Jarrett & Jerome Pumphrey | The Old Boat
What:
We are THRILLED to host our dear friends Jarrett & Jerome Pumphrey to launch their new book The Old Boat. They will appear virtually in conversation with Jordan Scott & Sydney Smith, the creators of I Talk Like a River.
- This event is free to attend, but registration is required. You can register for the event here. Once you register, you will receive an invitation to join the event.
- NOTE: Because this is a virtual event that will be hosted on Zoom, you will need access a computer or other device that is capable of accessing the internet at a sufficient bandwidth. If you have not used Zoom before, don't worry: It's easy! Here's a quick reference guide to help you get oriented: Getting Started with Zoom
- You can participate in the special pre-order campaign for The Old Boat and get some amazing swag. Details here!
When:
Tuesday, March 2, 2021, 5:00pm Central time
We work hard to bring events to our community for free, because connecting readers with authors is central to our mission. But these programs are not free for us to put on! If you’re interested in attending this event, we hope you’ll consider purchasing a signed copy of The Old Boat or I Talk Like a River from our bookshop. Your support is critical to keeping us here and offering events like this, and we hope to do that for many years to come!
Blue Willow Bookshop expects all participants to maintain an atmosphere of respect and fairness. Any comments or questions that violate this standard of behavior including any form of harassment, may, at the discretion of the organizers, be immediately removed.
About the Authors:
Jarrett Pumphrey is an author/illustrator and the former CEO of a tech startup. Originally from Houston, he now lives in Austin, Texas.
Jerome Pumphrey is an illustrator and a graphic designer at The Walt Disney Company. Originally from Houston, he now lives in Austin, Texas.
About the Conversational Partners:
Jordan Scott is a poet whose work includes Silt, Blert, DECOMP, and Night & Ox. Blert, which explores the poetics of stuttering, is the subject of two National Film Board of Canada projects, Flub and Utter: a poetic memoir of the mouth and STUTTER. Scott was the recipient of the 2018 Latner Writers' Trust Poetry Prize for his contributions to Canadian poetry. I Talk Like a River is Scott's first book for children. He lives in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island with his wife and two sons.
Sydney Smith is an illustrator of picture books whose work includes Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson; The White Cat and the Monk by Jo Ellen Bogart; and Town Is by the Sea by Joanne Schwartz, which was awarded the 2018 Kate Greenaway Medal and the 2018 Children's Literature Award. He both wrote and illustrated Small in the City, which Kirkus Reviews called Extraordinary, emotional, and beautifully rendered. in a starred review. School Library Journal said The use of line, reflection, and perspective masterfully evoke a bustling gray city. in another starred review. Travis Jonker of 100 Scope Notes, a School Library Journal blog, said Small in the City is one of my favorite books of 2019. His accolades include two Governor General's Awards for Illustrated Children's Books and four successive New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year citations.
Ordering:
Payment type must be "CreditCard." Shipping will be charged if you want the book shipped to you. If you'd prefer to use our curbside pickup program, we ask that you please collect your book(s) within one month of the event date. After that date, your book will be donated to a Houston-based literacy organization.
International shipping will be $35.00.

The creators of The Old Truck set sail with an old boat and an evocative, intricately crafted exploration of home and family.
Off a small island,
an old boat sets sail
and a young boy
finds home.

Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award
What if words got stuck in the back of your mouth whenever you tried to speak? What if they never came out the way you wanted them to?
Sometimes it takes a change of perspective to get the words flowing.
A New York Times Best Children's Book of the Year