Anderson's Children's Literature Breakfast 2012

On Saturday, I got to to to the Tenth Annual Anderson's Children's Literature Breakfast! It was my third year attending this event. The first time I went, I got to meet Meg Cabot and, you know, I love her, so it was great. Last year, I was excited to meet and chat with Tim Green. This year, was another year that did not disappoint with amazing authors. AND, I got to catch up with some of my favorite Tweeps, which rocked.

From left to right: Top Row - Augusta Scattergood, Jane O'Connor, Katherine Applegate

Bottom Row - David Small, Gordon Korman, The One and Only Ivan!

I have students who read and loved Katherine Applegate's Roscoe Riley series and I am really in love with The One and Only Ivan right now. I'm glad she wrote a book that speaks for animals. At the event, she talked about how people should think about how animals are treated and trained when they go to a circus. Sometimes, I think that there is a huge disconnect between what animals go through and what we experience. Go Katherine for bringing more awareness to these issues!

If you are looking for an inspirational publishing story to share with kids, it should be Gordon Korman's. I love his story and asked him to share it at our table and then it was part of his great speech. Basically, he was in charge of collecting money for the Scholastic book orders and sending it in to Scholastic. After writing his first book, he just sent it along with the book orders - and they published it! How great is that?

David Small is a remarkable man. I read his graphic novel memoir Stitches before the breakfast. After knowing so much about his childhood, I was holding back tears as I listened to him speak. He didn't even talk about his life, he talked about the most recent picture book he illustrated, but I couldn't help but think of all he has been through in his life. He seems like such a nice person and his thought process that he described for the illustrations in One Cool Friend by Tony Buzzeo was so deliberate. It was an inspiration just to listen to him. All I can say is: Read Stitches.

I totally forgot to bring my feather boa! And anything sparkly! I'm sure if I had girls, I would have been more prepared to meet Jane O'Connor. As she talked about the new Fancy Nancy Super Sleuth, the first in the new Fancy Nancy chapter book series, I watched her point her toe behind her. It was like she was just having so much fun. She seemed so young at heart and to really enjoy talking about Nancy. I'm very excited for the new chapter book series, I went home and devoured the ARC and it is super cute!

This is an event that I will look forward to every year I'm sure! I would recommend anyone who can make the drive to keep their calendar open for next year. If you aren't close enough to make the drive, I would recommend looking for an Indie bookstore nearby that do author events. It is a wonderful experience to meet our beloved authors and illustrators face to face. 

Sadly, I don't have a group picture with tweeps...I know, it's so upsetting. Although Colby and I did get a picture with our March Reading Along I-94 book that we'll share soon!