MotherReader

On Monday morning, I was so tired that I didn’t think I’d make it to one more day at ALA. But my teen encouraged me to go, reminding me how much I would enjoy being around my friends. Boy, does she ever know me well.

I knew there would be a slower pace on Monday, with a little more time with friends and authors, and more relaxed time to explore the booths. Running a bit behind schedule, I quickly made my way to Tanita Davis’ signing of Mare’s War. We chatted for a bit before we realized that we could meet over lunch for a more extended visit. That much better plan allowed me time to see E.B. Lewis and get a copy of Jackie’s Gift. I wish I had brought my copy of The Negro Speaks of Rivers, but I did get to tell him how much I loved his work in that book. And then it was over to Candlewick to get a copy of Roger Sutton’s A Family of Readers. Can’t wait to read it!

Though I had seen Grace Lin all weekend, I really wanted her to sign my copy of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. I was lucky to find that her signing — actually for a different book — wasn’t too crowded, which allowed me to get a picture and give her a necklace I made as a little gift. And a hug, because she’s the sweetest lady in the world. Later, when I went back to that booth an editor there told me how touching it had been to see our meeting, which made me feel good for having brought a tiny bit of happiness into what had to be a long day for those booth workers. Yup, I’m a giver.

I checked back with Tanita, where she had gathered other friends for a lunch break. I was happy to spend some extra time with Laura Purdie Salas, Kelly Fineman, and Charlotte Taylor. Tanita’s mom had come to town as well, and was delightful and so proud of her daughter — as she should be. Tanita’s husband David was the trip photographer, capturing this happy picture of us. We had a nice time visiting, and I was sorry not to be able to spend more time with this fun group, but they were all headed their separate ways, and I had a few more folks to see.


Specifically, I was headed to a signing of Will Grayson Will Grayson, by John Green and David Levithan. The signing on Sunday had an outrageous line, but this one from BWI hadn’t been promoted, so I was able to get through the line pretty quickly. The distributer was giving away free copies, which attracted a different sort of people. Namely, the people who wanted free books, whatever they were. Instead of getting to gab with fellow Nerdfighters, I found myself behind a rather cranky lady who didn’t know anything about the book and was annoyed that the wait was so long. If she hadn’t been like seventy years old, I might have smacked her. I didn’t have much time with the authors, of course, but I did pick up the free copy and had the one I had purchased signed as well. (Which led the irritable lady to ask how I got two books. Le sigh.)

Then it was over to the Charlesbridge booth to to chat with Emily Mitchell — editor and blogger of Emily Reads — and get my copy of The Day-Glo Brothers signed by Chris Barton. As we talked, I found that Walter Dean Myers was signing at the next booth. Surprisingly, there was no line at all, so I picked up a copy of Looking Like Me and we chatted about kids today. I suggested that his son seemed to have grown up okay, having illustrated the book I was buying. He liked that. I was able afterward to pick up a copy of Anything but Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin — a book I really enjoyed — and make a very specific compliment to the book. I’ve heard authors like that.

Now it was about 2:00 and I was beginning to fade. I was taking a quick walk through as some booths were starting to unload their display copies, and stumbled on two more signings. The first was a book by Joyce Sidman that I liked, but never got around to buying — partially because it’s kind of sad. But seeing illustrator Pamela Zagarenski signing, it seemed like the right time to take home This Is Just to Say. The second surprise signing was Lane Smith for It’s a Book. Actually, there were a couple of surprises there. A free tote bag, and the last line of the book. Oh, you’ll see.

At that point, my bag was full and I was ready to head home. On the Metro ride back, I realized that people approached ALA in different ways. Some were there for the sessions, of course. Some were excited to see the different award presentations. Others wanted to get as many books as they possibly could, while still others went to hang out with a group of friends. For me, I wanted to meet as many authors and bloggers and librarians as I could, especially the ones I knew online. The signings certainly made it easier to find authors, but I also enjoyed spotting them “in the wild” of the exhibit floor. I even approached a few that way. The whole time there I was also running into fellow bloggers, and even a few MotherReader fans. Overall, it was one of the best weekends I’ve had in a long time, and I’m only sorry that I couldn’t extend my time to enjoy the Printz Awards on Monday evening and Coretta Scott King Awards on Tuesday morning. But my real life was calling, and it was calling collect.

When we last left our heroine, she was headed to the Convention Center bathroom to let a black silk top (finally, a chance to wear it), Prada shoes (bought on eBay!) and a feathered fascinator (yeah, a new word for me too) make her fancy for the big night...

I headed to the hotel in conversation with Jenny Schwartzberg and with a book-fiiled suitcase taking up my legroom in the cramped shuttle. After checking the hefty bag, I was ready to make the rounds at cocktail hour. I quickly ran into Jennie, who challenged my fascinator with her most awesome one. That alone would have forced us together for the rest of the evening. We found many other kidlitosphere folk and many impressive authors and illustrators as the party got started. As we got closer to the magic hour, we hovered close to the entrance to the banquet room. Apparently, when the ropes came down there would be a running of the librarians that we needed to join if we wanted a prime seat.
It was our preparation that put us in a good place to snag a table with fellow morning presenters Travis and Liz, plus bonus fellow blogger Adrienne. I took pictures of them, but I was using my daughter’s camera, with apparently all the wrong settings. Sorry. But I do have one — or can lift one — of Grace Lin’s buddies from The Blue Rose Girls — Anna Alter, Alvina Ling, Elaine Magliaro, Libby Koponen, and Meghan McCarthy. I should have sat down and actually visited, but I was in mom mode, making sure that everyone had a seat.

Susan Kusel had helpfully arranged a huge table buyout, so we were guaranteed good company all around. A table over from mine included Tanita Davis — I mean, Coretta Scott King Honor Award winner Tanita Davis — and her husband David, who had a awesome camera, by the way. Many of the poetry crew sat there, including Sara Lewis Holmes, Kelly Fineman (pictured), Laura Salas, and Tricia Stohr-Hunt, with occasional visitor Joyce Sidman. I mean, Caldecott Honor Award winner Joyce Sidman.

I believe it was this cheerful group who alerted me to an improbable alignment, when the table in front of me — yes, even the seat in front of me — was occupied by one Mo Willems. Unbelievable, but true.

He was very gracious in his greeting, and was only mildly annoyed when I almost blinded him with my stupid camera flash settings. He doodled at times during the presentation, and I know this because he was in my eyeline during the whole speech thing.







You see, my view of the stage was this:

But if I looked to the JumboTron screen, I saw this:

Which means I pretty much couldn’t help but be looking toward Mo the entire time that people were talking. Oh, and I had tried to be so good this conference in repairing my stalker image. I hadn’t gone to his signings, I didn’t go to the book cart drill that he was emceeing. But yet, here he was so close that I could have flicked butter pats at him all night. Not that I did. That totally wasn’t me.

There were indeed speeches from Caldecott winner Jerry Pinkney and Newbery winner Rebecca Stead. The speeches were contained on the CDs on our table, and we had a lovely program designed in the theme of The Lion & the Mouse. Given our long kidlitosphere connection with Grace Lin, our tables were particularly enthusiastic about her chance to accept the Newbery Honor award. (Read her lovely version.)

There was a receiving line at the conclusion of the banquet, but since I had said something to all of the winners at some point during the weekend, I decided to hang around and socialize. Besides, those open bottles of wine left on the publishers’ tables weren’t going to drink themselves. (Kidding! maybe...) I was able to say a quick hello to Holly Black, Jon Scieszka, and Tobin Anderson. I found myself in a conversation with Charles R. Smith, the photographer for My People, after saying, approximately, “Who are you?” Because I’m subtle like that.

At that point my chariot was about to turn into a pumpkin, meaning that Metro stops running at midnight, so it was time to go. As will happen, it took longer to get out and all than we thought, and Jennie was soooo kind to drive me to my car at the King Street station. (I owe you a scone at the next book club meeting!)

I’m visiting my mom, brother, and niece in Virginia Beach right now, which is making it harder to finish my ALA recap. Especially since I shouldn’t even have Internet access at my mom’s house, but by some wireless miracle I’m online. But the access is inconsistent and the beach is calling, so rather than work up the extensive post I need to do on the uber-exciting Newbery/Caldecott banquet, we’re taking an intermission with this awesome video done by Katie Davis. And I’m not saying it’s fantastic because I’m in it — though I am, and I rock it — but because her question was a perfect way to elicit interesting responses from some notable children’s and young adult authors. Enjoy!

Yes, my presentation, Children’s and Young Adult Book Blogs: Enhancing Library Services, was at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. Which meant that for my part, I couldn’t guess whether I’d see two people in the audience or two hundred. It turned out to be pretty much in the middle, with about 130 people.

Doing the presentation with Liz Burns and Travis Jonker made it fun. We had a few laughs, and I hope that we all learned a thing or two. For instance, I learned that the Metro doesn’t open until 7:00 a.m. on Sunday. Seriously, Liz and Travis made for a fabulous team, and I think that we did a great job. The slide show is available at SlideShare and the handout will be posted at KidLitosphere Central.

After our session, I raced to the exhibit hall to see if I could catch some of my priority author signings. I was running late after visiting with some of the folks who came to our presentation, but I did get two of my books signed in the ten o’clock hour: All the World, by Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee, and A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams, by Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet. I had nice things to say about both books, but I had a special connection to All the World, having been on the Cybils panel that put it through to the short list and rooted for its win.

The next hour was packed, but through some kindness of strangers I managed to get a lot more done than I should have expected. I got in line for Jerry Pinkney to sign The Lion & the Mouse and was assigned number fifty. The signing was taking a bit to get started, so I asked the nice man in line behind me if he would mind if I ran over to a signing one aisle over. He was fine with it, so I scooted over to get Tom Angleberger to sign my ARC copy of The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. When I went back to the Pinkney line, it had barely moved. So I asked the man again if he minded if I stepped over to get one more signing. Since he didn’t mind, I waited to meet Barbara O’Connor in person — after years of loving her books — and get two books signed: her new title in ARC form, The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester, and How to Steal a Dog. We talked just long enough that I began to worry about my Pinkney line, but I got back in plenty of time and was happy to tell him how much I loved the book.

My next hour was free for lunch, and I just happened to run into three friends of mine from my old library. We grabbed a bite to eat down the block, and I came back in time to pick up Countdown from Deborah Wiles. Then it was off to Charlesbridge to catch Mitali Perkins signing Bamboo People. Mitali was doing a fun thing, taking pictures of all the folks who stopped by with their favorite book of the day. I had dumped off my morning haul already, but had a copy of another ARC I was hoping to get signed during the day. Here I am, obviously, but head to Mitali’s blog to see many other familiar faces.

Another important signing on my agenda was Joyce Sidman and Pamela Zagarenski for Red Sings From Treetops. I had to share that I generally don’t buy poetry books, but that this one was so beautiful I had to have it. I told Joyce that I was so touched by every perfect, necessary word in her poems and told Pamela that I want to live in the world she draws. It was definite gushing, but I hope nicely done.

Okay, let’s blitz through the other signings. I saw Cynthia Lord for the ARC of Touch Blue, but also bought a paperback of Rules. I had Libba Bray sign my copy of Going Bovine, and also picked up a paperback copy of A Great and Terrible Beauty. I was excited to tell Francisco Stork how much I loved Marcelo in the Real World, and was happy to get a copy of Holly Cupala’s Tell Me a Secret.

Amidst the signings, I was looking at the new books, talking to the marketing folks, running into bloggers and authors. I picked up a few ARCs, but very few. Also, my scarf got a lot of compliments. Best book-related accessory in existence. Expect to see a lot of them at your next book event.

I passed on the book cart event to quietly wander the aisles and then to repack my suitcase of books. The Convention Center bathroom served well to make my preparations for the Newbery/Caldecott dinner. My bag was packed, my energy was high, and I was ready for the big night.

Best. Weekend. Ever.

I have been looking forward to the American Library Association conference because going to ALA is always a blast. But not being an actual librarian needing to go to actual meetings, I can rarely justify crossing the country to attend. But — hello? — when it’s in my backyard, then of course I’m going to be there. Still better this year was the collection of authors and illustrators winning awards, because lots of those were kidlitosphere folk. And I was giving my first big presentation. And I was going to the Newbery/Caldecott dinner. A recipe for a perfect weekend.

But let’s start back at the beginning. I missed the Friday evening activities — including the Kid Lit Drink Night — to attend my tween’s dance recital. She had another one on Saturday morning where she was singing as well as dancing, so my Saturday ALA experience started off slowly. I went to the convention center to pick up my badge, and decided I had time for three quick book signings — as opposed to the ten I’d listed on my Saturday plan.

I was in time to get a copy of The Night Fairy, by Laura Amy Schlitz. I have the ARC and loved the book, but was excited to get the copy with full color illustrations. There I ran into Betsy Bird — on crutches from her earlier ankle injury. I had meant to bring Kate Messner’s book The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. with me, but was pleased to find that I could get an ARC of Sugar and Ice signed by her. It was a pleasure to meet someone that I’ve only seen online.

My highest priority signing of the day was of When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead. I had met Rebecca at a NYC Kid Lit Drink Night years ago, and we had such a great conversation. I was more than happy to read and review her debut book, First Light. At another NYC trip, another Kid Lit Drink Night, we talked about her upcoming book — which turned out to be this Newbery Winner. I couldn’t be happier for this honor to go to such a wonderful person, and I wanted to make sure I saw her at her signing because I knew that she would be one busy lady during the conference. And indeed, I never saw her again. I mean, other than on stage accepting her medal. Yeah!

After that very brief time at the convention hall, I went to the lovely home of Tami Lewis Brown, where she was hosting a tea for Children’s Literature Ambassador Katherine Paterson. As soon as I entered the party outside, I found myself in conversation with Mrs. Paterson and M. T. Anderson. I don’t remember what we talked about, but it wasn’t fangirl gushing. I was in a prime placement for people arriving to the party, so I was able to give lots of hugs as my kidlitosphere friends arrived. At some point I circulated away, so as not to dominate the coveted space around both Katherine Paterson and M.T. Anderson. I do try to be good.

I’m not sure how I can even list all the authors and kidlit bloggers that I saw during those couple of hours. The guest list could have been plucked from my Facebook friends — which was the coolest thing ever. One big highlight was meeting Grace Lin for the first time in person. I’ve commented on her blog and reviewed her books for years. I gushed so much love for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon that I should have been collecting kickbacks. To meet her for real was simply wonderful, and the sweetness that rings through in her blogs and books was just as evident in her face.

I was also extremely happy to meet another online friend whose book I adored: Liz Garton Scanlon, author of All the World. She was absolutely charming, and I gushed a bit about the book, but I think in a normal-person way. As opposed to my meeting with Nancy Werlin, where I went all fangirl and even quizzed her on the titles of her own books so that I could remember which one I wanted to rave about — because that’s cool. (It was The Rules of Survival , but the recent book Rules of Attraction kept blocking the title for me.)

Lots of members of my DC Kidlit Book Club were there, including the founder Susan Kusel, Sara Lewis Holmes, Jama Rattigan, Caroline Hickey, Jacqueline Jules, Amy Brecount White (who gave me a ride to the metro, thanks!) and Julia Younkins. I chatted with friends I was seeing again — like Holly Cupala, Tricia Stohr-Hunt, Terry Doherty, Cheryl Klein, Cynthia Cotten, Alvina Ling and Kekla Magoon. I also met for the first time in real life Mary Quattlebaum, Laura Purdie Salas, Kelly Fineman, Carrie Jones, and Rita Williams Garcia. (If I left your name off and we had a long conversation and you’re reading this like, “Hey, what about me?” I have to beg your forgiveness, but this was a few days and hundred people ago, and it was amazing I pulled together this much information.)

While some bloggers headed out to a quiet dinner together, I went home to regroup for the big day on Sunday. A day that would start with my presentation at eight flippin’ o’clock in the morning and would end with the Newbery/Caldecott dinner.

It’s most definitely wrong to do a post looking forward when this week is all about wrapping up. But maybe it’s because I’m so submerged in wrapping-up activities that I can’t stand to write about it too. The school year is closing out... or dragging out, as seems a more appropriate phrasing. The last day is Thursday, and the teen has her big Geometry final tomorrow and the tween has her last day of literature circle on Wednesday. Wednesday! Nothing like squeezing in the last bits of learning into the overworked, summer-ready brains of these kids. Both girls are exhausted and more than ready for the summer break. Me, too.

