The American Library Association Meeting is this weekend!

This weekend publishers and librarians are converging in Chicago to celebrate books and reading.

 There's a huge exhibits area where publishers show off their newest books, where librarians and "normal people" like authors and illustrators can browse this display along with the librarians who will be buying these books for their public. There are meetings and lectures about programming and library buildings and best practices for library administration.

 (Booksellers have their own convention in late May or early June where they hold meetings and browse the publisher's displays. It's called BEA.)

And book discussions. (at the end of the conference a list of the best books of the year will be issued, called Notable Books.)

And book celebrations.
The huge banquet for the Newbery and Caldecott winners where they get awards and give speeches.
The luncheons honoring other authors or celebrating impressive librarians.
And the exhibits.  (can you tell I love the exhibits?)

Here's a write up about this convention by an Harold Underdown written when he was an editor at Charlesbridge, giving the publisher's view of the ALA convention.

Can you tell I wish I was there?
Yup,  I wish I was there.

The 2013 Newbery Medal winners being honored Sunday evening are:

2013 Winner

The One and Only Ivan

written by Katherine Applegate, published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers

2013 Honor(s)

Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon

by Steve Sheinkin and published by Flash Point, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press

Splendors and Glooms

by Laura Amy Schlitz and published by Candlewick Press

Three Times Lucky

by Sheila Turnage and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group

The 2013 Caldecott Medal winners being honored Sunday evening are:

This Is Not My Hat

illustrated and written by Jon Klassen, published by Candlewick Press

2013 Honor(s)

Creepy Carrots!

illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds and published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

Extra Yarn

illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett and published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Green

illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger and published by Neal Porter Books, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press

One Cool Friend

illustrated by David Small, written by Toni Buzzeo and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group

Sleep Like a Tiger

illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Mary Logue and published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Picture Books are necessary

Love Picture books, but aren't sure how to defend their use with children to others?

Well, here's a link to an article in Psychology Today that talks about

THE VALUE OF A PICTURE BOOK: 5 Life-Lessons Your Child Gets From Stories

enjoy.

Author Advocates using Skype to visit classrooms

If you have ever wondered what it would be like to make a Skype visit to a school, take a look at this guest post from the internationally known Australian children's book author and writing instructor, Margot Finke.

Terrific SKYPE Virtual Visit
  --

I would like to report that my SKYPE session for grade one today (three classes
 together), went super well. The kids asked lots of questions about writing, books, where ideas for writing come from, Australia, and my favorite book as 
a kid.

I got to read 2 of my books ( Horatio Humble Beats the Big D -
dyslexia + Ruthie and the Hippo's Fat Behind) and I asked them questions as 
well. 

They like paper books better, covers are what grabs their interest, and they
 look for authors they like as well. It was supposed to be 1/2 an hour, but 
it went for a full hour. I learned from these smart kids and I hope they
learned from me. 

There was spontaneous clapping after I read each book, so I 
guess they liked what they heard, and I am invited back there after summer
 vacation to read my soon to be published PB, “Kangaroo Clues.” 


This Skype session really hyped me UP!!

Skype allows me to visit classrooms that have never had an author visit.  No travel, no expensive hotels, and all from the comfort of my own writing den.  All I need are teachers or librarians with a Skype connection. This allows me to bring my books and my class program to schools anywhere in the world, and introduce kids to the fun and adventure of reading and writing.  

This is the FUTURE of book promotion. . .  run with it, mates!


This is a link to me chatting about “Skype Makes it Happen!”

Margot Finke

Books for Kids – Manuscript Critiques

http://www.margotfinke.com

Put some Resonance in your Writing

Writing Picture Books?
Here's some advice from Marion Dane Bauer -- Resonance is the key.

Click on over to her blog and read all about it.

How Book Publishing Has Changed

Christine Kohler talks compares her adventures getting books published in the "olden days" (my granddaughter's term for most of my own life experiences) versus what happened with her latest book coming out this year.  Click on over to her blog, Read Like a Writer, a Teaching Blog.

My, has the publishing world changed.

75th Anniversary of the American Library Association Caldecott Award Celebration

Caldecott 75th Anniversary Task Force Member Tessa Michaelson Schmidt announces:

The yearlong celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Caldecott concludes at the end of June at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.  Be sure to enjoy the following free online offerings:

·         David Ezra Stein will participate in a Caldecott 75th Anniversary Facebook Forum at 1 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, June 11, 2013. 
Stein won a Caldecott Honor in 2011 for his illustration of "Interrupting Chicken," which he also wrote (Candlewick Press). As part of the Forum, ALSC will interview Stein about his Caldecott experience. This event is open to the public and a Facebook account is not required to view the event. Participants can access the forum via the ALSC Facebook page.

·         Four webinars were offered free to ALSC members for the Caldecott 75th Anniversary celebration.  Although the webinars have already taken place, they are now available to the public as webcasts (webinar recordings).    At the Caldecott Academy , you can find links to these recordings: 
1.  "Caldecott Uncovered: What You've Always Wanted to Know About the Caldecott Medal", 
2.  "Expanding the Caldecott Experience: Programming with Caldecott Winning and Honor Books", 
3.  "The Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration", 
and 4.  "Get to Know the Caldecott Winners."

·         Download our beautifully-designed Caldecott anniversary bookmarks<http://www.ala.org/alsc/caldecott-75th-anniversary-bookmarks> free-of-charge. The bookmark features the anniversary logo illustrated by Brian Selznick and clues to five characters, from past Caldecott Medal-winning books, which appear on the logo.

·         Attending ALA Annual in Chicago?  
Join us for a cocktail reception before the Newbery-Caldecott-Wilder banquet.  
This entertaining video gives you an idea of the special festivities in store.  See you on the red carpet!

Dear UPS

message from UPS, left on my door last Friday:
THE CUSTOMER WAS NOT AVAILABLE ON THE 1ST ATTEMPT. 
A 2ND ATTEMPT WILL BE MADE

Message from me to UPS:
I was home ALL DAY.
 I did take a few moments to pick the kid up from school. 
As usual, your timing was perfect.

Message from me to UPS today (Monday):
Dear UPS. 
Your Friday message said you'd deliver my package between 10 and 2pm on Monday. It is now almost 2:30 in the afternoon. 
Your online tracking says that my package was put on your truck at 4:30 am. 

There are many things I'd rather be doing than waiting all day for you to show up. (taking a shower would be nice.) 

In a little while I'll be going to pick up my granddaughter from school. Shall I assume that you are going to "attempt to deliver" during that time -- just like you did on Friday?