If you are going to ALA this year -

ALA (the American Library Association's Summer Conference) is in San Francisco this June. Here's a mixture of things to do and see:

The price of the Newbery/ Caldecott banquet is high, but well worth it. Plus you take home a CD of the speeches. (dress up)  

Spend several days walking the Exhibits. (wear good walking shoes so you don't get blisters - it's huge. Carry a large bag for things you collect and wear casual clothes here, plus carry a sweater. Parts of the Exhibit area get very cold.) 

Be sure to visit the Children's publishing area several times because different people will be signing. Sometimes books are given out free and sometimes at a discount. Other goodies are available at the booths from chocolate to pens and pencils to really nice stuff.  

I papered my library and my child's room with posters from ALA. 

Go through the events catalogue (it's huge) and write down the times of signings and lectures and other events and only carry this list with you - to make sure you get to all of the things that interest you. 

Beware of anything that Mo Willems MCs - the audience is usually huge. (often I couldn't hear or see at these events.) 

Meet online friends for lunch or dinner.  
Have fun.  
Be sure to ride the cable car - you'll get a great tour of San Francisco that way.

2014 ALA Speeches are online

Did you miss this June's American Library Association conference. If so you missed the Newbery/ Caldecott banquet .  Well videos of the speeches of the award winners at the banquet are now online on the Association for Library Service to Children's webpage.

Click and enjoy.

ALA in June

I just found the information I had meant to post about my adventures in Las Vegas with the American Library Association last June.  (I tend not to post about vacations while they are happening)

I ran into Soooooo many Vermont College of Fine Arts people at ALA that weekend (last June). Some at banquets, some at presentations, and so many more seen in the exhibits aisles and at events! This is one of the reasons I love going to ALA -- besides all the books, books, books, and masses of book people.

And here I was thinking that Las Vegas was so huge that I wouldn't see anyone I knew.  But before I even got onto the bus that would take me to the convention center, I ran into retired school librarian and book speechifier extrodinaire --Judy Freeman!  Hugs! She was so excited because her brother was in one of the Cirque du Soleil shows in town and that I MUST go see it. 

Walked a little bit of exhibits then returned to my room at Caesar's Palace. Unfortunately the early show of "O" was sold out, so I went to Judy Freeman's Brother's show -- Zarkana.   I arrived late. I apologized to the ticket person and explained that my friend's brother was in the show and that my friend had insisted that I Must See the Show, and could I possibly still get into the show?  No problem.  He sold me the cheapest seats, then printed out tickets for the most expensive area of the theatre !!!  Yes, the show was great.

Saturday

These casino hotels are huge. I must have walked 10 miles today, in the Exhibits,  in Caeser's, and to and from the publishers party (Holiday House)  in the Bellagio.   I very foolishly walked home from it.  (It's only a block -- how far can that be?  Pretty far, it turns out.)

I'm tired.   

Sunday 

Attended the Corretta Scott King breakfast this morning and got to sit at a publisher's table. That was fun.  One of the Vermont College faculty, Rita Williams-Garcia, had been awarded the Coretta Scott King Medal. It was fun to see her dance her way to the podium to receive it and give her speech. (you=all know how she is when she gets excited.)

Both Coe Booth and Trent Reedy were great at their Reader's Theatre. 

Sunday evening I attended the Newbery/ Caldecott Banquet at the Paris Hotel and accidentally got to sit with the Calkins Creek/ Boyds' Mills Publisher's table.  How did this happen?  I was looking for a seat and was amazed at how many tables were Marked Reserved for publishers and groups. I had just about given up finding a seat anywhere close to the front when people in a table in the third row invited me to join them -- only to discover it was an unmarked publisher's table!

The two authors at the table were excited to learn that I wrote under the pen name of C. W. Bowie. (a pen name for three authors writing together.)  One of them, Anna McQuin, had talked about our two picture books -- Busy Toes, and the companion book, Busy Fingers -- during her speech that afternoon as the best example of an outstanding book using Diversity showing a universal subject that will never go out of style-- or hopefully out of print..  Of course I was thrilled to hear this.  Here is a link to a picture of her speaking.  Of course I had to TEXT this information to my co-author.