I’m wrapping up the Girl Scout troop finances for the year — or would be if I could just get in the last registration checks from parents. I’m ready to send out 48 Hour Book Challenge prizes, if I can just find the packing tape. I’ve finished my mom’s surgical consultation, to find out how much can’t be done now. Closing the book on anything is frustrating today, so let’s talk about the future.

Not far in the future, mind you, but to the next weekend of American Library Association festivities. Ah, I can’t wait. I won’t be there for everything, but I have some great events marked off on my schedule. And the book signings! I can’t wait to bring my copies along and meet some of these fabulous authors and illustrators.

The high point for me will be the presentation I’m doing on Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. on Chidlren’s and Young Adult Book Blogs, with the idea being to share our incredible community with librarians. I’m working with Liz Burns and Travis Jonkers for a presentation that is going to be most excellent. Here’s the description:

Enhance collection development, keep current on trends and titles, and provide better readers’ advisory using the collective, valuable resource of book reviews, industry news, and author interviews of children’s and young adult literature blogs. Learn how to utilize this dynamic, online world of fiction and nonfiction, poetry and prose, picture books and teen titles, authors and illustrators, writing and reading, publishing insight and programming ideas.

Doesn’t that sound like something you’d want to attend? You betcha! Then I’ll probably hit the variety of book signings, spaced out with publisher booth visits. I have a list of the ones I’m going to try to make, but here are some highlights: (The ** mark denotes books I own; the * shows books that are being given away as ARCs.)

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

• Simon & Schuster, Inc. · booth 2644
  Liz Garton Scanlon, author, and Marla Frazee, illustrator: **All the World
  
• Eerdmans Books for Young Readers · booth 2612
  Jen Bryant, author, and Melissa Sweet, illustrator: **A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams
  
• Bloomsbury/Walker & Co. · booth 2800
  Jessica Day George, author: **Princess of Glass
  Carrie Jones, author: Captivate
  

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon

• Penguin Young Readers Group · booth 2500
  John Green and David Levithan, authors: **Will Grayson, Will Grayson
  
• Little, Brown and Company · booth 2713
  Jerry Pinkney, author/illustrator: **The Lion & the Mouse
  
• Abrams/Amulet/STC · booth 2732
  Tom Angleberger, author/illustrator: **The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
  
• Farrar Straus Giroux · booth 2816
  Barbara O’Connor, author: *The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester (arc)
  

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

• Charlesbridge Publishing · booth 2710
  Mitali Perkins, author: **Bamboo People
  
• Simon & Schuster, Inc. · booth 2644
  Brian Floca, author/illustrator: Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11
  Jon Scieszka, author: SPHDZ Book #1!
  
• Scholastic · booth 2624
  Deborah Wiles, author: Countdown
  

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

• Houghton Mifflin Harcourt · booth 3152
  Joyce Sidman, author, and Pamela Zagarenski, illustrator: **Red Sings From Treetops: A Year in Colors
  
• Scholastic · booth 2624
  Cythina Lord, author: *Touch Blue (arc)
  
• HarperCollins · booth 2512
  Amy Brecount White, author: Forget-Her-Nots
  

It’s difficult for me to even spend so much time on these book signings with the sessions I’ll be missing. I’m interested in the 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. session Notable Books for a Global Society Awards AASL and positively fascinated by the 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. session Not So Extreme Makeovers, which plans to “take a positive spin on those oft-depicted items in the library staff member’s closet — focusing on enhancement rather than change.” Love it. Of course there’s always the Sixth Annual Book Cart Drill Team Championship, as emceed by Jon Scieszka and Mo Willems.

That evening, I’ll be attending the Newbery/Caldecott Awards Banquet in the table-hopping vicinity of seventy KidLitosphere folk — bloggers and authors I’ve known online forever. Like all of the Blue Rose Girls, for example. So awesome.

I’m thinking that I’ll be bunking with someone on Sunday night so that I can make a day of it on Monday as well. There are some book signings to attend, but a lazier schedule which may allow me more time to visit. I would like to go to the ALSC Awards Presentation and Membership Meeting where they present the Batchelder, Carnegie, Geisel, and Sibert Awards. I don’t have a full pass that day, but can someone slip me in?

So who’s going? What are you most looking forward to? And most importantly, where will I find you?

I know, I went to Book Expo America and it was super fun. I met cool people, got great books, and hung out with friends. I have nothing to complain about, nothing to be jealous about... oh but I am! I am green with envy about all those blogging buddies who went to the American Library Association conference.

I may also be a little green around the gills from a low-grade stomach bug, but that’s another story.

Anyway, I was following Abby’s excitement on Twitter, which was a little like being at the conference and a little like listening in on a great phone call. She summed it up nicely with a similar feeling of glee. My favorite description was that after getting the ARC of Catching Fire, the “day was pretty much made already, and everything else was gravy. (If gravy was made of AWESOME, that is!)”

Following Liz on Twitter gave me more of the sense that the conference was work. Not that I don’t know that the Lizgirl can party like a rock star, but someone needed to remind me of the professional development side. Today Liz discusses in depth the issues surrounding Modernizing Selected List Portfolio, a.k.a. “Best Books for Young Adults List Is Like So Last Year.”

Travis took me on a journey through Part One, which included a sighting of the actual new Mo Willems book — and then hit me with Part Two, which included a report of chatting with Judy Blume at the Newbery Dinner. I hate Travis. (Kidding.)

