David Biedrzycki

The 6th Annual Savannah Children’s Book Festival will take place on Saturday, November 14th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Forsyth Park in Savannah, Georgia (rain location is the Savannah Civic Center). Celebrate the joy of reading, the power of the written word and the magic of storytelling with children’s ... (more)book authors and illustrators from around the country. The festival also features dozens of local authors, arts and crafts, food, a variety of entertainment, an international tent, costumed characters, a “teen scene” and more! The Georgia Center for the Book is again one of the participants, and we hope you'll drop by to visit our tent and meet the award-winning writers we'll have with us: Laurel Snyder and Ted Dunagan.

Sat, Oct 17, 10:30AM: David Biedrzycki, author and illustrator of the Ace Lacewing books, will read from his newset picture book, ACE LACEWING: BAD BUGS ARE MY BUSINESS. Ages 2+ Ace Lacewing is back to solve another mystery. Scratch Murphy, the owner of Six Legs Park, is knocked unconscious by a falling ... (more)toolbox–presumably the property of a disgruntled carpenter ant–and wakes to find his flea bag empty and his money gone. Ace discovers that his client has a lot of enemies, including a fly-by-night roach in the banking business; Scratch's twin brother, Scritch; and a weevil with over-the-top parenting skills. Ace's blue-eyed gal Xerces and Police Sergeant Zito The Mosquito are with him every step of the way. When the solution hits Ace like a flyswatter, a run for the money ensues through the Termite Tower of Terror, Anteater Falls, and House of Mirrors. Ace's first-person narration and snappy dialogue are true to the hard-boiled detective genre, as is the cast of characters. The illustrations, done in pencil and digitally colored, fairly glow. The many insect references (Flypaper Awareness Week and Keep Your Antennae and Legs Inside Ride) in the colorful spreads are a true delight. Mystery fans and insect enthusiasts will enjoy a one-on-one reading with plenty of time to savor the clever wordplay and insect-related details. They will also want to find Ace's first adventure, Ace Lacewing, Bug Detective.