Friday night: in which I attend a dinner and inadvertently imply that Jack Gantos is old.

Friday night I attended the ABC Annual Secret Garden Silent Auction and Evening with Children’s Booksellers.  I sat at a table sponsored by FSG and had the great honor of meeting (and sitting between) Jack Gantos (author of many lovely books including those about Joey Pigza) and Sophie Blackall (illustrator of many books including the Ivy and Bean books and Meet Wild Boars).

There were several interesting conversations taking place around the table about the publishing world and families and the state of being single.  Mostly I listened to conversations and added little. At one point, the conversation directly around me turned to age and parenthood and it brought to mind a recent discussion that I had with my mother (when I was home in Nebraska) about the socio-economic impact of waiting longer to have children.  Remembering that conversation, I meant to interject some insightful comments based on having been born and raised in an area where parenthood tends to happen early and often (small-town central Nebraska) and having moved to a community where older and adoptive parents are much more common (Cambridge, MA). Comments about how much socio-economic status and level of education tends to affect the age at which one becomes a parent. And that geographic location also tends to affect that same statistic (at least as far as I have noticed). What I actually said to Jack Gantos was, “You’re the same age as my mother.” (Which, I must add, both for Jack and my mom, is not old.)  I then proceeded to not very coherently state some of what I’d meant to say about location. At the end of my statement, Sophie Blackall said, “Well, I think you redeemed yourself by the end there.”//   u003c/span>u003c/p>nnnnu003cp>Ah, well, my shoe tasted tolerable, but not nearly so goodnas the coffee-flavored, fudge-filled dessert they gave us at the end of thenvery long evening.u003cspan> u003c/span>u003cbr>This is why I'm not allowed to speak in public.u003c/p>nnu003cp>That moment aside, I'd like to thank FSG, the ABC, the CBC,nand any other alphabetically inclined organization that had anything to do withnarranging such a lovely evening or with my invitation.u003c/p>nnu003cbr>nnu003cp>Saturday:u003cspan>  u003c/span>in whichnmy feet become very angry with me.u003c/p>nnu003cp> u003c/p>nnu003cp>Saturday opened with the Speed Dating with Children's Authorsnevent in the galleria area of the convention center. About 200 booksellers,nlibrarians, and other interested parties spent 3-minute time allotments with 20nchildren's and young adult authors and illustrators learning about new andnupcoming projects.u003cspan>  u003c/span>There was anninteresting mix of picture book/chapter book/young adult titlesnrepresented.u003cspan>  u003c/span>Skippyjon Jones has a newnadventure coming in October.u003cspan>  u003c/span>Libba Brayngave us enough details to have some idea of what's coming in u003ci>The Sweet FarnThingu003c/i>, but not nearly enough to satisfy the curious fan. Peter McCarty gavenan interesting glimpse into his creative process by bringing one of hisnpersonal journals that contained some of the ideas and storyboarding for u003ci>Hondonand Fabianu003c/i>.u003cspan>  u003c/span>Christopher Paul Curtisnhas a new middle-grade historical novel called u003ci>Elijah of Buxtonu003c/i> comingnin October from Scholastic and I'll definitely be hounding Nikki (my rep.) forna copy as soon as ARCs are available. It was definitely an hour and a half wellnspent.u003c/p>nnnnu003cp>After that, I set out to explore the Children's pavilion inna much more organized fashion. I discovered that Timothy Decker, whose firstnbook, u003ci>The Letter Homeu003c/i>, was a lovely pen and ink picture book about wasnset in the trenches of World War I, has a new book that is just as lovely and maynbe even harder to sell. u003ci>Run Far, Run Fastu003c/i>”,1] );
// ]]>

Ah, well, my shoe tasted tolerable, but not nearly so good as the coffee-flavored, fudge-filled dessert they gave us at the end of the very long evening.
This is why I’m not allowed to speak in public.

That moment aside, I’d like to thank FSG, the ABC, the CBC, and any other alphabetically inclined organization that had anything to do with arranging such a lovely evening or with my invitation.

Saturday:  in which my feet become very angry with me.

Saturday opened with the Speed Dating with Children’s Authors event in the galleria area of the convention center. About 200 booksellers, librarians, and other interested parties spent 3-minute time allotments with 20 children’s and young adult authors and illustrators learning about new and upcoming projects.  There was an interesting mix of picture book/chapter book/young adult titles represented.  Skippyjon Jones has a new adventure coming in October.  Libba Bray gave us enough details to have some idea of what’s coming in The Sweet Far Thing, but not nearly enough to satisfy the curious fan. Peter McCarty gave an interesting glimpse into his creative process by bringing one of his personal journals that contained some of the ideas and storyboarding for Hondo and Fabian.  Christopher Paul Curtis has a new middle-grade historical novel called Elijah of Buxton coming in October from Scholastic and I’ll definitely be hounding Nikki (my rep.) for a copy as soon as ARCs are available. It was definitely an hour and a half well spent.

