TLA -- 1

Walking the cement floors of an exhibit hall is hard work and makes your feet hurt, no matter how bouncy your new sneakers with the pink swooshes are.

On day 1 of TLA, I was staggering under the weight of a backpack stuffed with new books. The overflow bag in my left hand was slowly dislocating my elbow and separating my left arm from its shoulder socket when I heard someone call my name. It was Chris Barton. He was instantly familiar to me because I've seen his photo on his blog. I hide behind Dragon online because more kids know him than me.

How in the world? I was surprised and amazed when Chris told me that he had recognized my sneakers!

My equilibrium was restored with a cup of coffee and good conversation with Mr. Barton. I also had a chance to talk with Austin authors Julie Lake, Brian Anderson, Don Tate, Cynthia Leitich Smith and GregLeitich Smith: such nice folks, all of them.

I have always lived by the motto, "I read therefore I am" so the chance to actually converse with people who put those words on the page is a heady experience.

I got my new walkin' shoes

I have my new walkin' shoes (I like the pink swooshes) and I go to San Antonio for the Texas Library Assn. annual conference today.

My first TLA conference, many moons ago, was in San Antonio and I think I walked around with a happy grin the entire time. At that first conference I heard Brian Jacques and Gerald McDermott and Rosemary Wells.

This time I hope to see Chris Barton, Grace Lin, Stephenie Meyer, Cynthia Leitich-Smith, Teri Lesesne, Avi, Sharon Creech, Walter Dean Myers, Sarah Weeks, Darren Shan, Tim Wynne-Jones, Scott Westerfeld, Justine Larbalestier, Sharon Draper, JOHN GREEN, Helen Hemphill, Don Tate, Brian Anderson, and MO WILLEMS, and more that I haven't even identified yet.

I will need a time-turner though. Lots of the sessions run at the same time. I'll do my best!

Author: Rick Riordan

I had the most wonderful day yesterday. I got to hear Rockstar Rick Riordan give a presentation to a group of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders.

His talk is very polished and he roped in the kids immediately. He includes tons of humor including the funniest-word-in the-English-language-to-an-elementary-student (the 'u' word) and told some stories about his other school visits.

He described the origins of Percy Jackson's story and showed covers of his books from other countries. He shared information in an easy give and take manner that kept the kids totally engaged.

His presentation skills are excellent. Authors who make school visits or do book signings have to learn how to handle groups and must become polished at answering inevitable questions such as, "How long does it take to write a book?" etc. To the credit of his fans there yesterday, he did NOT have to handle "Where do you get your ideas?" (my pet peeve.)

Riordan knows 1) to repeat the children's questions so everyone can hear them, 2) how to handle the inevitable kid buzz/noise after a joke or provocative comment 3) to move around the audience 4) to remind kids to put their hands down after a question he has posed has been answered.

[FYI: Elementary kids will raise their hands to answer questions and then forget to put their hands down. You can end up with a virtual forest of distracting arms hanging in the air if you do not remind kids to lower their hands to be ready for the next question.]

The highlight of the presentation was hearing RRR read a passage from The Titan's Curse. The students were leaning forward into the story (along with the teachers) as he re-enacted a chapter. Riordan throws himself into his reading (you can see why he is a good storyteller) and ducks and lunges and weaves and shoots virtual arrows as the action unfolds.

When he closed the book, there was a huge chorus of moans.

Signs the author visit has been a success:

1. The kids mob the author at the conclusion of the talk, despite their teacher's pleas to line up and return to class.

2. The campus security guard comes up to tell the author how much he enjoyed the presentation and that he had never seen the kids so attentive.

3. Within ten minutes of returning to class, over ten kids hit the library looking for the book to check out (the clever librarian at this school had thirty copies of the paperback available for checkout.)

4. There are more books to be signed than you have ever seen in your life for a visiting author

5. Many of the books awaiting the author's signature were obviously brought in from home and looked like they had been read multiple times with creased spins, blunted corners, and battered edges, the signs of true love.

My librarian friends politely invited me to crash their lunch with RRR between gigs and I shamelessly accepted.

After lunch I floated a few doors down and wandered my local quilt store.

It was a perfect day.

Un Frisson

During the summer of 2005, I was perusing the listings of author signings in the area and suggested to my entling that we should pop over to Blue Willow Book Shop and see this Rick Riordan guy. His book sounded interesting and knowing my girl's interest in all things mythologically Greek, I thought it might be worthwhile.

I am not a soothsayer, a prognosticator or even a weather forecaster but as I listened to him talk about his new book, The Lightning Thief, I swear I felt un frisson about this book. When my girl disappeared for several hours upon returning home, I knew something special was going on.

Since then the book was selected for the Texas Bluebonnet list and it has become part of novel study units. His rockstar status grows daily. My entling has sworn she must have a Hunters of Artemis t-shirt so we will be in line at The Titan's Curse signing for sure.

I sat with a friend at TLA last year where Riordan appeared on a panel to discuss books and the industry. After the session was over my friend said, "I have to have him."

