Children’s author Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo, who writes books about kids discovering their inner bravery, will present a free book talk on Saturday, Feb. 29 at 1 p.m. at the Tolland Public Library at 21 Tolland Green.
The talk, which is part of the Tolland Public Library Foundation’s Eaton-Dimock-King Authors Series, is free, but registration is required. To register, call the library at 860-871-3620 or visit tolland.org/library.
A representative of RJ Julia Booksellers will be on hand to sell books, which Ferruolo will sign.
A resident of Ellington, Ferruolo is the author of “Ruby in the Sky” and the just-released “A Galaxy of Sea Stars.” Her books are middle grade books aimed at children aged 8 to 12.
“Ruby” was a Washington Post KidsPost Summer Book Club selection that won the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ work-in-progress award, the Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award and the New Voices in Children’s Literature: Tassy Walden Award.
It explored the story of Ruby Moon Hayes, a 12-year-old girl new to Vermont who just wanted to keep to herself. She found that wasn’t easy once a Syrian refugee and a reclusive neighbor each befriended her.
Ferruolo’s latest book is about family, loyalty and the hard choices we face in the name of friendship. It features the tale of 11-year-old Izzy Vitale of Seaside, Rhode Island, who wishes her father would act like he did before he was deployed to Afghanistan. Challenges ensue when he invites his former Army interpreter from Afghanistan and his family, including 11-year-old Sitara, to relocate to Seaside.
Ferruolo is a volunteer with IRIS, the Integrated Immigrant & Refugee Services in New Haven. She has served as a public defender, taught high school English in Czechoslovakia and worked for Sam Gejdenson when he was a Congressman.

Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo