Anderson's Children's Literature Breakfast 2011

This morning, although it was Saturday, I happily woke up at my usual weekday wake up time to get on the road to Anderson Bookshop's Children's Literature Breakfast.  It was about a 45 minute drive but thankfully there wasn't any snow today!  The last time I went was two years ago when I was so sick and the roads were incredibly bad because of all the snow.

@100scopenotes @mindi_r @akgal68 @mentortexts(me!) @mrschureads

My friend, Kathy, and I talked books on the way and then when we got there I saw my Twitter friend, Mr. Schu, the second we walked in the door.  I've never met him but I recognized him instantly!  I met some blogger friends in the fall, but this was my first time meeting up with Twitter friends who I consider to be my beloved PLN (see above!).  Twitter does a great job of bringing people together even though we're far apart.  It's a strange feeling to "meet" people you chat with all the time and who know you even though you've never met in real life but exciting at the same time.  I'm sad we didn't get more time to chat, but the authors who spoke at this event were all excellent.

It's an exhilarating feeling to meet an author and to hear about his or her process, what inspires his or her books, or about their passion for books and reading.  As a parent and teacher, I truly recommend looking for author book signings your kids or students can attend because it does bring a new perspective to books.  Here are the authors I met this morning:

 Me and Tim Green - author of Football Genius and others

 Me and Mark Teague - 

author and illustrator of Dear Mrs. La Rue: Letters From Obedience School and others

 Me and Trent Reedy - author of Words In The Dust

Me and Kathryn Lansky - author of The Capture (Guardians of Ga'hoole, Book 1) and others

I'm still reeling from all the excitement of being with book friends and meeting some fantastic authors today.  It makes me sad that I live close to Anderson's but too far away to go more often.  

Have you read any of these authors' books?  Do you have a favorite?  What authors have you met or wish you could meet?