Inside Chappaqua (Sept 2015)

Hot Runway Trends … at LOL Kids

September 1, 2015 by The Inside Press

Kids still want to make a good first impression on the first day of school. Here are some hot runway trends this fall.

Black-and-white and monochrome photo prints are in! Think leggings, skirts or pants in monochrome–that spells out infinite possibilities for mixing and matching. For boys: paint splatters have been seen in every line of jeans this fall, making jeans the easiest and the most fashionable choice of wear. And, of course: layers layers layers, think little moto jackets for both boys and girls–in faux leather!

Visit: lolkidsarmonk.com

Too Cool

September 1, 2015 by The Inside Press

If you have been living in Chappaqua for any length of time, you have likely already heard of Dawn Greenberg! Dawn wears multiple hats around town, spearheads all kinds of charitable undertakings (often via her “Chappaqua Cares, Chappaqua Shares”), directs our Chamber, and to my delight, agreed to guest edit this “Back to Cool” themed issue. I wanted to bring the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival “to life,” and Dawn, its founder, rose to the occasion–together with her talented team.

As for me, it has been a fabulous summer. I may be “empty nest,” but have discovered multiple reasons to continue to love New Castle. The Town wants others to feel similarly; I covered a “Roundtable Discussion” on this topic, so a story here, too, on that. Also, after months of collaborating with the Town of New Castle, we released “Inside my New Castle: Welcome to our Neighborhood.” Do save your copy (like, forever!), or download the PDF. The tremendous support the guide received is really too cool and reflective of the high caliber of area merchant support.

I’m also feeling very honored by the “MHA Media” award being presented in October to The Inside Press by the Mental Health Association of Westchester; along with past coverage of mental health topics and MHA events, I know the “Time to Talk” theme in both Winter editions touched both Castle communities and I’m grateful to the openness and insights of local writers Janine Crowley Haynes and Rich Klein, and to Executive Editor Beth Besen.

There’s also a lot of love and compassion in this issue; stories about the 2015 Sunrise Camp Walk and the upcoming Empty Bowls Westchester fundraiser are just some examples. For that reason, I’d like to dedicate this edition to my dear friend, Chappaqua’s Lori Sachare, who passed after a courageous battle against a Stage 4 cancer. Lori, a long time contributor to IC too, always seemed to have an endless reservoir of love and compassion. Like so many, I will miss her a great deal.

A Community that Shines

September 1, 2015 by The Inside Press

dawn and ben — Dawn with Ben, 9, on a family vacation in Ogunquit, Maine

By Dawn Greenberg

When my kids were toddlers, I felt pure relief as summer came to an end–finally a bit of respite from tantrums, diapers and long, long days. My boys would soon fall back into the welcoming arms of their preschool teachers.

These days when September looms, I feel quite sad at the speed with which our summers fly by and wish we could have just…one…more….week….please!

I feel not a little anxious about what the new school year brings: the familiar knot in my belly worrying about different classmates and new routines to conquer. Particularly with kids who struggle a bit, my anxieties are multiplied but also eased by the support of other friends and parents and by the knowledge that our teachers are warm and welcoming–and ready for anything!

Luckily, we all soon fall back into our roles and routines (with the occasional backward glance at beach days, leisurely dinners on the deck and fireworks). I’ve always felt that our town is at its best during September/October: a slight coolness in the breeze, the leaves just beginning to turn, then an acceleration of activities like Community Day, fall festivals and Halloween. This is why we chose this time of year for the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival. Down in the hollow of St. Mary the Virgin’s lawn, you can imagine you’re in a quintessential New England town with yellow tips just starting to appear on trees on nearly hills. The morning of the CCBF, I’m at Bell school by 5 a.m., so excited and anxious for our 85+ authors to soon populate our big tent. Even more exciting is 10 a.m., when the eager readers pour in…and keep coming!

Our “little engine that could” book festival, has grown from a modest dream (maybe we’ll draw 1,000 kids!) to becoming the biggest children’s book festival in the metropolitan area, in only three years. It would be impossible to pull off without the year-round work of our core group of volunteers, plus hundreds more who magically appear on book festival day. Our sponsors are pivotal to helping us be the best we can be for the thousands of visitors who arrive. It’s a day for our community to shine!

We also knew that Chappaqua was a welcoming place for readers; after all, we are all about our good schools and teaching our kids about the wide world outside of our borders. What could be better than encouraging a love of books to remind us of our place in the universe and to expose kids to every corner of the globe? I’ve always known that an early love of reading puts you in good stead for life and it’s something I’m eager to encourage in every kid I meet. In interviewing Dr. Lyn McKay for this issue, I was thrilled to hear her amplification on the vital role of reading in kids’ academic and emotional development.

It has also been so uplifting and exciting to be involved in founding Chappaqua Cares with my partner Jessica Reinmann. Whether gathering food for the many food pantries with exploding need in our area, helping out a resident who finds herself in a painful situation or even gathering dolls to contribute to a parenting class for immigrant parents at Neighbor’s Link, we find our days to be intensely rewarding with a new challenge around every corner.

Our biggest production, building on the wonderful original Empty Bowls program begun in Chappaqua by Penny Vane, will be an amazing celebration in November called Empty Bowls Westchester (see Jessica’s article in this issue). We have high aims to provide funding not only for the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry but for many other pantries in our area. In fact, my amazing artistic neighbor Mindy Kombert and her friends in the Northern Westchester Artists’ Guild have worked tirelessly to help local folks find their inner artist to create gorgeous bowls to be given away at the event. So far we have created close to 100 bowls, with approximately 50 more needed–each a work of art and passion.

Whatever your fall brings–and I hope your expectations are high–I wish you an easy back-to-school transition with time still set aside to play…and read! We hope you’ll find some time to volunteer, too, and get involved in our wonderful, vibrant, giving community.

