7:30 p.m. - Vanderslice Hall, Boston College

Molly Bang's first books were collections of folktales that she translated or collected, and then illustrated--books like The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher and The Paper Crane. When she became a mother herself, she moved into the world of childhood with Ten, Nine, Eight and When Sophie Gets Angry--Really, Really Angry. She probed scientific principles in Common Ground and My Light, which won the Massachusetts Book Award for Children's Literature in 2005. Her books have won the Caldecott Honor, the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Illustration, and the Giverny Prize for Best Children's Science Book.

7:30 p.m. - Vanderslice Hall, Boston College

Sy Montgomery is an author, naturalist, newspaper columnist, documentary scriptwriter, and radio commentator who writes for adults, as well as children. Her children's books offer fascinating glimpses into the lives of little-known creatures and the seldom-explored regions that they call home. Her award-winning work includes Quest for the Tree Kangaroo, The Snake Scientist, The Man-Eating Tigers of Sundarbans, and Journey of the Pink Dolphins. She has been chased by an angry silverback gorilla in Zaire; bitten by a vampire bat in Costa Rica; undressed by an orangutan in Borneo; and hunted by a tiger in India.

7:30 p.m. - NEW LOCATION--GASSON HALL, BOSTON COLLEGE www.bc.edu/about/maps.html

Randy Testa, Vice President of Education for Walden Media, travels the country talking with educators and audiences about such films as Hoot; The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Because of Winn-Dixie; How to Eat Fried Worms; Charlotte's Web; and Bridge to Terabithia. Walden Media's mission in making these movies is to create faithful, high-quality film adaptations of beloved children's literature. Mr. Testa will help us ponder that tricky term--"faithful"--and will show clips of Walden films, including preview clips of Prince Caspian, scheduled for a May '08 release.

7:30 p.m. - NEW LOCATION: WALSH HALL, Boston College

Author/Illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka has been making books since the 3rd grade--fun, fresh books featuring vivid characters, be they animal or human. His picture book "Punk Farm," the raucous story of a farm-animal band, is being developed as a feature film by Dreamworks, and the band gets loose in "Punk Farm on Tour." His other picture books include "My Buddy, Slug"; "Max for President"; and "Bubble Bath Pirates."

TIME CHANGE: 9 a.m.: Registration, Coffee and Book Sale          

9:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Program, Boston Athenaeum Library, Beacon Hill (www.bostonathenaeum.org for directions)

NEW EVENT AT NEW LOCATION!

Join us at the Boston Athenaeum--a 200-year-old independent library on Beacon Hill that is also a National Historic Landmark--for our "What's New in Children's Books?" half-day conference. Featured speakers include Jack Gantos,  author of the Joey Pigza books, the Rotton Ralph Rotten Readers, and many others from picture books to adult books. Mr. Gantos writes regularly at the Athenaeum.  Author/Illustrator Anna Alter's vibrant picture books are full of whimsical animals celebrating the small moments in life. We'll learn about the Beatrix Potter/Boston connection from Lolly Robinson, art editor at the Horn Book Magazine. Carol Stoltz of Porter Square Books in Cambridge will present her picks for Best New Spring Books. This event includes refreshments, book sale and signing.

7:30 p.m. - Vanderslice Hall, Boston College

Barbara McClintock taught herself to draw by going to the library and checking out books of artists she admired, then copying every drawing. She learned that her favorite artists shared "an energetic line and a very strong narrative streak," qualities reflected in her own award-winning picture books, including "Adele & Simon," "Dahlia," "Animal Fables from Aesop," and "Molly and the Magic Wishbone," among others. Her work evokes long-ago times of the 19th and early 20th centuries, but with a charm and dynamism that capture contemporary readers.

New England Voices features area authors and illustrators reading from their new work and spotlights new talent in the field of children' s literature. Speakers: Lita Judge, author and illustrator of ALA Notable Book One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II; Barbara O'Connor, author of many wonderful novels, including her newest Greetings from Nowhere; and Susan Goodman, author of a wide range of non-fiction books, including her latest See How They Run: Campaign Dreams, Election Schemes, and the Race to the White House.

BOOK SALES AND REFRESHMENTS--FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC