2008 -- Two Ambassadors

Jon Scieska was the absolute best, perfect, appropriate, inspired pick for the role as our first Ambassador of Children's Literature.

His visit to Houston in 2008 at Blue Willow Bookshop was an event officiated by a Cub Scout color guard, a brass fanfare and a red carpet.

I had never met an ambassador before. I attempted to get into a session with him at TLA once but the crowd was so large that the fire marshall closed the room before I got there.

I told him how much I had enjoyed his reports from the embassy, especially when his diplomatic intervention had been required to help Mo Willems with Knuffle Bunny 3.















Earlier, in 2008 Houston was graced with a visit by Katherine Paterson who came to speak at the Cool Brains InPrint series.

I know during her time as Ambassador she will be doing a lot of talking, like above, but, I will remember the joy on her face as she met with the children there that day. Her face was shining!

We are so happy about your appointment, Madame Ambassador.

Author: Katherine Paterson

Oh boy, going to see Katherine Paterson tomorrow! Nice interview with her in the Houston Chronicle.


FYI: When you are stuck at Love Field in Dallas TX waiting for a flight that is hours delayed, you will be a lucky soul if you have Blackbringer by Laini Taylor in your bag. You will forget you are in an airport, you will not hear the PA announcements or smell the happy hour beer. You will be worlds away in Dreamdark.

Author: Katherine Paterson

Katherine Paterson will be speaking locally on February 24, 2008 at 3 pm as part of the COOL BRAINS! Inprint Readings for Young People series.

Admission is free!

I didn't hear her talk at TLA a few years ago but the folks who came out of that session were dabbing their eyes and mumbling things like, "most inspiring thing I've ever heard."

Books at the movies

mitali's fire escape links to an interview with Katherine Paterson about her work and the upcoming movie of her classic, Bridge to Terabithia.

One of the first things I heard about the Terabithia movie was that it was going to be a "sprawling fantasy adventure," and they had hired a big special effects team for it, and my initial reaction was to sort of recoil at this—

Paterson: Your initial reaction? (laughs) What do you think mine was?

I don't know, you tell me!

Paterson: Well, that was the thing I was most afraid of. And if you've seen the trailer, my word. I'm just telling everybody I know, "Don't see the trailer, don't see the trailer." Because it's exactly what the trailer ends up making you think, is that it's this glorified fantasy adventure with nothing but special effects, and that's not what we ended up with in this movie.
The story is ultimately about friendship ... and loss

We've ended up with a movie about a friendship between a boy and a girl who develop an imaginary kingdom, and the girl dies, and the boy has to deal with his loss, which is the story of the book. Now of course, because it is currently 2007 and not 1977, when you make a certain type of movie, people expect special effects—and so they've got some special effects. But I don't think they've ruined the movie. (laughs)

The one good thing that they managed to convey to me—and I can't guarantee that this will be conveyed to everyone who sees it—was that Terabithia is not another land, that Terabithia is absolutely coming out of the children's imaginations. It leads into the Terabithian scenes in such a way that I was convinced that they were creating this other land, which to me was masterful.

From the Sublime to the mundane now:

A Fuse #8 points me towards Lady, That's My Skull who comments on the new Nancy Drew movie and the horrific news that Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller are really going to team up for Hardy Men, an updated Hardy Boys adventure. Hijinks ensue, no doubt.

Both these guys stepped into the empty elevator shaft of my attention span a long time ago. Nothing to see here, move along please.