There were so many posts from Betsy Bird that I gave up evaluating them on the basis of which made me most wish to be her. The Caldecott music video? The Kennedy vs. Gaiman Newbery Rumble videos? Oh, I know, the I-Wish-I-Could-Wear-That-Dress photo series.

But the one who puts me over the top in my green-with-envyness is Susan at Booklights, who describes talking to Neil Gaiman at length because she didn’t realize how totally MegaStar he is. And then there are all the photos of her with these amazing people — including Mr. Gaiman. Lady, you rule.

I am hoping to hear more about the book blogging session, which featured the interesting and amusing John Green. If you have some info from that session — particularly what discussion there may have been on blogs in children’s and teen literature — please write up a post. Or lend a few sentences here in the comments. Or both.

I’m not sure when else I’d link to a USA Today article unless it’s the first to tell me about the winners’ reactions.

After learning she had won, Schlitz still went to work at Baltimore’s Park School, where she has been a librarian for 17 years. “But I am wearing a plastic tiara,” Schlitz, 52, said Monday.

Selznick, 41, literally flew. “At 3:30 a.m., the phone rang and I jumped out of bed,” says the writer/illustrator. He flew from San Diego to New York to appear this morning with Schlitz on the Today show.

The Washington Post shares a little bit of extra information on the Newbery-winning book. It also features the worst slide show ever, given that there are two slides and one is a book cover. The new information, at least for me, was that the book was pulled from the slush pile, and that it was written, submitted, and awaiting publication while she was writing, submitting, and publishing two other books. Remember A Drowned Maiden’s Hair, anyone? A book that should have won a Newbery last year.

Fuse#8 is in the room with a detailed report of the ALA Media Awards. She’s also found the Today Show video and here it is, in all its annoying glory. OMG, does the interviewer not realize that authors can speak? TV Tip: Let the writers talk about their own books. You can almost see the thought flickering behind Selznick’s eyes, “I had to get up at 3:30 a.m. and fly to New York for this?”

Fuse also reminded me of something that I remembered, then forgot, and now with her help remembered again. Monica Edinger was on the Newbery committee, and she has been posting choice thoughts over at Educating Alice. Interesting stuff, very interesting.

If you wish you were in the room to hear the gasp when the Caldecott winner was announced (And yes, Zee, I could hear the gasp), Zee Says lets us join her at ALA with her post. She also provided the link to the videocast, in case you want to relive the award moments with bonus audience reaction. Or if you just want to hear the Hugo Cabret Whoop (yes, that’s what it’s called now), try the podcast over at Read Roger. It includes bonus behind-the-scenes audio coverage!

There were lots of posts all over the kidlitosphere (duh), but one that really caught my eye was over at Writing and Ruminating, where she suggested, “Let’s look at the awards with our poet-goggles on, shall we?” Until I saw that, I hadn’t realized how poetry-heavy the lists were. So as she says, “a great day for poetry.” Who would have thunk it?

Now, David Lubar’s post is all about not winning at “Newbery my heart at wounded pride,” where he offers his comment space “to complain, rant, moan or vent.” Apparently, the loudest sound in the world is the sound of the phone not ringing.

Seems like the Cybils committees know a thing or two, based on the number of books that made the short lists that received awards. Take a look.

The YAYAs (or at least one YA) express shock and... well, disappointment at the Printz awards. Interesting reading. But then there’s Sara, who had a pretty enthusiastic response to the winner.

Some great thoughts on the awards at Wizards Wireless, but maybe even more relevant are her thoughts as a bookseller. Did she get the orders right?

As it turns out, Slate picked up one of my standard run-on sentences about Brian Selznick’s Caldecott win. Scroll down (no, even farther) to see a quote from me and and also Lisa Yee. I’m in good company there.

Robin Brande was the first to alert me to the fact that the Young Adult Library Services Association’s Best Books for Young Adults 2008 listing is now posted. She was particularly interested in the list, because her book, Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature, is on the list! Way to go, Robin! I also see some of my other favorites listed, including fun guy Barry Lyga for Boy Toy. Here’s where you’ll also see some love for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

Personally, I’m a bigger fan of these lists than the awards themselves, because they more accurately capture the range of literature that can touch many different people. Picking one “Best” book is all well and good for the fun of it, but I get more out of a variety of styles and genres.

So of course, I’m all over the ALA 2008 Notable Children’s Books list. Some wonderful books, including Loree Griffin Burns’ Tracking Trash (maybe now my library will get a copy — yeesh) and my 2007 favorite, Jenni Holm’s Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf — and Harry Potter shows up here too. There are still some very good, very talked-about books that didn’t make the list, and that is disappointing. However, it’s a great list to use to catch up on your 2007 reading before the 2008 books get to your library. Or that’s how I look at it.

Last, but certainly not least, is my mini-chat with Mo Willems, in which he talks about his award wins and offers the newest game to the kidlitosphere (not intentionally). Take a famous title and pompous it up. His titles are hysterical, but some of us less brilliant folk are taking a stab at it also. Propel Thyself Canine; Propel Thyself!

While there were definite gasps and applause when The Invention of Hugo Cabret won the Caldecott gold, I’m sure that there were also cheers for the two medals Mo Willems’ books received. Personally, I wasn’t able to hear them, since I was at home cheering, “Yeah! Yeah!” like it was a football game in the fourth quarter.

In dashing off a note of congratulations to Mo, I slipped in that I might want to ask a few questions. Gracious man that he is — and wise as well — he shared some thoughts about the awards.

---

When did you get the call and what did you say? And then when did you get the second call and what did you say?

