Book Talk with Susan Kassirer and Mark Richardson

A book that has been quietly enchanting children since 1966 is about to be new again.

Magic Elizabeth by Norma Kassirer first appeared from The Viking Press and has been carried since by Scholastic, Knopf and HarperCollins. The Collective Book Studio is reissuing it, the same house that published Kassirer's The Knitting Witch in 2024 and sold out its first printing. This edition comes with brand new full-color illustrations by Mark Richardson of Sandy Hook.

Susan Kassirer, the author's daughter, and Mark Richardson will both be at the library to talk about the book and sign copies. She will also make the case for why it has lasted: a place in The New York Times Parents Guide to the Best Books for Children, nearly 500 five-star ratings and more than 200 reviews across Goodreads and Amazon, and a hold on young readers that has not loosened in sixty years.

Good to know. Free, 2:00pm to 4:00pm in the Gathering Room, and registration is open. All ages welcome.

Where to go. The C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street, Newtown.

Before you go. The library's own listing gives the date as Saturday, November 14, while the description carried on that page still reads Sunday, October 16th, which is left over from an earlier announcement. The November 14 date is the one on the calendar entry. Confirm with the library on 203-426-4533 before you travel. Details change, and listings here are compiled from information published by the venue and provided as is, without warranty of any kind. Community Stroll is not the organizer of this event and accepts no responsibility or liability for any loss, cost, injury or disappointment arising from errors, changes or cancellations, or from your attendance.