Romeoville Resident Publishing Second Children's Book

ROMEOVILLE, IL — Romeoville resident and author Megan Deliberto will soon publish her second children's book, "Bruno's Best Birthday."

Deliberto, who has lived in Romeoville since 2006, published her first book, "No Place for a Lizard," last year. That book has been granted the gold award from Mom's Choice Awards for family-friendly media, she told Patch.

Pre-sale for "Bruno's Best Birthday" began on Tuesday.

Over the past year, Deliberto said she has been visiting Romeoville schools and surrounding communities.

"I did not realize when I first received my publishing contract that school visits would become such an integral part of my life," she said. "They have quickly become my favorite part of being an author. There is nothing more gratifying than sharing my stories with children and seeing their excitement over books."

Deliberto will be a featured author at the American Library Association conference on Saturday and the Association of Illinois School Library Educators conference in October.

"Bruno's Best Birthday" has already received a 5-star review from Readers' Favorite, she shared with Patch.

Her newest story follows Anthony, the bearded dragon, around the zoo as he attempts to organize a birthday party for his best friend Bruno, a polar bear. However, no one except Anthony has ever found a way into Bruno's exhibit.

The book features characters like Sophia the giraffe, Donovan the spider monkey, Grayson the elephant, and Dylan the dolphin.

"These new characters are inspired by my niece and nephews," Deliberto said. "When 'No Place for a Lizard' was released, my nephew Donovan asked if he could be in the next book, and since it was near his birthday, I envisioned a book that included all four of them and a birthday party."

Deliberto said she found this book much easier to write. After her nephew's request, she was able to write out the story from beginning to end that evening.

"It was a very rough draft, but it was all there. I can't really explain it other than it was as if the story was already written, and I was just the conduit," she told Patch.

Deliberto also already had an established relationship with a publisher and illustrator, Tiemoko Sylla, who has illustrated both of Deliberto's books.

"From start to finish, this book took about 6 months to bring to life," she said.

Deliberto said the books are currently in production, and should be available by the end of summer. Future launch events may be held at Three Stories Books in Lemont, Bronkberry Farms in Plainfield and Countryside Village in Braidwood.

Deliberto will also be a vendor at RomeoFest on Aug. 5, and is hopeful that the books arrive in time to officially launch "Bruno's Best Birthday" during Romeoville's largest community event.