professornana (professornana) wrote,
professornana
professornana
  • Mood: sleepy

wishing for a nap but settling for some reading

I jumped up early this morning and headed off to the convention center. Guess who I run into first thing? Our own Thunderchikin, of course. I shuttle from the convention center to the Disneyland Hotel (oh so glad I am not staying there as I would be lost constantly) to fill in as convenor of the TEACHING YA LITERATURE DISCUSSION GROUP. There were three of us there for the meeting. We had a nice discussion and then I headed back to the convention center for the YALSA Author Meet and Greet. After that, I took a few turns down aisles at the exhibits. Tried to get an ARC of INKDEATH and was told by someone at the booth that they were only for people waiting in line for it to be autographed. Niiiiiiiice. I went elsewhere and scored some other ARCS and books. Here are the two I came back to the room to read.




My friend Lois had told me about this book when she heard the author at TLA. Kathleen and Boris were signing, so I grabbed a copy for me and for Lois. This story, related in rhyme, tells of Joseph Pujol who earned fame and some fortune as an artist of the fart at the Moulin Rouge in the 1850s. The illustrations convey the humor nicely. They are broad but not over the top if you see the distinction. I think this will become a hugely popular read aloud. BTW, the book came with a whoopee cushion. SCORE! Thanks David Gale (Simon and Schuster, 2008) for waving me over for this treat.

At the preconference on Friday, Jon Scieszka read from his forthcoming book, KNUCKLEHEAD: TALL TALES AND MOSTLY TRUE STORIES ABOUT GROWING UP SCIESZKA. The cover is fantastic and the contents even better. In some ways it reminds me of Bill Sleator's ODDBALLS, his own collection of stories from his childhood. Chapter 8,Crossing Swords, is hilarious as is a later chapter about an ill-fated car trip with a puking cat. This one will be out in the fall from Penguin.






In a few hours, I head off to the Newbery Dinner as a guest of Scholastic and Christopher Paul Curtis. SQUEE!
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