Monday 

In the morning I had breakfast with two other authors --   Christine Rhodeback Kohler and Alexis O'Neill and then (so sad) had to fly back home.   It had been lovely to enjoy the over 100 degree heat compared to the usual 60 and 70 degrees here in San Diego.

Nonfiction Monday -- More reports from ALA

Instead of reviewing an easy reading nonfiction book, i'm going to continue my report of What I Did On My Summer Vacation, otherwise known as Day 2 (Sunday) of the ALA Conference as seen by me. (Other ALA reports can be found at Betsy Bird's SLJ blog, A Fuse 8 Production, and Susan Kusel's blogs Wizards Wireless or PBS Booklights.

Sunday morning I actually got up early -- early enough to make it to the Scholastic Breakfast. (something I've often missed because I'm so slow to get going in the morning.) My husband would have loved the mushy eggs they served, but I prefer scrambled eggs to be cooked hard and dry. Oh well. Lovely apple smoked bacon, though. yum. and banana bread? Hold the muffins, I'll take the banana bread, thanks.

After an intro to various electronic database offerings, from the Grollier branch of the company, the featured speaker, Brian Selznick (yes he IS related to that Hollywood producer) described the difficulties of converting his huge Caldecott winner to an audio book. He added sounds to replace the drawings that told part of the story. He also added a Bonus DVD. Can't wait to take a look at it. If it has the presentation he made at the Newbery/ CAldecott banquet several years ago, I'll be in seventh heaven.
(We also got a scholastic mousepad)

Then on the the exhibits.
I only got to visit a few more aisles when it was time to attend the Fall Book preview of Random House Books. I plunked myself down in an empty row next to somebody's pile of papers/ envelopes/ whatnot. It wasn't until the session was done and nobody appeared to claim this pile that I realized it was MY goodie bag (not in a bag) from Random. WOW. Posters and activity guides and the new Patricia Reilly Giff series replacing the Polk street kids series, and, were they reading MY MIND? There was a complete set of bingo cards to be used for Summertime Bingo. It just so happens that I plan to have a summertime bingo program at my library and I can reallly use this. WOW.

Grace Lin has a new picturebook coming out. Another folktale illustrated by Paul O Zelinsky, also painted on boards. I can't wait to get my hands on Anita Lobel's newest -- Nini Lost and Found. (a cat story)

One of the packets holds supplies for a Magic Tree House club and there are several more Magic Tree House books coming out, this time a variation of Dicken's Christmas Carol. Plus, you can't be without the Modern Fairies, Dwarves, Goblins, and other Nasties, a practical Guide by Miss Edythe McFate.

Then back to the Exhibits. As I was rushing to catch the bus back to my hotel, where my next meeting was to be held, I passed a group of Star Wars Storm Troopers entering the Exhibit area. I shouted to them -- "Watch out guys, remember the Star Wars outtakes!" I heard several giggles from their 'helpers.' Obviously some of them had also seen the outtakes, where every time the Storm Troopers rushed around a corner, they slipped, and fell and crashed into each other.

No time for lunch. I grabbed some peanuts to munch and took the elevator to the terrace level, where I met up with the group -- Managing Children's Services Discussion Meeting. Only three others showed up, so the discussion was wide-ranging. Each of us had different ways to measure Summer REading program. One was 20 hours of reading plus 10 other activities (out of a longer list), another pushed 'Develop the Reading Habit' and gave credit if they read for 15 minutes for a certain number of days in a row. The third library system had kids set their own goal. And my own library system insists the Elementary read 10 books and the Middle and High schoolers read three.
--The three other library systems did all their registering online. We were the only system that still had the child fill out a card which the librarian then input into an online database.
-- All of them agreed that it seemed there were many more children registering this year. My own theory is that the economy is making parents look for fun FREE things and they are discovering the library fits the bill.