After that, I set out to explore the Children’s pavilion in a much more organized fashion. I discovered that Timothy Decker, whose first book, The Letter Home, was a lovely pen and ink picture book about was set in the trenches of World War I, has a new book that is just as lovely and may be even harder to sell. Run Far, Run Fast// nnu003cp>Peachtree Press has a picture book, u003ci>Snow Dayu003c/i> (bynLester Laminack), which reminded me of my home and childhood quite a bit. Thencute twist at the end made it all the more fun. We'll definitely be celebratingnthe joyous weather of winter with this title.u003c/p>nnu003cp>Kane/Miller has an Australian line-up for their fall listnincluding a new picture book from Robert Ingpen, u003ci>Ziba Came on a Boatu003c/i>.u003c/p>nnu003cp>Upstairs in the main pavilion, it was harder to find peoplenwith free time to talk with me about upcoming children's books, but I managednto find some exciting things. Walker Books for Young Readers has a new titlenfrom K. M. Grant (the De Granville trilogy) coming in September for which theirntagline reads, "Monty Python meets The Princess Bride in this unique romanticnadventure." I've read the De Granville books and think Grant is an interestingnauthor, but I'm not sure that anything can live up to that tagline. We shallnsee if u003ci>How the Hangman Lost His Heartu003c/i> really is just that off beat andnfunny.u003c/p>nnu003cp>Deborah Wiles (u003ci>Each Little Bird That Singsu003c/i>) has a newnbook, u003ci>The Aurora County All-Starsu003c/i>, which I'm very eager to start.u003cspan>  u003c/span>I loved u003ci>Each Little Birdu003c/i> and havenhigh hopes for this as a great summer (and holiday) middle-grade title.u003cspan>  u003c/span>u003c/p>nnu003cp>There were many, many more titles I saw, but they've allnblended together somewhere in my brain. I'll remember them as I go through thencatalogs for fall, though, that's for sure.u003c/p>u003cp>Saturday evening I attended a party hosted by the Penguin Young Readers Group at the Bookmarks Lounge in the Library Hotel. I felt a bit out of place at first, but found a corner and met some lovely fellow booksellers from Joseph-Beth Booksellers and Wild Rumpus Books for Young Readers and a producer from the CBS Early Show. We chatted about events and celebrity books and had a generally fantastic time (we may have scared a server from the lounge, though, in our overenthusiasm for the food she was bringing around). I'm sure the Penguinis (the Penguin version of the Bellini) didn't hurt the atmosphere, either. I managed not to embarras myself around either Loren Long or Lane Smith, so the evening can be considered a success. n”,1] );
// ]]> is another pen and ink picture book, this time set in the world of fourteenth-century Europe during the plague. I am continually drawn in to his beautifully stark drawings and sparse tales of the human condition. Both books are from Front Street/Boyds Mills.

Peachtree Press has a picture book, Snow Day (by Lester Laminack), which reminded me of my home and childhood quite a bit. The cute twist at the end made it all the more fun. We’ll definitely be celebrating the joyous weather of winter with this title.

Kane/Miller has an Australian line-up for their fall list including a new picture book from Robert Ingpen, Ziba Came on a Boat.

Upstairs in the main pavilion, it was harder to find people with free time to talk with me about upcoming children’s books, but I managed to find some exciting things. Walker Books for Young Readers has a new title from K. M. Grant (the De Granville trilogy) coming in September for which their tagline reads, “Monty Python meets The Princess Bride in this unique romantic adventure.” I’ve read the De Granville books and think Grant is an interesting author, but I’m not sure that anything can live up to that tagline. We shall see if How the Hangman Lost His Heart really is just that off beat and funny.

Deborah Wiles (Each Little Bird That Sings) has a new book, The Aurora County All-Stars, which I’m very eager to start.  I loved Each Little Bird and have high hopes for this as a great summer (and holiday) middle-grade title.

There were many, many more titles I saw, but they’ve all blended together somewhere in my brain. I’ll remember them as I go through the catalogs for fall, though, that’s for sure.

Saturday evening I attended a party hosted by the Penguin Young Readers Group at the Bookmarks Lounge in the Library Hotel. I felt a bit out of place at first, but found a corner and met some lovely fellow booksellers from Joseph-Beth Booksellers and Wild Rumpus Books for Young Readers and a producer from the CBS Early Show. We chatted about events and celebrity books and had a generally fantastic time (we may have scared a server from the lounge, though, in our overenthusiasm for the food she was bringing around). I’m sure the Penguinis (the Penguin version of the Bellini) didn’t hurt the atmosphere, either. I managed not to embarras myself around either Loren Long or Lane Smith, so the evening can be considered a success.