I can’t really recall. Let’s assume I was witty and clever and charming and modest and kind and thoughtful and erudite with clear diction on one call and a dumb jackass on the other, shall we?¹

Looking around the previous Caldecott winners, I can’t find another example of a book sequel getting a nod. What do you think sets Knuffle Bunny Too apart for this Caldecott first?

Bemelmans did it for Madeline (Honor, ’39) and Madeline’s Rescue (Medal, ’54).

As for what set my books apart for this “Caldecott second,” it’s unfair to ask me to judge what judges judged. I’m just glad they liked ’em...

I have to admit that the Geisel award wasn’t on my radar screen. Was it something you had in your sights for the Elephant and Piggie series?

I was really shooting for the Ulysses Award, or as it’s known in the vernacular, the “Hard Reader Medal”.² This über-prestigious distinction is given annually to the least comprehensible book for humans published by a University Press.³

I thought I was a shoo-in as the “Elephant” in the Elephant and Piggie books is a reference to pre-industrial mythology as contrived in the post-impressionist period (duh), while the “Piggie” represents a pig (oink).

My disappointment is tempered by the fact that I’m not Irish.

You’ve won Caldecotts, a Carnegie Medal, and six Emmy Awards. As a well-known children’s author/illustrator, how can you get the Geisel Award noticed in the area of early literacy?

That’s a question for Herr Ambassador.

I’m not sure when else I’d link to a USA Today article unless it’s the first to tell me about the winners’ reactions.

After learning she had won, Schlitz still went to work at Baltimore’s Park School, where she has been a librarian for 17 years. “But I am wearing a plastic tiara,” Schlitz, 52, said Monday.

Selznick, 41, literally flew. “At 3:30 a.m., the phone rang and I jumped out of bed,” says the writer/illustrator. He flew from San Diego to New York to appear this morning with Schlitz on the Today show.

There were lots of posts all over the kidlitosphere (duh), but the one that really caught my eye was one at Writing and Ruminating, where she suggested, “Let’s look at the awards with our poet-goggles on, shall we?” Until I saw that, I hadn’t realized how poetry-heavy the lists were. So as she says, “a great day for poetry.” Who would have thunk it?

I, for one, am waiting for the reactions of Fuse#8, who so totally called the Newbery awards. But until she posts, I’ll be happy with David Lubar’s post “Newbery my heart at wounded pride,” where he offers his comment space “to complain, rant, moan or vent.” Apparently, the loudest sound in the world is the sound of the phone not ringing.

Edited to add:
Apparently the Cybils committees know a thing or two, based on the number of books that made the short lists that received awards yesterday. Take a look.

If you wish you were in the room to hear the gasp when the Caldecott winner was announced (And yes, Zee, I could hear the gasp), Zee Says lets us join her at ALA with her post. She also provided the link to the videocast, in case you want to relive the award moments with bonus audience reaction.

The YAYAs (or at least one YA) express shock and... well, disappointment at the Printz awards. Interesting reading. But then there’s Sara, who had a pretty enthusiastic response to the winner.

The Washington Post shares a little bit of extra information on the Newbery-winning book. It also features the worst slide show ever, given that there are two slides and one is a book cover. The new information, at least for me, was that the book was pulled from the slush pile, and that it was written, submitted, and awaiting publication while she was writing, submitting, and publishing two other books. Remember A Drowned Maiden’s Hair, anyone? The book that should have won a Newbery last year.

I couldn’t find the Today Show video of the winners mentioned in the USA Today article, though the video of Spears missing her day in court was front and center. It’s all about priorities, people.

Edited AGAIN to add:
Fuse#8 is in the room with a detailed report of the ALA Media Awards. She’s also found the Today Show video and here it is, in all its annoying glory. OMG, does the interviewer not realize that authors can speak? TV Tip: Let the writers talk about their own books. You can almost see the thought flickering behind Selznick’s eyes, “I had to get up at 3:30 a.m. and fly to New York for this?”

Fuse also reminded me of something that I remembered, then forgot, and now with her help remembered again. Monica Edinger was on the Newbery committee, and she has been posting choice thoughts over at Educating Alice. Interesting stuff, very interesting.

As it turns out, Slate picked up one of my standard run-on sentences about Brian Selznick’s Caldecott win. Scroll down (no, even farther) to see a quote from me and and also Lisa Yee. I’m in good company there.

Some great thoughts on the awards at Wizards Wireless, but maybe even more relevant are her thoughts as a bookseller. Did she get the orders right?

Robin Brande was the first to alert me to the fact that the Young Adult Library Services Association’s Best Books for Young Adults 2008 listing is now posted. She was particularly interested in the list, because her book, Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature, is on the list! Way to go, Robin! I also see some of my other favorites listed, including fun guy Barry Lyga for Boy Toy. Here’s where you’ll also see some love for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

Personally, I’m a bigger fan of these lists than the awards themselves, because they more accurately capture the range of literature that can touch many different people. Picking one “Best” book is all well and good for the fun of it, but I get more out of a variety of styles and genres.

So of course, I’m all over the ALA 2008 Notable Children’s Books list. Some wonderful books, including Loree Griffin Burns’ Tracking Trash (maybe now my library will get a copy — yeesh) and my 2007 favorite, Jenni Holm’s Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf — and Harry Potter shows up here too. There are still some very good, very talked-about books that didn’t make the list, and that is disappointing. However, it’s a great list to use to catch up on your 2007 reading before the 2008 books get to your library. Or that’s how I look at it.

The Geisel? The what? You know, the Theodor Seuss Geisel award for beginning readers. Particularly important this year because it goes to There’s a Bird on Your Head, by Mo Willems. Didn’t I say that was my favorite of the Elephant and Piggie books? Oh, yes I did. Go Mo!

