This past Sunday, my mom and I got to attend the Children’s Literature Breakfast hosted by Anderson’s Bookshop. This is the first time I’ve gone to this event, and I was excited to see what it was all about!
KEYNOTES:
Peter H. Reynolds – Peter introduced us to his newest children’s book The Word Collector, which is all sorts of adorable and inspired by the fact that he’s been keeping lists of words that he loves in journals for many years.
Lena Roy & Charlotte Jones Voiklas – These two shared excerpts from their biography of their grandmother, Madeleine L’Engle (Becoming Madeleine) and also shared some sweet stories of growing up with her. One thing that was interesting to hear was how L’Engle’s voice in her childhood journals matched with the woman they knew (much later in life, obviously). L’Engle had a strong personality and a dream for her writing to be recognized—she obviously got her wish!
Linda Ragsdale – Linda shared the story of how she was one of the few people to survive a Mumbai terrorist attack in 2008. Since that time, she’s dedicated her life to spreading a message of peace through her books and her speaking engagements. (Her newest book, The Peace Dragon, comes out in the fall.) Linda has been through a lot in her life (beyond the shooting and the injuries she sustained in that, she’s also a cancer survivor and her husband has been diagnosed with stage four cancer as well), and it’s amazing that she has maintained such a positive attitude through it all!
Leslie Connor – Leslie talked about “sad” in middle grade books and how sadness tempered with hope can be a truly positive force in literature. She also told us about her newest book, The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle, which sounds like a truly touching read.
Brian Selznick – Brian was just downright hysterical. He shared part of his new early reader (with LOTS of pictures), Baby Monkey, Private Eye, and he wasn’t too proud to poke fun of himself (and his husband) for the simplicity of the story. (For instance, he mentioned all of his husband’s academic credentials and how they all prepared him to write this early reader.) This was a fantastic way to end the day, and if you ever have a chance to see Selznick speak, you should do it—I guarantee you’ll be entertained.
We also had a few short (seven minute) table discussions with authors/illustrators who came around to our tables. The most significant of those (for me) was Peter Kujawinski, who sat at our table for the beginning of the breakfast (so I had more time to actually talk to him—it wasn’t limited to that seven minutes). I really enjoyed learning about his books and how he ended up writing with his co-writer (Jake Halpern). I also thought he was just an all-around nice guy. Unfortunately, he ended up leaving before the signing, so I didn’t get a picture with him, but my mom and I did pick up a (pre-signed) copy of Nightfall and a copy of Edgeland, the sequel. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to get it signed sometime in the future. These books sound like they’re right up my alley, so I’m excited to read them!
After the breakfast, there was an author signing, so I stopped by to get copies of American Panda and The Sweetest Kind of Fate signed. I’ve already read American Panda and loved it, so I wanted a signed copy. And I was excited that they had Sweetest since it isn’t technically released until the 6th (I thought the first book in the series was super adorable).
I also saw Amelia Brunskill and got a picture with her, since I’m going to be participating in the tour for her upcoming debut, The Window.
Oh, and I can’t forget to mention that my mom and I both got teacher edition copies of The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (the breakfast is geared toward teachers).
Since we ended up with two copies of the complimentary Teacher’s Edition of The One and Only Ivan, I thought I’d share the wealth and use one for a giveaway! (US only. Sorry!) Just follow the Rafflecopter instructions to enter!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Oh how fun!! This sounds like a really cool author event. I like that it’s a breakfast, and that there are a variety of authors talking and signing.
-Lauren
Yes, it was a really nice event with plenty of authors to learn about.
Sounds like a fun event! I read The One And Only Ivan for a class in grad school and really liked it.
I’m really looking forward to reading it!!
This event sounds so much fun. I loved The One and Only Ivan. Meeting authors and getting a chance to listen to their words of wisdom and life experiences is always a benefit for my own writing life. I can’t wait to read American Panda and the fact you got a signed copy to treasure, makes me happy.
I met Gloria Chau at an Adam Silvera event and was really excited to read the book ever since. I was so glad when I loved it!
This event looks like it was wonderful! I love stuff like that.
I love these types of events too!
Having a gorilla at a shopping mall sounds pretty inhumane!
I agree. I’m looking forward to reading this because I’ve heard so many amazing things.
There are teacher editions of The One and Only Ivan? Wow! I remember it was one of the books we could read for a teacher’s class on children’s literature. I haven’t read it yet, but it looked interesting.
I’m actually not sure if it has any special teacher content or if it’s just a free edition they made to give to teachers—I’ll have to look and see!
I loved reading as a child and to my children. Now I have grandkids. My grandson is only 6 months but my granddaughter is 3 and loves books. I mean loves them. She goes to library time once a week and uses her Kindle too. We always read when they come over. It is great to see all the new books that have come out since my kids.
That’s wonderful! I’m glad you get to bond over books with her. 🙂
Oh my goodness you always have the most wonderful book events by you! That’s so amazing and I’m so happy for you!! And I still need to read American Panda, that book sounds so cute!
I really am lucky to live near Anderson’s. It’s about an hour away, but that’s probably a good thing—if it was any closer, I’d probably live there!
I’m so interested in the BEcoming Madeleine book, sounds like it is an interesting one! I’m still so jealous about this! Sounds like it was a neat time. Thanks for sharing it with us!
I’m blessed with a lot of fantastic events near me, I’ll admit.
What a fun day! I love Selznick and would have loved to meet him!
He was so much fun—I LOVED him!
I haven’t read it yet, I know I will now, thanks.
Good luck! I’m choosing a winner today!