Arthur and Adrienne Yorinks will be among the authors and illustrators at the 1999 Connecticut Children's Book Fair.

The fair, to be held November 13 and 14 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the Bishop Center, started in 1992 as an event to encourage children and their parents to expand their imaginations through children's books.

Sixteen well known authors and artists will give short presentations and autograph books at the event. Children will have the opportunity to have their photographs taken with storybook characters including Maisy, George and Martha, Rotten Ralph, Clifford the Big Red Dog and Lyle the Crocodile. They will also be able to participate in puppetry workshops and storytelling sessions.

"We have a spectacular lineup of authors and illustrators this year," says Suzanne Staubach, manager of the general books division for the UConn Coop and co-chair of the fair. "We look forward to the crowds of children, parents and book collectors who come to hear the talks and see the books of authors and illustrators. I hope they meet authors they've already known and loved and discover new favorites."

Arthur and Adrienne Yorinks, who are married, have collaborated on a new book, The Alphabet Atlas, published by Winslow Press. Vibrant quilts crafted by Adrienne Yorinks help introduce children to selected countries (from A to Z) around the world. Each illustration is accompanied by a fact about the country. Jeanyee Wong provides the letter art.

Arthur Yorinks has authored 16 children's books including Hey, Al, winner of the 1987 Caldecott award; Louis the Fish, a Reading Rainbow main selection; Bravo Minski, Oh, Brother, and Company's Coming. His blend of offbeat stories and humorous illustrations have earned him accolades. Born in New York, Yorinks was exposed to an eclectic assortment of the arts as a child: symphonies and art galleries in New York City, comic books, and 19th-century novels. His career has also been wide ranging: he has written opera librettos, ballets, plays and film scripts. He and children's author Maurice Sendak recently co-founded The Night Kitchen, a new theater company.

Adrienne Yorinks is a celebrated artist. Fabric is her medium, and her quilts have been shown throughout the U.S. and around the world. Blending traditional and modern styles, her work has garnered many citations and awards. Her commissions include a commemorative work for the City University of New York's 150th anniversary. She illustrated a children's book, Stand for Children by Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund. Stand for Children was illustrated with photographs of miniature quilts that Yorinks created just for the book.

Other authors and illustrators featured at the book fair include: Holly Berry, Gail Gauthier, Sally Mavor, Alexi Natchev, Richard Egielski, Wendell Minor, Jane Dyer, Lynn Reiser, Iris Van Rynbach, Floyd Cooper, Jean Craighead George, Anita Lobel, Susan Meddaugh and Walter Wick.

Proceeds from the book sale support the Northeast Children's Literature Collections in the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center. The collections include more than 14,000 catalogued children's books and serials, and the manuscript archives of 40 authors and illustrators.

For more information call (800) U-READ-IT.

Sherry Fisher