SLCL Hosts Children's Author John Rocco, Today

The St. Louis County Library Foundation's Reading Garden Event Series presents a special event with children's book writer John Rocco on Tuesday, May 28, 7:00 p.m. at Library Headquarters, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd in Ladue. Rocco will read and sign his latest book, "Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom."

Copies of the author's books will be for sale at the event from Left Bank Books. The program is free and open to the public.

Every super hero gets his powers from somewhere. The young hero of this book, Rocco, thinks his abilities come from his shock of red hair, and the longer it gets, the stronger he becomes.

He even has a posse of super friends with wild hair of their own. Our hero is unstoppableuntil the day he's dragged to the super evil villain's lair and robbed of his powers. How will he face his friends? Will he ever regain his super hero-ness? A girl who has been watching all along offers the gang a chance to save the day and get their groove back.

With bold images that burst with energy from white backgrounds and narration as earnest as Superman himself, "Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom" is a feel-good and funny book for emergent comic book fans and parents who grew up on them.

John Rocco studied illustration at Rhode Island School of Design and The School of Visual Arts. In addition to writing and illustrating four of his own picture books, including the Caldecott Honor-winning and New York Times bestselling Blackout, he has created all of the cover art for Rick Riordan's best-selling Percy Jackson, Kane Chronicles, and Heroes of Olympus series. He has also illustrated books by Whoopi Goldberg and Katherine Patterson. Before becoming a full-time children's book creator, he worked as an art director on "Shrek" for Dreamworks, and for Disney Imagineering. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter.

St. Louis County Library Foundation's Reading Garden Event Series hosts free family events with authors and musicians. Sponsors include Commerce Bank, Companion, and the Sara Guth Costigan Memorial Fund.

Program sites are accessible. Upon two weeks notice, accommodations will be made for persons with disabilities. Contact St. Louis County Library by phone 314-994-3300 or visit http://www.slcl.org.