Tad Hills

Join Claire as we celebrate the latest Duck and Goose story, Duck and Goose Go to the Beach. We will read our favorite Duck and Goose stories, play some games and do a small craft. Featured books will be 20% off for participants, today only! AUTHOR NOT ATTENDING.

Location: Street: 1200 11th St City: Bellingham, Province: Washington Postal Code: 98225-7015 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Duck and Goose by Tad Hills, Tad Hills (Illustrator)
Puffin Peter by Petr Horacek, Petr Horacek (Illustrator)

Storytime Today, we're reading about Puffin Peter by Petr Horacek and Duck and Goose by Tad Hills. The stories are of friendship, working at getting along and communication all from a birds point of view... or is it! Special craft and lots of fun! (added from Barnes & Noble)… (more)

Join with us in celebrating Screen Free Week when children's picture book author/illustrator Tad Hills visits Octavia Books for a reading and activities, followed by a signing of his Duck & Goose title, GOOSE NEEDS A HUG.

And, with any luck, we will also hear Tad read some other favorites, especially his instant #1 New York Times Bestseller, Rocket Writes a Story.

Learn to read with this picture book, starring an irresistible dog named Rocket and his teacher, a little yellow bird. Follow along as Rocket masters the alphabet, sounds out words, and finally . . . learns to read all on his own!

With a story that makes reading fun—and will even help listeners learn to read—this book is ideal for kindergarten classrooms and story hour or as a gift for that beginning reader. Fresh, charming art by Tad Hills, the New York Times bestselling author/illustrator of Duck & Goose, will make this a favorite.

We are here to help you and your family UNPLUG and Read during Screen Free Week, and to raise awareness about the importance of balancing screen time against other developmentally important tasks, like reading.

Tad Hills is the author and illustrator of the New York Times bestselling picture books Duck & Goose and Duck, Duck, Goose. He has created four board books featuring the same characters: What's Up, Duck?, an ALA Notable Book; Duck and Goose, 1, 2, 3; Duck & Goose, How Are You Feeling?; and Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin. He is also the illustrator of Waking Up Wendell, by April Stevens; My Fuzzy Friends; and Knock, Knock, Who's There? Tad Hills lives in Brooklyn with his wife, their two children, and a dog named Rocket who has not (yet) learned how to read!

Location: Street: 513 Octavia St City: New Orleans, Province: Louisiana Postal Code: 70115-2055 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Tad Hills (Duck & Goose, Duck & Goose, 1, 2, 3, Duck & Goose, How Are You Feeling?, Duck, Duck, Goose, How Rocket Learned to Read, What's Up, Duck?, Waking Up Wendell, Duck & Goose, Find a Pumpkin, Duck & Goose, It's Time for Christmas!, Duck & Goose, Here Comes the Easter Bunny!, Rocket Writes a Story, Rocket's Learning Box, Duck & Goose, Goose Needs a Hug, Rocket's Mighty Words)

Tad Hills grew up in Norwell, Massachusetts, with a love of wildlife and nature. Surrounding his childhood home were many acres of fields and forests where he and his brother and sister would explore, build forts out of sticks and hay, and pick blueberries and grapes. His mother taught 4th-grade science for the Audubon society and often brought home animals. Raccoons, snakes, owls, and turtles were common guests in their house. His love of nature and wildlife is reflected by his favorite books from his childhood: Robert McCloskey’s Blueberries for Sal, The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward, and chapter books by Thornton Burgess. All of the grown-ups in his life encouraged Tad’s creativity. He spent a lot of time with his grandmother, who was also an artist. They made books, drew and painted pictures, visited galleries and museums, and sat in her garden. She encouraged Tad to look at the world from different angles. She was delighted when, instead of seeing a pansy, he saw a monkey’s face, or instead of a puddle of spilled milk, he saw an elephant. She marveled at his art and, although she was an accomplished painter, wished that she could paint like him–a notion he understands well today. “Every day I wish that I could make art with the simplicity and fearlessness that my kids do.“My mother always encouraged my artistic endeavors. We had a playroom that was always buzzing with activity. It was never tidy for long–a reality my mother accepted after weighing the relative benefits. This is where I’d spend much of my time drawing, painting, and building and making things. I come from a long line of engineers on both sides, so my interest in making things almost feels like it could be genetic.”As an adult Tad still makes many of the same things he made as a kid. Alongside his kids–Elinor, age 10, and Charlie, age 8–he’s made marionettes, jewelry, a tree house and Halloween costumes. “There is nothing more exciting to me than building something from nothing without a blueprint or directions. And using unlikely–and better yet recycled–materials makes it even more exciting. I really couldn’t tell you how a car engine worked but I could make a nice one out of cardboard and toothpicks.” Tad’s interest in art drew him to Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, where he studied painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, creative writing, and poetry, but his greatest education came with the arrival of his children. “Spending time with my kids helps me remember what it's like to be a child. I try to capture that innocence and enthusiastic vision of the world in my books. I want kids to see themselves in my characters. “I find the process of creating a book similar to making sculpture. It is a constant adding and taking-away. The words and pictures are like pieces of clay. Some ideas come from experience and observation and some seem to come from thin air. Sometimes an idea builds out of an overheard conversation, or sometimes an idea comes to me when I’m cooking dinner. The real trick is to take all those ideas, like chunks of soft clay, and build something. Throughout the process the sculpture may hold itself upright, or more likely it might sag in places, or even collapse completely. The tough part is getting all that clay to stand up and not sag or collapse. Standing, of course, isn’t all there is: you have to make sure that it is fun and interesting from all angles, because kids will be walking around it, squinting at it, sniffing it, touching it–inspecting it from all sides.“As an author and illustrator of children’s books, my greatest satisfaction comes from visiting schools. The kids’ excitement and enthusiasm for books is very real. I especially enjoy the responses I get from children when I ask if they have any questions or comments. ‘Where do you get your ideas? What’s the difference between a book and a story? My birthday is June 12th. How do you make the cover shiny? My Dad has socks like yours. Do you have an agent? Do you write the story first or draw the pictures? How do you make a book?’ But what I love most is when a lower school kid smiles and says proudly, ‘I’m writing a book.’” (added from Random House)… (more)