Of course she meant she had to "have him" visit her school and present to her students. When librarians make those comments, it can be misinterpreted. One time I said that I'd "had" Jack Gantos and I got the strangest looks from the non library folk I was dining with. The further explanation, "At my library, I mean!" didn't help. I digress.

I've written a lot about Rockstar Rick Riordan over the past two years because he is important. I've seen Riordan's books hook kids that parents thought would NEVER EVER read a book just for the fun of it. I've heard from many parents who say, "you know that book you recommended for young Horatio (Hortense?) He/she didn't play with his/her (insert expensive electronic media device here) all weekend. He/she said they just wanted to read!!!"

I know kids who have never picked up Harry Potter (too thick) who are fervently, desperately and impatiently awaiting The Titan's Curse.

My friend will indeed "have" Riordan at her school next week and she's invited me to come hear him. I am looking forward to sitting in the back and watching the magic happen.

Friday Night Highlights

I was invited to party in Austin, Texas on Friday in celebration of Cynthia Leitich Smith's new book, Tantalize. I was telling Treebeard about Cynthia and Greg on the way to the capitol city Friday afternoon. After listening to my mini lecture, he commented that they sounded like extremely generous people.

Generous is the perfect word to describe them.

Their home was the setting for the party, the food was beautiful and delicious (very important.) There were these beautiful melt in your mouth roasted tomatoes and salmon and wraps and this amazing Italian cream cake.

I should have taken a picture.

Greg describes the menu at his blog.

There were so many people there and I was secure in the knowledge that I didn't know a soul besides Cynthia and Greg.

Aaacckk ...

Then I saw Julie Lake, author of the historical fiction novel, Galveston: Summer of the Storm about the 1900 Galveston hurricane. I hosted Julie at my library for an author visit a few years ago. She is so nice and rounded up people to meet me.

I should have taken a picture.

Brian Anderson writes the Adventures of Commander Zack Proton series. His series echoes the light hearted spirit of comic books (not Graphic Novels) of old. I met YA author Brian Yanksy (need to read his books) and Jo Whittemore author of The Silverskin Legacy.

I should have taken a picture.

Even though the party was in honor of Tantalize, Cynthia used the opportunity to introduce and showcase books by other Austin writers (generous, remember?) Kathi Appelt (I've cataloged and shared so many of her books with kids,) Helen Hemphill (I just received a copy of Runaround but did not get to talk to her,) Brian Yanksy, Jo Whittemore and April Lurie.

Then I got to meet Don Tate and his wife!!! It is sort of surreal and wonderful to meet people-you-feel-like-you-know-because-you- read-their-blog-but-you-don't-really-know-them but then they turn out to be even nicer and kinder than you could have ever imagined.

I was dazzled by the company and impressed by the community of writers in Austin, Texas. Their support and enthusiasm for each others' work is inspiring. It was an honor to be included Friday and I marvel again at the blessings the kidlitosphere has brought me.

Lunching with the stars

School librarians have many responsibilities. They instruct students in research methods, warn against plagiarism, help them find information on topics of importance to them.

Sometimes students remember those lessons. On Friday, I was waiting for my entling to finish up her singing lesson when a bright and extremely intelligent former student who is now in high school, arrived for the next lesson. She told me that I had been in her thoughts that very day as her English teacher assigned a research project on Victorian England and told them they would be using Big 6. She remembered me teaching Big 6 in elementary school. (You can see why she is a very intelligent child. My pearls of wisdom were still, apparently, circulating through her cerebral cortex on some level.)

As I subbed at a junior high library on Friday, I was reminded, though, that my favorite part of the job is helping kids find that special book. I can't do that job unless I read the books and know something about the people who write them.

Reading puts the author's words directly into the brain. The action is between your ears, your imagination is responding directly to the story. It is very personal and initmate which is why I am always interested in the people who write the books I read.

When I attend a library conference I know I should attend those sessions on advocacy, aligning information literacy lessons with the curriculum, making my MARC records sparkle...and I do... attend...some of them. But I flock, beeline and elbow my way to sessions where authors are speaking.

Wednesday, I hastened away from the homestead enroute to Austin to see Jennifer Holm. Incredibly heavy fog and traffic conspired to keep me from arriving in time for her presentation (blast! drat!) but I did get to enjoy lunch with her AND Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith (shiny!) . Cynthia and Greg directed us to Green Pastures for an absolutely delicious lunch.

The warmth of Jennifer's welcome was overwhelming. Cynthia and Greg are legends here in Texas for generosity with their time and their booster support of other Texas writers. It was a dream to have the opportunity to meet them.

Later, you think of things you meant to tell them. I wanted Cynthia to know that Jingle Dancer is never on the shelf because it is continuously checked out by young readers, and how much I loved Indian Shoes. Greg's book Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo is a junior high triumph. The audio version is excellent!

Jennifer, Cynthia and Greg, I am grateful for your imagination and the gift you have for putting your creative sparks into words so I can experience them too!

Cool facts from lunch:
Grandmother Patience, the horrible grandmother from Our Only May Amelia, was based on a real person.
Jennifer Holm's husband designs video games so they own every gaming system known (irony!).
Cynthia is working on a new book and she and Greg traveled to the King Ranch to do research for Greg's new book.