The grand re-opening week of Blue Manatee bookstore gets topped off with a visit from Loren Long and Jake Speed! Join them for a very special story and song time.

Loren Long is the author and illustrator of the New York Times bestselling picture books Otis, Otis and the Tornado, Otis and the Puppy, An Otis Christmas and Otis and the Scarecrow. He is the #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator of President Barack Obama’s picture book Of Thee I Sing, the re-illustrated edition of The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper, and Mr. Peabody’s Apples by Madonna. Loren’s Little Tree, is a picture book for all ages. He has most recently illustrated Good Day, Good Night by Margaret Wise Brown and Love by Newbery Medalist, Matt de la Peña.

Jake Speed is a two-time winner of the CEA for Best Songwriter (2002, 2006). Known as the Woody Guthrie of Cincinnati, Jake Speed uses a traditional folksy delivery to compose timely and timeless songs that tell great stories with a bit of a lyrical edge.