Neil Patrick Harris and More Set for Kids Book Club Events This Winter at Symphony Space

Symphony Space's highly interactive Thalia Kids Book Club series, produced in cooperation with Bank Street Bookstore, unites avid readers with the authors, illustrators, and books that inspire their imaginations. Each event includes a creative writing project, a discussion with the audience, and a book-signing.

The 2017-18 Thalia Kids' Book Club season launched with full-house events, featuring authors Sherman Alexie and Cressida Cowell in October.

On December, 2 the series continues with a visit from Newbery Award-winning author Katherine Paterson, and on Monday, December 4, Neil Patrick Harris will celebrate his middle-grade novel The Magic Misfits.

More events, including a Judy Blume birthday celebration, are planned for winter and spring 2018.

Saturday, December 2 at 11 AM: Katherine Paterson: My Brigadista Year

Two-time winner of the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award, Katherine Paterson ( Bridge to Terabithia) comes to Symphony Space for a conversation on her engrossing historical novel about a young Cuban teenager as she volunteers for Fidel Castro's national literacy campaign and travels into the impoverished countryside to teach her fellow countrymen how to read, despite the looming threat of banditos hiding in the hills. The event is presented with Bank Street Bookstore and is recommended for fans of all ages.

For four different books published between 1975 and 1980, Katherine Paterson won two Newbery Medals and two National Book Awards. A prolific children's and young adult author, Paterson is one of three people to win the two major international awards. For "lasting contribution to children's literature" she won the biennial Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing in 1998, and for her career contribution to "children's and young adult literature in the broadest sense," she won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award from the Swedish Arts Council in 2006, the biggest prize in children's literature. She was awarded the 2007 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature and was the second U.S. National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, from 2010 to 2011. Most recently, Paterson received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal from the American Library Association in 2013.

Monday, December 4 at 6:30 PM: Neil Patrick Harris: The Magic Misfits

Join Emmy Award-winning actor, magician, director and author Neil Patrick Harris for a magical evening celebrating his middle-grade debut novel, The Magic Misfits. This delightful book takes the reader on a whirlwind adventure of family, friendship and illusion sprinkled with real magic tips and tricks!

Sunday, February 4 at 3 PM: Judy Blumesday - Kids!

In celebration of Judy Blume's 80th birthday, we pay tribute to this beloved author with a day full of events for fans of all ages. Starting at 3 PM, kids 8 and up are invited to an afternoon of readings by actors and a discussion with contemporary authors. Wrapping up with a writing prompt and Q&A, you just might be inspired to write your own Judy Blume story! Ages 8-12

Tickets are $17 each ($14 for Symphony Space members and groups). Visit www.symphonyspace.org/events/series/96/thalia-kids-book-club for details. Symphony Space is located at 2537 Broadway, New York, NY 10025 (Upper West Side, at 95th Street). To order Thalia Kids' Book Club tickets, call (212) 864-5400 or email boxoffice@symphonyspace.org.