Tad Hills (Duck & Goose, Duck & Goose, 1, 2, 3, Duck & Goose, How Are You Feeling?, Duck, Duck, Goose, How Rocket Learned to Read, What's Up, Duck?, Waking Up Wendell, Duck & Goose, Find a Pumpkin, Duck & Goose, It's Time for Christmas!, Duck & Goose, Here Comes the Easter Bunny!, Rocket Writes a Story, Rocket's Learning Box, Duck & Goose, Goose Needs a Hug, Rocket's Mighty Words)

Tad Hills grew up in Norwell, Massachusetts, with a love of wildlife and nature. Surrounding his childhood home were many acres of fields and forests where he and his brother and sister would explore, build forts out of sticks and hay, and pick blueberries and grapes. His mother taught 4th-grade science for the Audubon society and often brought home animals. Raccoons, snakes, owls, and turtles were common guests in their house. His love of nature and wildlife is reflected by his favorite books from his childhood: Robert McCloskey’s Blueberries for Sal, The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward, and chapter books by Thornton Burgess. All of the grown-ups in his life encouraged Tad’s creativity. He spent a lot of time with his grandmother, who was also an artist. They made books, drew and painted pictures, visited galleries and museums, and sat in her garden. She encouraged Tad to look at the world from different angles. She was delighted when, instead of seeing a pansy, he saw a monkey’s face, or instead of a puddle of spilled milk, he saw an elephant. She marveled at his art and, although she was an accomplished painter, wished that she could paint like him–a notion he understands well today. “Every day I wish that I could make art with the simplicity and fearlessness that my kids do.“My mother always encouraged my artistic endeavors. We had a playroom that was always buzzing with activity. It was never tidy for long–a reality my mother accepted after weighing the relative benefits. This is where I’d spend much of my time drawing, painting, and building and making things. I come from a long line of engineers on both sides, so my interest in making things almost feels like it could be genetic.”As an adult Tad still makes many of the same things he made as a kid. Alongside his kids–Elinor, age 10, and Charlie, age 8–he’s made marionettes, jewelry, a tree house and Halloween costumes. “There is nothing more exciting to me than building something from nothing without a blueprint or directions. And using unlikely–and better yet recycled–materials makes it even more exciting. I really couldn’t tell you how a car engine worked but I could make a nice one out of cardboard and toothpicks.” Tad’s interest in art drew him to Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, where he studied painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, creative writing, and poetry, but his greatest education came with the arrival of his children. “Spending time with my kids helps me remember what it's like to be a child. I try to capture that innocence and enthusiastic vision of the world in my books. I want kids to see themselves in my characters. “I find the process of creating a book similar to making sculpture. It is a constant adding and taking-away. The words and pictures are like pieces of clay. Some ideas come from experience and observation and some seem to come from thin air. Sometimes an idea builds out of an overheard conversation, or sometimes an idea comes to me when I’m cooking dinner. The real trick is to take all those ideas, like chunks of soft clay, and build something. Throughout the process the sculpture may hold itself upright, or more likely it might sag in places, or even collapse completely. The tough part is getting all that clay to stand up and not sag or collapse. Standing, of course, isn’t all there is: you have to make sure that it is fun and interesting from all angles, because kids will be walking around it, squinting at it, sniffing it, touching it–inspecting it from all sides.“As an author and illustrator of children’s books, my greatest satisfaction comes from visiting schools. The kids’ excitement and enthusiasm for books is very real. I especially enjoy the responses I get from children when I ask if they have any questions or comments. ‘Where do you get your ideas? What’s the difference between a book and a story? My birthday is June 12th. How do you make the cover shiny? My Dad has socks like yours. Do you have an agent? Do you write the story first or draw the pictures? How do you make a book?’ But what I love most is when a lower school kid smiles and says proudly, ‘I’m writing a book.’” (added from Random House)… (more)

Screen Free Week is a nationwide effort to encourage children and their parents to ignore their TV and computer screens for seven days and instead celebrate all the other ways there are to have fun, including reading picture books. With Tad Hills for Rocket Writes a Story, Chris Raschka for Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle, Bob Staake for Bluebird, and Dan Yaccarino for Doug Unplugged. Ages 5 - 8.

Street: 5015 Connecticut Ave NW City: Washington, Province: District Of Columbia Postal Code: 20008 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Saturday, February 9, 11:00 AM Story Time: Tad Hills presents Goose Needs a Hug

Greenlight neighbor and New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Tad Hills brings our favorite feathered friends Duck and Goose out to celebrate Valentine's Day! What does Goose need more than anything this Valentine's Day? A hug from a good friend. Join us for Tad’s trademark drawing and painting presentation as we get ready for Valentine’s Day. Ages 3 to 8.

Location: Street: 686 Fulton Street City: Brooklyn, Province: New York Postal Code: 11217 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Rocket Writes a Story by Tad Hills, Tad Hills (Illustrator)

Storytime We all know that Rocket likes to read. There is a story about that. Soon we will find out that Rocket likes to write too! He will collect words and look for interesting things to write about. Rocket will then share his story and we will share it too! (added from Barnes & Noble)… (more)