and their mischievous parents coming back all month long.

Poet Robert Forbes Loves Ginger Fish Pie and Reading to Kids!

Robert Forbes, author of Beastly Feasts! A Mischievous Menagerie in Rhyme, recently paid a visit to the Palm Beach Day Academy in Palm Beach, Florida. A crowd of 150 second-through-seventh graders were delighted with the mischiveous rhymes, reports Jan Sjostrom in a feature article in The Palm Beach Daily News. Theater students from the Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr. Schoool of Arts were also on hand to give an interpretation of the poems. Now that's a thought, could Beastly Feasts! The Movie be coming soon to a theater near you?

BEASTLY FEASTS! is "Best Read Aloud to Grandchildren"

Columnist Betty Woodward salutes Beastly Feasts! on Grandparents.com: "Subtitled A Mischievous Menagarie in Rhyme, Beastly Feasts! is a collection of delicious rhymes about animals, loving and not so-so-loving. There are plenty among the 40-odd poems that will appeal to grandchildren ages 7 and younger such as "The Rhinosaurus." The slightly older set will appreciate the more sophisticated poems, such as "Ode on a Fishbowl" that describes the perennial standoff between cat and goldfish. I could go on quoting these luscious little poems, but they are best read aloud to your grandchildren. They'll eat up the madcap creature illustrations by cartoonist Ronald Searle. Add the search fo the secret beast hidden within each drawing and you have the makings of a repeat read for years to come."

BEASTLY FEASTS! Book Tour Rolls On: Next Stop Borders in Columbus, OH on Saturday, November 17

Here's the mischievous poet and author of Beastly Feasts! at the Connecticut Children's Book Fair last weekend. Hey Buckeyes, catch Robert Forbes reading and rhyming this Saturday, November 17, 11:00am, at Borders Books and Music in Columbus, Ohio.

Robert Forbes at Connecticut Children's Book Fair on Saturday, November 10

Robert Forbes, author of Beastly Feasts! A Mischievous Menagerie in Rhyme, will appear at the 16th annual Connecticut Children's Book Fair on Saturday, November 10. Held on the campus of the University of Connecticut, this popular event brings together prominent children's authors and illustrators and the general public in an annual event designed to foster the enjoyment of children's literature. The Connecticut Book Fair is available to the public without an entrance fee. Children, parents, grandparents, book collectors, and interested members of the public are welcome to attend. Just don't leave without and autographed copy of Beastly Feasts!

Robert Forbes at Davis Kidd in Memphis October 27

Robert Forbes will read and rhyme from his new book Beastly Feasts: A Mischievous Menagerie in Rhyme on Saturday, October 27, 11am, at Davis Kidd in Memphis, Tennessee. The playful poet will also appear on the Live at 9 television program, hosted by Marybeth Conley, on Friday, October 26 on WREG-TV in Memphis.

BEASTLY FEASTS on Tour!

The Beastly Feasts! 2007 Book Tour launched in New York City this afternoon with author/poet Bob Forbes reading his mischievious poems to a crowd of very well-behaved book lovers at Books of Wonder. Here's Bob with Peter Glassman of Books of Wonder and hey, isn't that Hippo Uh-Oh and The Debonair Fox? Someone saw Lottie the Hottie by the front door, and wasn't that a Chittery-Chattery Crab hanging out in back? Next stop: Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, October 20!

Have You Heard the Gnus?!: Robert Forbes reads at Books of Wonder Sunday September 30th at 2 PM!

Attention, attention, children of ALL ages! Come one and all to the premiere place for kid's books in all 5 boroughs! Books of Wonder! Saturday 9/30 at 2 PM, Robert Forbes will be reading from his irresistible new offering: Beastly Feasts! Listen to the poems! Get a signed copy! Bring a parent along! There are rumors of snacks! We'll see you there: bring a beastly appetite for poems and cookies!