BEA Anyone?

Like many of my fellow book lovers, I will be at Book Expo America or BEA from May 31-June 3. It's my favorite conference ever. I'll be meeting up with fellow kidlitosphere bloggers, old friends and meeting new ones. There's panels aplenty and lots and lots of books.

My posting has been sparse because I'm in pre-BEA frenzy which means I've been setting up meetings using the My BEA tool, getting all my work done so I can leave my desk in a relatively neat state, making sure I have enough business cards, packing and the usual madness that begins the week before a trip.

I will be posting news on the conference every night on this blog so stay tuned. I'm bringing a camera so there will be photos of author signings, etc. I'm attending some very cool panels and the Latino Book Awards so look for news of that. I'm also attending the Children's Book and Author Breakfast and will be in the Saturday Book and Author Breakfast as well. It should be fun.


If you're attending and we haven't yet met, send me a note. I'd love to see you at BEA.

Meet the Authors Series: Before It Wriggles Away - Janet S. Wong

Meet the Author Series
Before it Wriggles Away
Author: Janet S. Wong
Photographer: Anne Lindsay
Publisher: Richard C. Owens Publishers
ISBN-10: 1572748613
ISBN-13: 978-1572748613
Autobiographies for grades 2-5

Last week I read George Ancona’s story in the Meet the Author series by Richard C. Owen Publishers and I loved it. Today I read Janet Wong’s story. I find myself hooked. Completely. I love this series!

Before It Wriggles Away is a completely engaging story written by children’s book author Janet S. Wong. In it she tells of how growing up she never thought she’d write books. She tells how she fell into writing and of how happy it has made her, how much she loves it. In the book Ms. Wong tells how she went back to school and had a great teacher which turned her dislike of poetry to a love of it, made her into a poet.

The story is a simple one but it’s a great one. The whole writing process of this amazing author is told in words and photographs. Janet Wong tells of writing poetry, how she gets ideas and wandering thoughts that eventually become a story or poem. It’s completely fascinating.

Before It Wriggles Away is written for children in grades 2-5 but I feel that adults, especially those interested in writing are going to find this and others in the Meet the Author series completely necessary to their library. I certainly do.

What a great project this is! How fascinating and wondrous it is to peek into the lives of these authors and what makes them tick. How inspiring to young children. The authors I’ve read (so far only two) make writing not just an impossible dream, but something completely doable and accessible. That’s inspiring. These books aren’t preachy or textbookish, they are interesting and fun and very, very likeable. Highly recommended.

Meet the Authors Series - Self Portrait - George Ancona

Meet the Authors

Self Portrait by George Ancona

Publisher: Richard C. Owen Publishers

ISBN-10: 1572748605

ISBN-13: 978-1572748606

I get a lot of email these days because of the blogs and websites I write for as well as from new people I meet each day. A couple of weeks ago I received a most interesting email telling me about a series of books I had never heard of. That in itself is unusual. I follow the trades, read for at least four hours a day on publishing stuff alone. So how could I miss this great sounding series?

The series is called Meet the Author and they are published by Richard C. Owens Publishing. There are currently 35 books in the series. Each one is hard cover, 32 pages long and designed to give children an inside view of the writing process. The books are geared for the 7-10 year old range.

I just finished the first of three new books in the series and was incredibly impressed. The book I chose to read first was George Ancona – Self Portrait. I’ve been a fan of Mr. Ancona’s books for quite some time. Both his books and the photographs in them are arresting and gorgeous. I have my favorites like El Pinatero which I reviewed some time ago (check the archives).

To find a book that he wrote for children telling them about his process of writing and photography as well as a little background on himself and what got him started was fantastic. The book reads like a conversation and it’s just wonderful. Mr. Ancona talks about his days, how he takes a notebook with him and sketches out ideas. There are accompanying photographs and each one adds warmth and depth to the conversation.

I couldn’t think of a better idea and a better way to get children interested in writing. If the rest of the series is anything like the one book I read, then I want them all! Look for my reviews on the next two in the coming weeks. I can’t say enough good things about these marvelous little books. A must for any library and any parent’s list!