Internationally bestselling artist and author Oliver Jeffers joined us for a conversation about his timely new picture book, I’m Very Busy: A (Nearly Forgotten) Birthday Book—a universally relatable story about what happens when we are so busy, we sometimes forget the things—and people—that matter most. The evening’s conversation, moderated by award-winning illustrator and author Sophie Blackall, reflected upon the pace of modern life and how to remain both creatively engaged and present for our loved ones.
Featured Book
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I’m Very Busy: A (Nearly Forgotten) Birthday Book
By Oliver Jeffers
Published by Penguin Young Readers Group
It’s Bridget’s birthday, and she thinks it would be fun to spend the day with friends. But Royal has places to go, Rodney has to see a man about a dog, Regis has to wash his hair, and Pearl has a list of items she needs to cross off as quickly as she can. Bridget’s friends are all too busy to hang out!
Will Bridget have to spend her birthday all alone?
In a story that shows how friends are more important than the busyness of a day, Oliver Jeffers’s bold and brilliant art pair with a powerful story that makes readers realize what truly matters.
In Conversation
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Oliver Jeffers
Oliver Jeffers
Oliver Jeffers is a visual artist and author working in painting, bookmaking, illustration, collage, performance and sculpture. His engagements and practice are truly international in scope. His critically acclaimed picture books have been the recipients of numerous awards, including a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award, Time Best Book of the Year, Bologna Ragazzi Award, an Irish Book Award, a United Kingdom Literary Association Award and two Emmy Awards for the Apple TV adaptation of Here We Are: Notes For Living on Planet Earth. He has exhibited at institutions such as the Brooklyn Museum in New York, the National Portrait Gallery in London, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Jeffers’ work is currently featured in the new long-term exhibition “Building Stories” at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. He also recently received a Member of the Order of the British Empire Award (MBE) for his Services in Art.
Photo Credit: Shanta Newlin
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Sophie Blackall
Sophie Blackall
Sophie Blackall, AM is an award-winning illustrator of over 50 books for children, including the New York Times bestselling Ivy and Bean series, the 2016 Caldecott Medal winner, Finding Winnie, and the 2019 Caldecott Medal winner, Hello Lighthouse, which she also wrote. She is the five-time recipient of the New York Times Best Illustrated Picture Book Award and has worked with UNICEF and Save the Children, UK on global health and literacy initiatives. Originally from Australia, she now splits her time between Brooklyn, New York, and the Catskill Mountains, where she and her husband run a retreat for the children’s book community called Milkwood Farm.
Photo Credit: Sonya Sones
