Elisha Cooper to give annual Purves lecture

WOODBRIDGE - The public is invited to attend the Friends of the Woodbridge Library Annual Purves Lecture with featured speaker author and illustrator Elisha Cooper at 7 p.m. Oct. 25 in the Meeting Room of the Woodbridge Library.

A native of Woodbridge, Cooper is the author of "many critically-acclaimed children's books, including "Building," "A Day at Yale," "Dance!," "Magic Thinks Big," "Beach," and "Farm," according a statement from the library.

Dance! was a New York Times Ten Best Illustrated winner in 2001, the statement said.

Beach was a Society of Illustrators Gold Medal best illustrated book of the year in 2006. He also has written a memoir "Crawling: A Father's First Year," and the nonfiction work "ridiculous/hilarious/terrible/cool: A Year in an American High School."

Cooper attended both the Foote School and Hopkins School in New Haven, and graduated from Yale University, the statement said.

He lives in New York City with his wife and two daughters.

The event is free and open to the public and all are welcome.

The Purves Lecture is an annual event sponsored by the Friends of the Woodbridge Library; the series was created by the family of Marjorie Purves, a past Friends member, to memorialize her and to perpetuate "her love of books, love of great literature and most importantly, to share this love with the Woodbridge community," the statement said.