I’m very proud to call Chappaqua home.

-Dawn

New Kids on the CCBF Block

September 1, 2015 by The Inside Press

By Sarah Jane Weill

It’s no surprise that the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival (CCBF), a growing phenomenon, has attracted a whole cast of new authors for this year’s upcoming event on October 3rd. Highly praised by the media as well as in the literary community, the CCBF gets numerous requests from authors and illustrators to join the festival. The 20 newcomers this year bring more variety to the event in terms of genre, content, and appeal. In hosting a range of authors, the CCBF can cater to the needs of almost every young reader, which will draw a larger turnout to the festival.

Two genres that were particularly sought after are nonfiction and Young Adult (YA.) Nonfiction has a big appeal for children, so they were pleased to add authors like Jennifer Berne and Susan Stockdale.

These writers focus on concepts that engage readers in their own world. “I like to write about our amazing universe and the people who explore its mysteries and discover its secrets,” Berne says in reference to her books like On a Beam of Light about Albert Einstein. “I try to write books that are as compelling, interesting and inspiring for the adults who read them as for the children they’re reading them to.” In discussing her books like Stripes of all Types, Susan Stockdale says, “I enjoy conveying scientific themes such as how animals benefit from their stripes and spots.”

Since the breadth of the YA readership is so wide, organizers of the CCBF wanted to expand the representation of this genre in order to appeal to even more readers. As a result, the new YA authors vary in terms of their content.

Bianca Turetsky, author of The Time-Travelling Fashionista series about Louise Lambert, a 12-year-old girl from Connecticut, describes her style. “It’s historical fiction through a fashion lens. Louise tries on a vintage dress and gets magically transported back to the last time the dress was worn,” And Turetsky adds, “she gets to meet some of the greatest fashionistas in history.”

Virgina Euwer Wolff writes more realistic fiction. “I’m particularly interested in young people who are trying to understand the transitions that are happening to them…as they go through the twisty route to maturity,” she says in describing her novels such as True Believer.

Henry Neff who, along with author Matt Myklush, adds more contemporary fantasy and adventure fiction to the festival this year. “Both The Tapestry and my upcoming Impyrium series blend elements of fantasy, mythology, science fiction and history in ways I haven’t encountered too often,” Neff says in describing his work. “While [the two series] have many elements of epic fantasy, the stories and many characters have roots in actual historical eras, events and folklore. It’s a lot of fun to blend my love of history with products of my imagination.”

This is only a sample of the great new authors who will complement the many returning authors that should make it a very exciting year for the CCBF. The full list of new authors in attendance this year is as follows:
Nina Crews, Susan Stockdale, Jennifer Berne, Jane Sutcliffe, Sarah Cross, Virginia Euwer Wolff, Henry Neff, Matt Myklush, Susan Kuklin, Emmy Laybourne, Wendy Mass, Bianca Turetsky, Natasha Sinel, Sergio Ruzzier, Caldecott Medalists David Ezra Stein and Ed Young, Anya Wallach, and father and daughter co-authors Jeff and Erynn Altabel.

Avid reader Sarah Jane Weill, HGHS Class of ’14, is entering her sophomore year at Bowdin College.

Author Jean Van Leeuwen Inspires Chappaqua’s Youngest Writers

September 1, 2015 by The Inside Press

Photos by Jolie Simpson

One of Chappaqua’s most well known and prolific children’s authors, Jean Van Leeuwen, is part of an adorable and sweet surprise for a certain class of first graders each year.

Douglas Grafflin Elementary School first grade teacher Yvonne Davies tells the story: “Jean has been volunteering with me approximately 15 years: she worked with two other colleagues before me that I know of. The children develop a relationship with her over the year as she works with them one on one, giving ideas and suggestions. They know her as a community volunteer, “Mrs. Gavril” until May, when we do ‘the reveal.’

“By then kids have become better readers and have often fallen in love with the Oliver and Amanda Pig book series, written by Jean van Leeuwen.

One day in May, I let them know that they will get to meet Jean Van Leeuwen and the excitement grows. The priceless looks on their faces when they discover that Mrs. Gavril IS Jean Van Leeuwen, and realize they have been working with a famous author all year is one of the highlights of first grade. While kids always enjoy working with her, after they realize who she is, they can’t get enough.”

Shhh…keep it a secret, parents of rising first graders!

Jean has lived in Chappaqua for 38 years, and have been volunteering at Grafflin for close to 20 years.

While her Oliver and Amanda Pig series are popular around the world, she has written for both toddlers and middle graders we well.

She notes: “Many of them have been inspired by my own two children, David and Elizabeth. When they were very small, I didn’t have much time for writing. The only free time in my day was when they were taking their naps. So I began to write little stories about what they were doing and saying. These stories grew into a book, Tales of Oliver Pig. Over the years, that first book has grown into a whole series of Easy-to-Read books about Oliver and Amanda Pig. Even though my children are now grown-up, I still write from my memories of the fun we had together when they were young.”

The Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival and Hall of Scoops are thrilled to pay tribute to Oliver and Amanda Pig with a “Purple Pig Tales” flavor at Hall of Scoops during the month of September. Proceeds will benefit the JCY-WCP SMART program (Students and Mature Adults Read Together). A kick-off party on Monday, August 31st from 2-4 p.m. will include crafts, games and a reading by Jean Van Leeuwen.

About the upcoming book festival, Jean says: “I of course am a big fan of the book festival! It provides an opportunity for local children to purchase books directly from the author and illustrator and have them signed then and there. They may learn a little bit about how a book comes to be. And the festival promotes reading, and encourages parents to be involved in reading with their children.”

–Dawn Greenberg