Roundabout Books is pleased to host seven authors in a series of free online and in-person events, whose books have been selected for the Oregon Battle of the Books 2025-2026 annual reading motivational program for kids in 3rd – 12th grade across Oregon.
These events provide children with an opportunity to meet and connect with the authors of the books they are reading to gain additional insights into the authors’ motivations for their books as well as fun stories about how they became writers. Participants in the events will have the opportunity to ask questions of the authors.
Event Schedule:
| Date | Time | OBOB Title | Author | Cost | Zoom or In Person |
10/6/25 | 5:00 PM | OBOB: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library (3rd-5th) | Chris Grabenstein | FREE | Zoom |
| 10/7/25 | 5:00 PM | OBOB: Finding Langston (3rd-5th) | Lesa Cline Ransome | FREE | Zoom |
| 10/7/25 | 6:00 PM | OBOB: The Lost Library (3rd-5th) | Rebecca Stead | FREE | Zoom |
| 10/14/25 | 5:00 PM | OBOB: Elf Dog and Owl Head (3rd-5th) | M.T. Anderson | FREE | Zoom |
| 10/20/25 | 6:00 PM | OBOB: The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Manor (3rd-5th) | Elaine Dimopoulos | FREE | Zoom |
| 11/10/25 | 6:00 PM | OBOB: Better with Butter (3rd-5th) | Victoria Piontek | FREE | Zoom |
| 11/20/25 | 6:30 PM | OBOB: Just Like Click (3rd-5th) | Sandy Grubb | FREE | RAB in store |
All online and in-person events are FREE but registration is required so that Zoom links and event information can be shared. RSVP here for any of the OBOB events or call the store at 541-306-6564. Events will be held online via Zoom or at Roundabout Books & Cafe in Bend. For further information, please contact Roundabout Books’ Event Manager, Julie Swearingen, at julie@roundaboutbookshop.com.
Chris Grabenstein is the multiple award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Lemoncello, Wonderland, Haunted Mystery, Smartest Kid, and Dog Squad series. He co-authored the acclaimed Shine! and the super silly Stinky’s Stories with his wife J.J. Grabenstein as well as nearly three dozen fast-paced and funny page turners with James Patterson including the I Funny, Jacky Ha-ha, Treasure Hunters, and Max Epstein series.
Lesa Cline Ransome is the award-winning author of numerous non-fiction and historical fiction titles for picture book, chapter book, middle grade and young adult readers. Her work has been named to ALA Notable Books and Bank Street Best Children’s Book lists among other prestigious honors and awards.
Rebecca Stead didn’t think she could be a writer, so she became a lawyer instead, who dreamed of writing. And then, one day, she went to a bookstore (an independent bookstore) and bought some books that she remembered loving as a kid. Not long after that, she began to write and twenty years later, ha written nine books for young people including When You Reach Me, winner of the Newbery Medal and the Boston Globe/Horn Book Fiction Award, and a New York Times Notable book for Children; and Liar & Spy, Guardian Children’s Fiction Prizewinner, Carnegie Medal finalist (UK), and New York Times Notable Book for Children.
M. T. Anderson has written stories for adults, picture books for children, adventure novels for young readers, graphic novel adaptations of ancient French tales, and several books for older readers (both teens and adults). His satirical book Feed was a Finalist for the National Book Award and was the winner of the L.A. Times Book Prize. Both Time Magazine and National Public Radio have included it on their lists of the best 100 YA novels of all time. Anderson’s fantasy about a magical dog in the hills of Vermont, Elf Dog & Owl Head, was a Newbery Honor book for 2023.
Elaine Dimopoulos is the critically acclaimed author of four novels for children: The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow and the forthcoming Perilous Performance at Milkweed Meadow, middle grade animal adventure stories illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Doug Salati. Turn the Tide, her middle grade novel-in-verse inspired by real-world environmental activism, won the Cadmus Children’s Fiction Green Earth Book Award. She is also the author of the young adult dystopia, Material Girls, which critiques fast fashion and consumer culture. Elaine served as the Associates of the Boston Public Library Writer-in-Residence and has taught writing at Simmons University and GrubStreet.
Victoria Piontek is the author of The Spirit of Cattail County (Scholastic Press, 2018), a ghostly story of magic and friendship set in the Everglades, a Bank Street College Best Book of the Year (2019) and selected for the Sequoyah Children’s Masterlist (2019-2020). She is also a Literary Associate for Executive Agent Laura Rennert at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hollins University, and an MST in Education from Pace University. Her newest novel, Better with Butter, is about a twelve-year-old girl struggling with anxiety and the fainting goat that changes her life.
Sandy Grubb has been writing children’s stories since she was a child herself, fine-tuning her talents when she became serious about publishing. In 2022, Sandy’s manuscript Just Like Click won the esteemed Kraken Book Prize, recognizing finely crafted middle grade fiction and resulting in a publishing contract with Fitzroy Books, the children’s imprint of Regal House Publishing. The book is a superhero story about friendship, belonging, and self-discovery. In a prior life, Sandy Grubb was an elementary school teacher.
Roundabout Books & Cafe is a full-service independent bookstore, located in the heart of Bend’s Northwest Crossing Community. The staff takes tremendous pride in their highly curated selection of new adult and children’s books. Local Bend resident, Cassie Clemans, founded Roundabout Books with a vision of enhancing the life of our community by providing a warm and comfortable literary space where people of all ages are welcome to read, browse, shop for books, meet a friend, or enjoy an event.
The Oregon Battle of the Books is a statewide voluntary reading motivation and comprehension program sponsored by the Oregon Association of School Libraries in conjunction with a Library Services and Technology Act grant. Students in 3rd-12th grade, regardless of ability, are exposed to quality literature representing a variety of literary styles and viewpoints.
OBOB’s mission is to encourage and recognize students who enjoy reading, to broaden reading interests, to increase reading comprehension, promote academic excellence, and to promote cooperative learning and teamwork among students.
This story is based on submitted information and has not been verified by our news team.
This article appears in the Source August 28, 2025.
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