There are a lot of things to see when you go to Midwinter, no matter where they hold it. The Space Needle in Seattle, the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. Librarians, however, seem to stray off the beaten track, and find the interesting and absurd. It’s our job. In Philadelphia, for instance, there’s the Mutter Museum which features a Human Horn exhibit and a gift shop with wonderful kitsch. Or the Mummers Museum that holds treasures of sequined and feathered costumes from years past. But wait, there’s more! The Liberty Museum hosts an exhibit of Life-size Jellybean Children. Those children looked pretty yummy to a group of hungry children’s librarians (and one children’s film producer) searching for a restaurant that did not have a 2-hour wait. Filled with librarians, no doubt, the restaurants were bursting at the seams.
After a long day of sitting in a hotel room that was almost cold enough to pull the table skirts off and use as blankets, we were hungry. Discussing books and audios and software can really build an appetite, you know. After two days of meetings and with the Long Haul of Sunday (8:00 AM — 5:30!!) ahead of us, we needed sustenance. So off we went, in search of nourishment, and perhaps a glass of wine. Strolling down the streets of Olde City, we saw a variety of tasty offerings. We were getting so hungry that we began to imagine the next day’s headlines: Children’s Film Producer watches as Librarians devour Life-Size Jellybean Children. In smaller print, under the headline, it would read, “They lured them in with the promise of storytime”. But we were not reduced to breaking in and eating the poor Jellybean Children, because we finally found a place that had a seat for us. Whew!
All in all, it was a good conference. Our committee had 89 titles to discuss, and we got through them and had our list ready by 5:00 PM on Sunday. We’re quite proud of our list .
As always, Midwinter is not only a chance to hone our skills as book and media critics, it is a time to visit with colleagues and have lunch with a friend who lives far away. It is also the time when Children’s Literature takes the stage and the Awards are announced. I have to admit to being one of the librarians who cheered loudly for Hugo Cabret!
So, it is over, and Philadelphia is another city to cross off the list of places I’ve visited. But I never did see that darn Liberty Bell….
acrewdson
I love your posts Angela. You’re hilarious! If those children were made out of jellybelly jellybeans, I’d be devouring them with you.
-Ann