CANNON BEACH – Children’s author Lois Harris will discuss her biography about American painter Mary Cassatt during the Cannon Beach Library Club meeting at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3, in the Community Presbyterian Church, 132 E. Washington St.

The meeting is open to the public. Harris will sign her book following the meeting, and Valerie Ryan, of the Cannon Beach Book Company, will offer books for sale.

“Mary Cassatt: Impressionist Painter” is a book for young readers. The biography tells how, as a child in Pennsylvania, she dreamed of being a famous painter. But the year was 1855, and women artists were few. Through words, photographs and paintings by Cassatt, Degas and others, the book illustrates how Cassatt overcame many obstacles to become America’s greatest impressionist painter.

Harris grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., where she spent many Saturdays at the Brooklyn Art Museum. A member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, she graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing. Her fiction, nonfiction and photos have appeared in Highlights, Hopscotch, Fun for Kidz and My Friend magazines. This is her first book.

She says on her Web site (www.loisharris.net) that in 1999 she became interested in Mary Cassatt after attending the Seattle Art Museum’s exhibit on Impressionism, where she saw a Cassatt painting.

“I was captivated by her artistic ability,” she says. “In 2002, I bought a book of stamps featuring a Mary Cassatt painting. Something tingled in my brain as I studied the image, and I wanted to know more about Mary Cassatt. I visited many libraries and read books about Mary’s life and saw pictures of her beautiful artwork.” Harris, who lives in Anacortes, Wash., decided she wanted young readers to learn more about Cassatt, too. Her book was published by Pelican Publishing Company in 2007.

For more information, contact Dick Frank, library manager, at (503) 436-1391.