Words, Wisdom and Wonder

I had been waiting weeks for the day when I would finally get to see my idol, Julie Andrews, at the ALA Conference. So many of us have seen her in films and television, listened to her crystal voice on recordings and laughed at her performances. Growing up in the sixties, I was inspired by Camelot, The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins to learn to sing and kept it up in college at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. No doubt about it, I always wanted to sing just like her.

Of course, that would have been impossible. There is no one like Julie Andrews. Her appearance at the conference began with a video montage of her work as a child star in England and continued through her most recent performances in The Princess Diaries. As she entered the hall, she was greeted with thunderous applause and a standing ovation. She broke the news immediately: she was just that day asked to chair National Library Week, and was accepting without hesitation. Her work with Harper Collins to produce "The Julie Andrews Collection" imprint was going to reproduce out-of-print books that would keep alive the words that would lead children to a greater wisdom and understanding of literature that would again lead them to wonder about the world. "Words, Wisdom, and Wonder" is the motto that appears on all the books in the collection also produced by her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton. The mother and daughter pair have most recently collaborated on The Great American Mousical and both later signed copies of the book for 100 lucky ALA members. I was one of them.

I was able to talk briefly with her -- everyone agrees that she is radiantly beautiful and much younger looking than anyone who was born in 1935. Sandy was able to sneak a photo of her, and a smile, as she passed by with the security guards. Everyone who worked with her at the convention used words like "classy" and "graceful" and "generous" to describe her. Her dedication to children's literature was evident during her lecture, and I am thrilled that the 30th anniversary edition of The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles has been published. However, as I left the auditorium, I couldn't help but wish she had hummed just a few bars of something from one of her musicals. After that, I could have danced all day...

Eating in THE Library

Today we had so many experiences that we will have to write about them over the next few days, but for now, you can look at all of our photos on flickr. Other people's conference photos are also posted on flickr. Also, there are many other people blogging this conference and AASL has an official conference blog, so you can read about all the other things going on.

We ended the day at a reception at the Library of Congress, hosted by James H. Billington, Librarian to us all.

Watch your local news tomorrow for Senator Jack Reed's press conference about his bill to include school librarians as highly qualified under No Child Left Behind. We'll be there cheering him on with thousands of our colleagues.

Three Days and Counting

Sunday morning we attended a Scholastic Breakfast. This was an opportunity for Scholastic to introduce its new set of high interest books entitled Science Behind the Scenes: Forensic Files. The main speaker was Dayle Lynn Hinman, a renowned and famous criminal profiler who appears on Court TV's Body of Evidence.

Three of us went to AASL Affiliate. This body meets at conferences and discusses concerns and commendations that are passed on to ALA; it usually takes six months to move through the process. All regions of the country are represented, and it is wonderful to meet folks from other parts of the country.

We spent time in the Exhibit Hall checking out all of the vendor displays. The hall was huge, and we managed to to get lots of goodies that we will be giving away at our conference in the fall. It was a great opportunity to ask vendors questions and obtain information.

I attended the Judy Blume presentation in the ballroom. She has not presented at ALA for a number of years and was thrilled to be there. The bulk of her presentation dealt with how she became a writer and was both informative and moving. Judy thanked all of us for supporting her throughout her career and indicated that she still has many things to write and will continue writing books.

There are still many events and presentations to attend, and we are trying to take advantage of as many as possible.

Steet Lit

The appeal of urban fiction to my high school students in Boston was undeniable. Sometimes raw and shocking to those of us who didn't come up on the streets, urban teens see themselves in it, along with hope that they will come through like the characters in the books. We had several copies of Teri Woods' True to the Game in my library, but once they went out, they were rarely returned - and if they were, they were dog-eared and tattered. I resorted to buying gently used copies to continually replenish our collection. My students acquainted me with other authors in this genre and their books also flew off our shelves.