The Caldecott Honor Awards go to Henry’s Freedom Box, illustrated by Kadir Nelson; First the Egg, written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger; The Wall, written and illustrated by Peter Sis; and... OMG, Knuffle Bunny Too, written and illustrated by Mo Willems. Let’s pause for a moment to reflect on that listing. No gold or silver for Let It Shine, but it did win the Coretta Scott King illustrator award, so maybe that will do. (Not really, but whatcha gonna do?)

But the surprise winner of the Caldecott, the award selection that will have everyone talking is... The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick. The cheers and applause were truly notable during the announcement of a book that everyone assumed would be shut out by being neither here nor there in terms of award categories. I know someone who will be pretty happy. I’m ecstatic. It truly deserved to win.

Now the Newbery Honor Awards have some familiar titles, namely Elijiah of Buxton, by Christopher Paul Curtis; The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt; and Feathers, by Jacqueline Woodson. The winner has not been a very big book outside the kidlitosphere, but it’s still a surprise to me (though not to Fuse#8, who totally predicted the whole list), Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village, by Laura Amy Schlitz and Robert Byrd.

Shut out from the awards was the much-praised The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, but I can guess that it was too mature for the Newbery and too young for the Printz. In any case, it did win the National Book Award. There’s better balance in the Newbery shortlist than last year’s list, which was all Girls In Trouble.

A complete list of all of the ALA awards is available here. Reactions, anyone?

Sounds like a law firm, doesn’t it?

I’m going to mention the Schneider Award for one reason and one reason only: The winner of the middle school category is Tracie Vaughn Zimmer for Reaching for Sun. The announcement of this book was heralded by some definite whoops in the audience.

The Coretta Scott King author award goes to — no big surprise here — Elijah of Buxton, by Christopher Paul Curtis. I didn’t like this book when I started it, but it definitely picked up and got me totally on board with the genius of this book. The Coretta Scott King illustrator award goes to — I called it, people — Let It Shine, by Ashley Bryan. Yeah!

The Printz Honor Awards go to Dreamquake, by Elizabeth Knox; One Whole and Perfect Day, by Judith Clarke; Repossessed, by A.M. Jenkins; Your Own, Sylvia, by Stephanie Hemphill. Didn’t read any of them. Oops. The Printz Award goes to The White Darkness, by Geraldine McCaughrean. Read it and loved it.

The Sibert Award for informational books for children goes to The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, by Peter Sis.

In a definite surprise for me, the Carnegie Award for video for children goes to... the Disney Channel movie Jump In, starring Corbin Bleu.

Really? Seriously? Jump In? Disney Channel? The kid from High School Musical? Okay... whatever.

So, I’m not going to the ALA Midwinter Conference after all. Not that I had said I was, but I had thought about it. As it turns out, Philadelphia is three hours away, not two; the focus seems to be on adult literature, not kids’; and I’m really burnt out, not just a little burnt out. If you’re going, make sure that you drop by the kidlit bloggers’ lunch on Saturday — info at Readers Carousel.

I’m not making any Newbery predictions this year, or even listing what I’d like to see win the Newbery Awards. But Fuse#8 has a wonderfully detailed post on her predictions. She doesn’t think The Invention of Hugo Cabret can win. Why not? Well, Wizards Wireless has gone into the rules for both Newberys and Caldecotts to show why Hugo Cabret is going to get shut out. It’s a crime, but whoop, there it is.

I already made my Caldecott predictions, and they are Let It Shine and Angels Watching Over Me. I also agree with Fuse#8’s prediction for The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County as a possibility. The Wall has been mentioned so much, it’s hard to imagine that it won’t win, but you never know — I mean, it’s not like anyone saw My Friend Rabbit coming.

The Brown Bookshelf writers are making their predictions about the Coretta Scott King awards. My favorite, Let It Shine, makes one appearance, but Henry’s Freedom Box is getting more buzz in the illustrator category. Touching Snow and Elijah of Buxton come up for the author category, but since I didn’t like either book, I can’t begin to comment.

Totally off the subject, but Jen Robinson put together a fantastic article about helping kids enjoy reading. Really top notch. Also off subject, if you’re in the poetry mood today, which I was not, head over to The Book Mine Set for the Poetry Friday round-up.

Back to ALA. So what do you want to win this year, in any category? Does ALA need a new division, maybe the Kick-Ass Book Award?

Okay, so that went well. Maybe one of my Best Days Ever. Let’s start at the beginning.

I woke up at 4:30 a.m., all charged up. I tried to go back to sleep, but gave up at 5:00 a.m. and decided to read Letters from Rapunzel (great book, btw) since I would be seeing the author at ALA. And what else was I going to do with myself at that ungodly hour of the morning?

Took the Metro into town by 9:00, and shared a seat with a nice YA librarian from Richmond. Together we figured out where to go for registration. It was very helpful to have someone else with me for this because the Washington Convention Center is huge, and I hate navigating around unfamiliar places. Even though it seemed as if there were lots of long lines to sign in, with my online registration I just had to walk up to a computer, type in my number, and my badge printed out. How simple. Everything was already off to an easy start.

The exhibit hall was immense. But I kept in mind my first goal of the day, and went directly (pretty much) to the Horn Book booth to meet Roger Sutton. He was there as promised, and I introduced myself. We talked a little bit, but he had someone else who came up to see him, so I excused myself. I would have loved more time to chat, but perhaps another time. Great to meet him in person in any case.

