Whew! What a busy, wonderful day. I didn’t have any luck using WordPress from my iPhone, so I tweeted instead:
#alamw13 really excited about tonight’s panel of authors at the Seattle Public Library. Thank you, Random House!
#alamw13 Advice from Newbery authors: turn off the Internet while you’re working.
#alamw13 Christopher Paul Curtis says it’s okay to use the Internet while you’re working if you need scalping instructions.
#alamw13 The panelists are discussing Johnny Tremain. Bart Simpson called it Johnny Got Maimed.
#alamw13 I just realized that I’m older than a few of these authors.
#alamw13 Clare Vanderpool is a huge Willa Cather fan. That makes sense.
#alamw13 Jennifer L. Holm matched her outfit to her book covers. Great shade of sea blue.
#alamw13 Jerry Spinelli is kinda cute.
#alamw13 Rebecca Stead is wearing red cowboy boots. Absolutely fabulous.
#alamw13 A boy told Clare Vanderpool “your book made me cry.” It felt like an indictment. It’s a reminder of her responsibility to readers.
#alamw13 A young fan had his grandparents drive him to Jennifer L. Holm’s house for a surprise visit.
#alamw13 Kirby Larson visited a fan in Beirut who sent her an email invitation.
#alamw13 These authors take their responsibility to young readers very seriously.
#alamw13 Rebecca Stead and Clare Vanderpool look like twins.
#alamw13 Christopher Paul Curtis says that publishers have the hardest job.
#alamw13 Got teary eyed when the authors gave us a standing ovation.
After the panel discussion we treated ourselves and went to see the indie band Parson Red Heads play at a small venue on Ballard Avenue. We got on the guest list because my brother David Swensen was in their original lineup and he produced a couple of their albums. Here’s the library connection . . . David used to work as a sound engineer for Blackstone Audiobooks. These days David is a full-time dad and he composes music for television commercials.
The Parson Red Heads
Evan of the Parson Red Heads is also a new dad. We gave him a copy of Alison Faith Levy’s children’s music CD World of Wonder.
It received a starred review in the November issue of School Library Journal. 
The album cover features artwork by children’s book illustrator Michael Wertz. Michael’s book A Dazzling Display of Dogs was originally distributed by Random House.
Franco, Betsy. A Dazzling Display of Dogs. Berkeley, CA: Tricycle Press, 2011. Print.
–Rebecca Hickman, Alvin Sherman Library
rebeccahickmanlibrarian@gmail.com
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