#alaac18 – Day 3 in New Orleans

I came to New Orleans with a list of arcs I wanted. I also came intending to take only as many books as would fit in my suitcase.

I shipped two boxes yesterday.

I was at the post offcie by 9 a.m. because I wanted to avoid the lines that would be inevitable Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. The process was quick, efficient and pleasant. I walked the exhibit hall floor, looking for a few more books – really, just specific titles I had on a list but hadn’t yet found – on my way to the Pop Top Stage to listen to the Pura Belpre winners speak.

From there, I was off to lunch hosted by Abram books, at Calcasieu, private dining rooms above Cochon. We were given some meal choices and, even thought my vegetable consumption this week has been limited, I opted for the Gumbo starter and Shrimp with Grits for my entree. Both were divine.

Four middle grade authors were present and two spoke between each course. Nathan Hale and Rebecca Petruck went first. Nathan spoke about Raid of No Return and Rebecca spoke about Boy Bites Bug.

As we finished our entrees, Laura Geringer Bass spoke about The Girl With More Than One Heart and Jonathan Auxier spoke about Sweep.

All of these books will be perfect for my classroom library and I look forward to book talking them in the new school year.

After the meal, I walked back to the hotel, intending to rest before dressing for the Newbery Caldecott Banquet. I was so sleepy I decided to have a nap, but didn’t set the alarm, not really expecting to sleep long. I awoke with a start at almost 5 pm. YIKES!

I slicked down my bedhead and dressed quickly. I was out the door in 5 minutes to walk to the shuttle bus at the convention center that wold take me to the Hilton where I would meet up with my Sibert committee colleagues. We got a table together for the banquet.

As the banquet is wont to be, the food was okay, the conversation excellent, and the speeches brought us all to tears. Matthew Cordell, Caldecott winner for Wolf in the Snow,  went first. That’s when the waterworks started flowing. He was followed by Erin Entrada Kelly, author of  the Newbery winning Hello, Universe. She had us laughing at examples of her first, self published works from elementary school and crying as she spoke about her family experiences and what the award meant. Final, Jacqueline Woodson, winner fo the newly renamed Lifetime Legacy Award who called us to action.

I had another great sleep and I am out early this morning for the presentation of the 2018 Robert F Sibert Medal. I  can hardly wait to share that experience with yout tomorrow!

This week’s book talks

It has been a whirlwind week! Although I was only at school for three days, I managed to talk about seven books.

Wednesday, I shared the Sibert winner and honor books.

 

Thursday, I book-talked Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly, the winner of the Newbery Award.I wrote about this book back in May. you can reread my post here.

Friday,  I book-talked Vincent and Theo by Deborah Heiligman. I won the YALSA Award for Nonfiction and was a Printz Honor book.

 

A place for everyone

I was never the coolest kid. Maybe that’s why I like the quirky kids in class. Maybe they are just really interesting. Like the kids in Erin Entrada Kelly’s Hello, Universe.

Publisher’s Summary: In one day, four lives weave together in unexpected ways. Virgil Salinas is shy and kindhearted and feels out of place in his crazy-about-sports family. Valencia Somerset, who is deaf, is smart, brave, and secretly lonely, and she loves everything about nature. Kaori Tanaka is a self-proclaimed psychic, whose little sister, Gen, is always following her around. And Chet Bullens wishes the weird kids would just stop being so different so that he can concentrate on basketball. They aren’t friends, at least not until Chet pulls a prank that traps Virgil and his pet guinea pig at the bottom of a well. This disaster leads Kaori, Gen, and Valencia on an epic quest to find the missing Virgil. Sometimes four can do what one cannot. Through luck, smarts, bravery, and a little help from the universe, a rescue is performed, a bully is put in his place, and friendship blooms. The acclaimed author of Blackbird Fly and The Land of Forgotten Girls writes with an authentic, humorous, and irresistible tween voice that will appeal to fans of Thanhha Lai and Rita Williams-Garcia.

I like the voices of these kids – they ring true. You can tell when an author really gets how kids think, and Erin Entrada Kelly really gets it. This is a lovely story of friendship that celebrates the differences in all of us.