CHILDREN’S STORYTELLING SERIES + BEAST CRAWL EVENT: FRESH JUICE BY ROB LIU-TRUJILLO BOOK RELEASE!
Saturday, July 22 | 2PM - 5PM
@ The Dept. of Make / Believe
as part of Beast Crawl
546 9th Street, Oakland
As part of this year’s EPIC Oakland literary festival, Beast Crawl, we are hosting the release party for Fresh Juice by illustrator and author Rob Liu-Trujillo. Rob will be joined on stage with special guest author and award winning poet DeMareon Gipson (author of Annalise’s Cough)!
Come out and bring your kiddos (big and small), enjoy some fresh juice from our neighbor Super Juiced, and then stay at chapter 510 for more Beast Crawl readings (including one featuring our amazing staff teaching artists at 5:30) or wander to many other literary happenings in the neighborhood!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robert Liu-Trujillo is a life long Bay Area resident. Born in Oakland California, he’s the child of student activists who watched lots of science fiction and took him to many demonstrations. Always drawing, Rob grew up to be an artist falling in love with graffiti, fine art, illustration, murals, and children’s books. In that order, sort of. Through storytelling he’s been able to scratch the surface of so many untold stories. Rob is the author and illustrator of Furqan’s First Flat Top and he’s illustrated numerous other children’s books. He’s a dad of a teenage boy and a little girl. He loves ice cream and his wife who laughs big and corrects his grammar every chance she gets. Down with the system and soggy french fries!
Rob is a co-founder of The Trust Your Struggle Collective, a contributor to The Social Justice Childrens Bk Holiday Fair, Tone Magazine, The Bullhorn Blog, and the founder of Come Bien Books.
ABOUT THE BOOK
FRESH JUICE (Lee & Low Books, Hardcover, July 25, 2023; $19.95) written and illustrated by Robert Liu-Trujillo is a delightful, kid and community-centered picture book filled with warm and vibrant watercolor illustrations.
When Art’s father can’t get over a cold, Art knows exactly what his daddy needs—some delicious sick-fighting juice! After looking through the fridge and cupboards, they discover they’re out of groceries and missing a key ingredient: ginger. Art and his dad find themselves downtown in search of ginger; they journey everywhere, from the farmers’ market, to the food co-op, to the West African grocery to an unexpected encounter that brings everyone together, and results in a tasty celebration.
FRESH JUICE is a celebration of a Black father-son-relationship, blended families and the many individuals who help make a neighborhood feel like a community. Highlighting the benefits of fresh, natural foods like oranges, apples, collard greens, and carrots, a fun fresh take on healthy eating and/or drinking.
FRESH JUICE also includes a receipt for Cold-Clobbering Juice in the back of the book. This is a simultaneous publication in English and Spanish, perfect for readers looking to diversify their children’s bookshelves and reading experience.