ALA Annual 2019

#alaac19 Sometimes you just get lucky

Got on the MARC train to head to DC yesterday morning and when the conductor came by he said someone had left a ticket on the train -unused-and he let me ride for free. Talk about lucky. Went to lunch at Le Mirch and sat next to a woman named Patsy who talked about working with the state-owned publisher in China that publishes 50,000 books a year and wants to give Chinese children books that will make them more familiar with how children live in other countries. The conversation ran to how American and Chinese children are isolated in their own countries and their own cultures.Books can change that.  Talk about lucky to be a librarian to be part of that change. Walked past The Willard Hotel yesterday and thought about all the change that has been born there. Talk about lucky. Heard Alicia D. Williams talk about how every…

ALA Annual 2018

#alaac18 And the author said…

It was my first Coretta Scott King Breakfast so I didn’t realize how many tissues I would need.  Here are some of the amazing comments from the award-winning authors and illustrators who spoke at the breakfast:   “I know what it’s like to feel invisible.  I needed all the pieces of me to be seen.”  Renée Watson “I now carry poetry in my purse because you never know when you might need one.”  Ekua Holmes “Children need to see in books beauty, courage and ingenuity.”  Eloise Greenfield “You are built to be impenetrable. But you can’t be impenetrable if you are being ignored.”  Angie Thomas “Love is our light.”  James Ransome “You know I’m usually the coolest dude in the room.”  Derrick Barnes  ( As he took the napkin from Jason Reynolds to stop up the tears.”  A standing ovation followed him back to his chair.) “I try my best…