Charles R. Smith Jr. is a photographer and children’s book author. Many of his books such as “Hoop Kings,” “Hoop Queens,” “Tall Tales” and “Short Takes” focus on basketball.

Smith said he tries to emphasize how important it is to plant the seed of dreams so kids can see that anything they want to achieve they can achieve.

At the festival, he will do a presentation on how he “went from a student with dreams to a photographer to a children’s book author.”

Smith tells young authors, illustrators and photographers to “focus on work ethic.”

He currently lives in Poughkeepsie, New York with his wife, Gillian, and three kids, Sabine, Adrian and Sebastian.

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Charles R. Smith Jr. at the 2008 National Book Festival