AWARDS DAY 2009

The American Library Association announced it's children's book awards today. I am not going to share all of them here because I don't remember them all. You can watch it here, however. I watched it in real time, which was fun!

I will comment on several things:
Yay for Kadier Nelson who won several awards for We Are The Ship! I was pulling for a Newbery for him. Alas! Auwe! It did not happen. But hey, this man is fantastic and will continue to excel!
To be honest, I'm way behind in my reading and not qualified to choose. I did not read the winner which is The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaimen. You can watch a book trailer of The Graveyard Book here. Let me know what you think. Especially if you've already read it.

We authors do fantasize about winning the award but I knew I wasn't going to win because:
A. Although Healing Water has gotten consistently strong reviews, there was no award buzz around it at all!
B. I did not get an early morning phone call shocking the socks off my bare feet!

But it was still an exciting morning, especially when Ashley Bryan won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award. It's for "writers or illustrators of children's books published in the U.S. who have made substantial and lasting contributions to children's literature". Woo Hoo ! Go Ashley.

Ashley Bryan with my hubby at International Reading Association in Toronto.

I met this man twice and both times he gave me a private reading of a portion of his book, How God Fix Jonah. His West African dialect is so beautiful. This man is the heart of soul of gentle, generous, and gifted. You can read about one of my meetings with him here.

My biggest thrill during the awards announcement this morning was when he won his award!

ONE SHOT WORLD TOUR: CANADA

On this day, bloggers are highlighting Canadian authors.


So here’s to Julie Johnston whose book Hero of Lesser Causes , I discovered a few years back when researching polio for BLUE. Johnston’s book was published in 1992 - long before I knew my hometown had a polio epidemic. And also, before the 50th anniversary of the Salk vaccine inspired a plethora of polio related books.

It's been a few years since I read it, but I remember Hero Of Lesser Causes as a finely crafted young adult novel that explores the after-effects of polio. This is a story about a life changed by disease. It is the account of a family thrown off-kilter when a teen is emotionally and physically paralyzed. It is the tale of a sister’s love for her brother and of her unceasing and often entertaining attempts to reach him. Johnston won Canada's Governor's General Literary Award for this book as well as for Adam and Eve and Pinch-Me. She has written multiple books for young people and also published her first adult novel in 2007.

Can’t sign off without sharing my favorite Canadian moment. Last May, hubby and I drove to Toronto to receive the IRA Children’s Book Award for BLUE. Great trip all around but there was this one shining moment when Ashley Bryan was at the Boyds Mills Press booth to sign copies of How God Fix Jonah.

At an IBBY conference a few years earlier, I'd been the lucky recipient of a private Bryan reading in that wonderful west African dialect. I wanted Chuck (who lived in Nigeria for a few years) to experience it too. So I got all nervy and asked for another. Being the biggest hearted illustrator in the world, Mr. Bryan gave it. And this photo too!

The man is pure gold. Both of them are!

O CANADA - ON TOP OF THE WORLD - Part 2

Ashley Bryan with my hubby, Chuck

On Tuesday morning, May 15, Chuck and I drove into Toronto with the rest of rush hour traffic. We found the convention center and the Boyds Mills Press booth and voila! – there I rubbed elbows with some of the finest folks in children’s literature – both publishing staff and fellow authors.

Instead of naming all of them, I will simply mention Ashley Bryan because there is something about the soul of that man that just touches me. I was audacious enough to ask him for a private reading for my husband from HOW GOD FIX JONAH (which I’d bought for Chuck a few years ago when Ashley gave Marilyn Hershey and me a reading at an IBBY conference.) Ashley illustrated the book but you’d think from his ability to read the West African dialect that he’d penned the words himself. Hearing him read is like listening to a great piece of music.

Nancy (Boyd’s Mills publicist), Chuck and I attended the Young Adult Literature Awards luncheon. The guest speaker was Anita Lobel and what a fascinating woman she is! I loved that she was from Poland – one of my favorite countries. However, being from Poland during the World War II era (and being Jewish) meant that life was difficult for her. What an amazing story of survival (Auschwitz and more) and moving on to recovery and creativity!

It was fun getting to know Carla and Margarita - the award winners who sat on either side of me during lunch. I really like other writers! (See their titles and award categories below.)

The moment in which I accepted my award is mostly a blur. But I did notice that in addition to the check, I received a little box. (I didn’t know there was more to this prize than money!) All during Anita Lobel’s speech I resisted the urge to peak in that little box. Then after the luncheon I got involved in picture taking and left the banquet hall without my brand new award. (Call me easily distracted!) Thankfully Cathy Kim tracked me down in the hallway and presented it a second time!

The box contained a chunky little medal. It’s beautiful – and heavy too! Oh, and there’s a new seal on my book now!

Well my favorite part of the day has to have been meeting several of the committee members who chose BLUE for the award. It’s a little heady to meet people who know children’s literature and really like my book!

Nancy hosted a dinner party for me in the evening – more children’s literature folks attended. What a great little crowd! Everyone was so gracious. Cathy Kim, who is chair of the book award committee, was there. (Deeeelightful lady!) I wish there’d been more time to get acquainted with all of these people because each has a fascinating career in children’s literature in addition to having been super encouraging to me on a big day in my own career.