Do I Really Have to Read That?

They were an arm's reach away from the candy at my table.  The four of them were a perfectly synchronized team, eyes never wavering from the Jolly Rancher bowl, waiting for my attention to be diverted.  

I've always loved a challenge.  "Are you guys in high school?"  I smiled at the shortest one, but she right away deferred to the group leader who had her hand hovering, one step closer to the bowl, poised and ready.  The Hudson Book Festival was in full swing and there were plenty of shiny objects to steer them away.


The leader nodded quickly toward the two on the end.  "They're in seventh."  She elbowed her second in command and edged ever-so-slightly closer.  "We're in ninth."


I decided I'd better make my move, seeing as I was quite obviously on borrowed time.   

"What kind of books do you like?"  I tried to make eye contact with the Alpha.


She gave me a you-must-be-crazy snort and spoke for the group.  "We don't like books."


Then what are you doing at a book festival?  My inside voice shouted.
I wanted to grab the leader's iPod and surreptitiously download an audio book, but I knew there was no time.


Reinforcements were needed.  I searched out Walter Dean Myers on the other side of the room, wondering if I could beam an emergency mental message over to him.  Maybe he could leave his table and perform an intervention of sorts.


As the new National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, his platform is straightforward and no-nonsense.  "Reading is not optional."

  
Even though it seems like such a simple statement, it motivated me to try harder.  Getting a book in a child or a teen's hands is a duty that belongs to all of us--as teachers, as parents, as writers ... as interested and interesting people.  Walter Dean Myers says that "people who read well earn more, have more rewarding lives, and pass on their skills to their families."


I decided to try again with the Alpha.  "I'll bet you have a book--one book--that you liked." 


One of the seventh graders rolled her eyes at her.  "You don't like nothin', unless it's about love."


My books are realistic fiction.  Maybe that wasn't their thing. "How about fantasy?  Have you read Watersmeet?   I pointed toward my friend, Ellen Jensen Abbott, a couple of tables down.  "There's even a sequel.  And I think there might be some love."


The other seventh grader did a quick candy scan of Ellen's table.

I pointed next to me.  "How about Danielle Joseph?  She has a new book out.  And her first one was made into a movie.  Definitely some love in that one."  


The movie part got a half a raised eyebrow.  


Then the leader gave an almost imperceptible nod and they moved on.  


I sighed.  I didn't know how they'd done it, but my candy bowl was completely empty when they left.  But then I had a silver lining moment.  What the ReadingRebels didn't know, was that I had purchased those Jolly Ranchers the day before at the dollar store.  Who knew how old they were?  Maybe there'd be time for them to read when they were on their respective couches, recovering from their triple root canals.


I couldn't be sure, but around 3:30 that afternoon, I thought I caught another glimpse of them.  One of the seventh graders had something under her arm.  


And I think it might have been a book.

Peace, Love, Books...and Hudson! (Part I) and a Grammy-Award-Winning Video directed by Eric Luper

I didn't want to leave. I was in a place where everyone treasured books. As far as the eye could see were people who lived, breathed and wrote books! Over 5,000 people attended the 2nd Annual Hudson Children's Book Festival, an event so well-run, people are already using the word, "legendary" when they talk about it.

Here I am with my Henry Holt sister, Jeannine Atkins. I was exhausted at the end of our festival day, but I couldn't put down her beautiful book, BORROWED NAMES. As soon as I opened it up, I was drawn into the incredible lives of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C.J. Walker, and Marie Curie. Jeannine has profiled their lives and their relationships with their daughters with stunning clarity in the form of poems. One of the things that make these poems so unusual, is they are not just about the history-making moments of the lives of these women and their daughters; they are about the regular moments that made them who they were.

(In case that wasn't enough to draw you in, I'll give you a few of Jeannine's own words in the voice of Rose Wilder..."She turns to sort through what might be saved. A wilderness of cracked china, ashes, days when safety was as common as a roof. She folds her black wedding dress and tells Rose, You did nothing wrong. But then she whispers, We won't speak

of this fire again."

I couldn't quite catch my breath after reading that part. I told Jeannine I was adding another star to her already-starred review!

It was great to spend some time with the amazing Susannah Richards! She knows absolutely everything there is to know about

books and the people who write them; I could talk to her all day long!

Someone I wish I could have spent more time with

was my dear friend, Rose Kent, author of KIMCHI AND CALIMARI. I got to see the Advance Reader's Copy of her new book, ROCKY ROAD. (I tried to slip it into my bag, but I'm pretty sure she was on to me!)

Later in the afternoon, I got to do a panel with the fabulous Jo

Knowles

(LESSONS FROM A DEAD GIRL and JUMPING OFF SWINGS) and the wonderful Eric Luper (BIG SLICK and BUG BOY). I love the title of Eric's new book due out next month: SETH BAUMGARTNER'S LOVE MANIFESTO!

But the best part was when Eric noticed a piano in the room...so of course he decided we should do a music video...

Stay tuned for Part II and more Hudson...