I was intrigued when I saw a session on the program on Street Lit. It turned out to be a panel of three authors - Darren Coleman, T.N. Baker and none other than Teri Woods herself. My students would be beside themselves if they knew I had met Teri. She has an inspiring story for kids who are growing up on the street. Determined not to go down the same dead-end road as her peers, Teri self-published True to the Game in 1999 and sold it out of the trunk of her car. Over 1-million copies have now been sold. Her fans will be happy to learn that True to the Game II will come out in November. "People think street lit is too gritty, too explicit, but it was okay for me to live that life. I hope it opens up a bridge for communication for people that are living that lifestyle." Fiery, determined and outspoken, Teri has high expectations for herself and her readers. It was a delight to see and hear her in person.

If authors are stars...this a galaxy

Author Simone Elkeles with MSLA board members Ann Perham, Gerri Fegan and Sandy Kelly.





I have been stargazing. From the receptions to the sessions to the vendor hall, the conference has authors galore; it's a chance to speak with an old favorite, or to discover a new gem. I confess that I have been dazzled by all of the authors....

I grew up with Judy Blume, so finding out that she is days away from her 70th birthday was a bit of a shock. Her speech was emotional and personal, revealing a dysfunctional childhood and her revelation that her writing saved her. Another entertainer that I grew up with is Julie Andrews who revealed that she has been writing for 35 years and has launched a book company with her daughter. For both the Blume and Andrews sessions, there was not an available seat and the audiences were captivated by these amazing women.

At a reception, we spotted Walter Dean Myers and we managed to "casually" join his conversation. I was wondering how to open the conversation, when he turned to me and said, "What should I write about for my next book?" Wow.....I shared with him that my students had dealt with a series of suicides and suggested that he might write about that. Kathy suggested that "snitching" would be a good theme.

At another reception for Michael Prinz winners, I spotted John Green immediately and made a beeline for his corner. He was surrounded by very young and attractive librarians but I managed to enter the conversation and informed him that my son Ross had read his An Abundance of Katherines when it came out in galley and that Ross had loved his book before the committee even nominated him for the award.

A special treat was the Bookcart Drill Cart Team competition, emceed by none other than Stinky Cheese Man Jon Scieszka and Don't Let the Pigeon Ride the Bus Mo Willem!

A workshop on Young Adult authors featured Laurie Halse Anderson and her new book, Twisted. Cecily von Ziegesar and Alyson Noel shared how they got into writing. Sherman Alexie, author of Absolutely True Story of a Part Time Indian spoke passionately from the heart about his biographical novel and asserted that a movie deal has to include a Native American actor. I attended a workshop on the Alex Awards and got some great tips on titles to add to my high school library. Author Ron Rash read passionately from The World Made Straight.

Imagine "bumping into" Joyce Carol Oates or Paula Poundstone in the vendor hall....Yes, I confess that I gawked.

Something that resonated strongly in my mind after all these sessions and meetings was, "There is no age group more important than the YA Reading Group." It will take a while to digest all the authors I have met and even longer to sift through all the galley copies that I have picked up. I am looking forward to doing some beach reading!

Saturday's Photos

Washington Convention Center









Exhibit Hall







Gerri meets Joseph Bruchac, author of Geronimo





Judi Blume signs books in the exhibit hall.

Ken Burns and War

Today's auditorium speaker series featured film maker Ken Burns who discussed the importance of preserving the memories of war. His speech served as an introduction to a preview of his new work The War that will air on PBS this fall. Burns was, as expected, profoundly moving, as he emphasized the need to teach all aspects of human history, not just the crimes or the glories. There was a shocking moment when Burns quoted a survey that said that ninety-five percent of this year's high school graduates thought that, during World War II, the United States and Germany fought on the same side against Russia. It asks the question, what do our students really know about war? Burns spoke about the impending loss of recovering the personal histories of the remaining World War II veterans as time passes, and that the authenticity of their memories may not be recorded for the future. His work The War will premiere on PBS on or about September 7th on local PBS stations. Librarians, get ready: your history teachers will want to create lessons to accompany this series, and you should get a headstart now!