Author Laurie Halse Anderson Visit
*The event has already taken place on this date: Mon, 03/30/2026
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Join us for an exciting event with Laurie Halse Anderson, the award‑winning author of many amazing books for kids and teens!
Laurie has stories that readers all over the world love—more than eight million copies of her books have been sold! Some of her books, like Speak and Chains, were even chosen as finalists for the National Book Award, which is a really big honor for authors.
USA 250
In 2026, Americans are celebrating the 250th anniversary of The Declaration of Independence and the founding of our country. Laurie’s historical fiction novels Chains, Forge, Ashes and Rebellion,1776 transport us back to that time and illustrate the lives of teenagers growing up during the American Revolutionary War. In these books, you can follow enslaved 13-year-old Isabel Gardener and her 5-year-old sister Ruth, enslaved 14-year-old soldier Curzon Smith, and working-class teen Elsbeth Culpepper, as they struggle to make the choices necessary to survive the war years. Follow them through Boston, Rhode Island, New York City, Philadelphia, Valley Forge, Charleston, and to the war ending Battle of Yorktown, Virginia. These books show the issues real people of the time faced as they dealt with family separations and punishments inflicted on them because of slavery, poverty, war, and disease. As the nation’s founders were declaring that all men are created equal, with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the books ask you to think about being in chains while hearing those lofty ideals. Would you join the army and fight for principles of equality and freedom knowing that they may not apply to you because of the color of your skin, or gender? We will be discussing these and other questions as we use Laurie’s books to remember the everyday heroes of our early American history.
About Laurie
Laurie lives right here in Philadelphia—and she enjoys eating cheesesteaks while she writes her books!
Event Details
The event will be held in the Montgomery Auditorium on the Ground Floor of the Parkway Central Library.
Books will be available to buy if you'd like one signed!
We hope you’ll join us for an exciting conversation with Laurie Halse Anderson.
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