My goals for touring the exhibits were to see what books were coming out, introduce myself to some publishers to smooth the requesting books process, and get some books signed for me and for next year’s 48 Hour Book Challenge. I was able to get to the signings of Avi, Gregory MacGuire, Jack Prelutsky, Nancy Perl, Eric Kimmel, Laura Schlitz, and Jeff Kinney. The only one I really had to wait for was Jack Prelutsky, and he was very friendly and funny about signing the book “You’re a winner!” for the 48 HBC. Other notables were Avi, who was a little bit cranky about doing the same thing, and Jeff Kinney of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, who was very sweet and gracious. I may be biased though, in that at least he knew my blog. I bought his book for my daughter, but he’s committed to a donation for next year’s contest and I will remember that.

So then I’m minding my own business, walking around, and who should I run into but John Green and Cecil Castellucci! Now they were two of the people I had most wanted to meet, but they were on the Sunday author signing schedule. And yet, here they were. I talked to Cecil about how much I had loved her book Beige and other book stuff, including an interview I’m going to do with her as soon as I can send her the questions. I introduced myself to John Green — who did know my blog, but I had never met him personally — and we talked briefly about his email overload, his Judy Blume encounter, and his Brotherhood 2.0 project. He let me take the picture, as long as I promised to let go of his arm.

So then I’m minding my own business again, but this time at the Harcourt booth, when I ran into M.T. Anderson. After waiting somewhat awkwardly (awkward for him I mean, since he was talking with his publisher and I was all but actively staring at him waiting to talk to him), I introduced myself and he did know my blog (niiice) and we talked a bit about blogs (he mentioned Seven Impossible Things specifically) and book contests (well, mine) and Tulane readers theater (we agreed that asking Kate to sign it was probably inappropriate) and his Brotherhood 2.0 appearance (which, frankly, was why I recognized him so quickly). A nice Harcourt rep took our picture.

He escaped from my clutches, and I turned around and recognized — after a few seconds — Liz from Tea Cozy. As if that weren’t enough for my chance meeting quota, then I saw Rebecca Stead — who I had so enjoyed meeting in NYC — and Sara Holmes — whose book I had read that morning — without moving from the Harcourt booth. Since we were all going to Mitali’s party, I didn’t have to go in alone and got bonus time walking and talking with these cool folk.

Mitali’s book launch party was lots of fun with a reading, quizzes, and a bhanga lesson. I got to meet Mitali for the first time in real life, and she was just as nice and sweet as I’d guessed. Sheila from Wands and Worlds took my dare and came to the party, and even with her tight schedule, Betsy from Fuse#8 made it too! As everyone circulated, I met lots of fun bloggers and publishers and librarians. (Oh my!)

Afterward, about fourteen of us headed over to the KidLit Drink Night. There was some confusion about where to put us, but that was mostly my fault because I didn’t realize that as Julie from Reader’s Carousel (picture already up, so timely) went there first, she’d reserved a great table for us near the bar. I had a little more time — though not nearly enough time — to meet the bloggers from Biblio File, Zee Says, The YA YA YA’s (well, one ya at least), and 2nd Gen Librarian. Book lovers Genivieve and Kristin came into town just for the event, and we were joined by Blue Rose lady Alvina and Summer Blog tour interviewee Justina Headley. Oh, and Rebecca’s friend and fellow Class of 2K7er Karen Day. Oh and Sondra and Jenna from Kane/Miller and Mindy (oh no, is that right?) from Hachette that I loved talking to — and not just because she knows Mo. Oh, and an author, Rhonda Roth, and an independent publisher, Sarah Doyle, stopped by too to chat and meet people.

I love parties, so I had a great time meeting everyone, and I am ninety percent sure that everyone else had fun too. I have to say that after being up since 4:30 a.m. (not my usual practice), eating very little (also not my usual practice), and talking to people all day (which revs me up), I was a little wired. And I’ll admit that. But it was an awesome end to an incredible day.

I have to send out a special thank you to Sheila, who not only came to the book launch and happy hour even though she was headed on a vacation the next day, but helped take care of business at Capitol City Brewing Company. She was great at dealing with the waiter, who was very confused by our using the fourteen seats at the table as some sort of KidLit musical chairs game. Some people had to leave early, some came later, some moved around, some ordered dinner, some didn’t. The poor waiter. She also took over my most dreaded chore — settling the bill and making sure it worked out. Not only did it work out, we had more than enough. So if you are feeling like you overpaid, let me thank you for buying me a beer. (Love and smiles.)

We left about 8:00, and I took the Metro home. I had promised myself that I would not pick up lots of ARCs but I couldn’t resist. Hauling them around all day was enough of a chore, but walking to the Metro I was starting to feel the strain on my shoulders. But today it’s just YEAH, NEW BOOKS!

And I’m going to throw this in because it’s related to meeting bloggers in person. Last weekend I got to meet Kelly from Big A, little a after her conference in the Hampton Roads area. We met in Norfolk with the kids — and I knew they were her kids as soon as we approached the meeting place because the oldest child was reading a book. We took a free, self-guided tour of the battleship Wisconsin, walked along the harborside, and had dinner. Kelly was just like I would have guessed, so engaging, friendly, and and interesting. We had great conversations, our kids all got along well, and we had a wonderful time. I can’t wait to see her again some day. Ah, one more picture. Why not?

Back to yesterday — I hope to get some pictures from people (email me!) since I forgot about my camera phone for almost all of the time. If I missed putting you in my post, I apologize, but it’s a loooong post and I’m losing steam now. I’ll be interested to see what experiences everyone else had at ALA. It was good for me. Was it good for you?

Next week I start talking about books again — I know, amazing — starting with a Very Special Picture Book.