When this group broke up, I joined the other discussion group in the room, the Preschool Services Discussion Group. Once I was in this group, I discovered it was the same group I had joined online last year. I hope they don't end up sending me double the e-mails.

The Newbery/ Caldecott Banquet is always a time of good food, good conversation, and often entertaining speeches. This year Susan Kusel invited me to sit at her table. No, correction, one of her tables. She ended up organizing a group of 7 tables of her closest friends. My table mates were very interesting -- all of the people who run the Through the Tollbooth blog, plus others. Because of the noise, I was only able to converse with the people on either side of me. Cynthia Olson, a graphic designer, and an illustrator, Joan Waites.

Once Susan arrived, I helped her place pads of papers and colored markers on each table. That's what she is talking about on her blog -- she actually shows some of the artwork and signatures of the table people. Evidently, then she moved these markers and pads of paper all over the banquet hall, trying to get signatures of everyone! amazing. (Life is always interesting around Susan.)

This was the first year that it hit me that the people who won the 'Honor book' place for these, only got a piece of paper, much like the paper I got when my TO FLY was an Orbis Pictus Honor Book. It's only the winner who actually receives a metal medal. Darn. I always thought the Honor Book writer/ illustrators got silver medals and the winner -- a gold one, just like the stickers on their books. (please correct me if I'm wrong. I want to be wrong here.)

And then to bed.
The Real Nonfiction Monday posts are over at Bookish Blather. -wendie Old

Newbery/ Caldecott Banquet

I'll take just a minute to describe the Newbery/ Caldecott Banquet, then go to bed. More about Sunday's ALA adventures, later.

This time I lasted from 10 am to 4:30 pm at the Convention. Then, loaded with bags of books I swore I wasn't going to get this year, I stumbled back to the hotel and took a nap.

Woke up with all the rush of the rest of the family getting ready to go have dinner with the Disney Princesses. (came back to find them all asleep, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out which ones they got to see there.)

Meanwhile I got ready for the banquet -- showing off my new dress to the family before they left. (The 8 year old was my fashion consultant when I bought it -- everyone approved.)

The people at our table were wonderful and we had great conversations.

The most amazing part of the evening were the speeches by the winners.
First the Caldecott -- Brian Selznick. (yes he is related to the great movie director of the same last name.)
I was hoping he'd show some of his artwork -- and wasn't disappointed. Suddenly the huge screens at either side of the room lit up with the beginning of his book -- The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Hugo sleeping. Hugo awakened by a telephone call. (1930s telephone) Next picture? A drawing of the head of the Caldecott committee on her phone. Still no words, but you know that it's "the call" telling about winning the medal. More pictures from the book -- Hugo joining the girl. But here's a change. They board a 1930's plane. Sitting on the plane -- reading Newbery and Caldecott books. (the books are the only thing in color.) Arrive at the Hilton hotel. A horseman rides by, the kids chase it and it evolves into the Caldecott medal. WOW!

Most memorable words -- It's the page turns that tell the story. A page is a door....

Laura Amy Schlitz was equally as amazing with her Newbery acceptance speech. (yes, I'm bringing the CD of their speeches home with me to share with my library staff.) She's short. She's a storyteller. Therefore, she rejected the idea of standing at the podium to read her speech. She stood to the side and, adopting the pose of a storyteller, proceeded to tell us stories -- all of which helped illustrate how she was overwhelmed when she heard she won the Newbery medal.

Most memorable words (there were many memorable ones):
-- story -- rescuing a child stuck on a roof by catching her as she slid off. The child hit her like a cannonball, much like the Newbery honor.
-- (having moles removed) Do you want to hear the real story or the interesting story? (the children remember the "interesting" story which is why she likes to teach history in story format, such as with her Newbery book.
-- (flying a kite) The string is the most important part. We (writer, editor, publisher, bookseller -- all committed to giving the best to children) we all dance together on one string.

I shared a cab to my hotel with Roland Smith and his wife. (one of my favorite writers whom I've known for many years online, but just met in person tonight) We discussed her giving the speech without notes and how she must have practiced and prepared, like the professional storyteller she is.
-wendieO