What a Trip! (Part two)

DAY 2 - THE NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL

Saturday, September 27: National Book Festival day had finally arrived! The activities were due to start at 10:00 but the Sisters agreed that after the long, exhausting previous day, we wouldn’t rush. We decided that getting there at 11:00 would be a good option.

Our new friend, Ronald Simons, was once again at his post at the Metro, as helpful and encouraging as before. If he sends all the area passengers off with smiles, the way he did for us, he is a terrific Metro ambassador.

This time, when we reached the Archives Metro stop, we joined a vast horde of people walking towards the National Mall. Parents held their children’s hands, couples hurried down 7th Street, and groups of friends headed for Madison Drive.

There were over a dozen huge tents. Some were set up for speakers, others for displays, and one—sponsored by Barnes & Noble—sold books by the featured speakers. Turquoise was the color of the day. Volunteers in turquoise shirts were everywhere. Free, turquoise, canvas bags were given out so each person could take advantage of the plethora of free stuff being given out.

We’d planned to meet our designer/illustrator Lisa Greenleaf at the mall. The rest of the Sisters went off to the Pavilion of the States to connect with Mary Russell from New Hampshire’s Center for the Book. There they had their picture taken with James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress.

Mary Russell and her associates had set up a great display for our book. It included quizzes for kids to do using Women of Granite. Children who visited the Pavilion of the States were given a United States map and encouraged to stop by every state display. At each table the state's hosts stamped the map and handed out free gifts: books, bookmarks, or, in the case of the Ocean State, Rhode Island, deliciously creepy miniature sea creatures. Very cool!

Lisa, her family, and the Write Sisters made lots of contacts. We spoke with the people from Massachusetts, California, and Texas about our upcoming “Women of …” books. Diane got to hear the new poet laureate speak for a bit. Mur met women from the American Library Association where her youngest daughter works.

All in all, a very impressive day. It was amazing to see such a great number of people all gathered in one place to celebrate books. The estimates are that 120,000 people attended the event. Imagine, enough bibliophiles to fill nearly two Super Bowl football stadiums worth of seats. Very cool, indeed.

What a Trip! (Part One)

The Write Sisters are home recuperating after a whirlwind weekend in Washington, D.C. It was time to celebrate and we managed to do a pretty good job of it.

As you blog readers already know, our first collaborative book, Women of Granite: 25 New Hampshire Women You Should Know was chosen by New Hampshire’s Center for the Book to represent our state at the National Book Festival. When the Write Sisters heard that news, our first reaction was “Road trip!”

We flew to Baltimore and rented a Sistah’s-mobile (also known as a Chevy Uplander mini-van) and headed for our hotel in Alexandria. The efficient folks at the Holiday Inn were ready for us so we were able to check into our rooms early and start exploring.

The hotel is located one parking lot away from D.C.’s fine Metro system. We abandoned vehicle and valises and headed for the train. At the station we met Ronald Simons, the world’s most helpful Metro employee. I had two kids attend college in the District, spent lots of time there, and was very familiar with the Metro system. However, it had been a couple of years since my last visit and the ticket machines looked a little different. Mr. Simons expertly explained the machine’s workings and we were soon on our way up the escalator to the train.

We got out at the National Archives stop and headed to the mall. I can’t speak for the rest of the Sisters but I still get a thrill when I walk out into our Nation’s Capital. It is a truly magnificent city. By international standards, we are a young, young country but I believe our capital city easily competes with any other major city in the world.

We could see the huge tents set up on the mall for the National Book Festival. It already looked pretty impressive, but we had no idea how fabulous it would be.

Our first stop was the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum. We spent several lovely hours there. It would take weeks to explore the artifacts in just this one museum. We didn’t try to see it all. Instead, we focused on truly enjoying a few areas: the mammal exhibit, the new ocean exhibit, prehistoric life, the Hope diamond, and ancient civilizations. We didn’t rush. We read the placards. We watched the short videos. We collected ideas for new books.

Afterwards, we had dinner at a D.C. landmark: Old Ebbitt Grill. (The Oldest Saloon in Washington) Great burgers! Great beer! Great company!

At this point, it wasn’t extremely late, but the Sistahs had been up since before dawn. We needed sleep.

Tomorrow: The Festival.

Poetry Friday--Bite-Sized Poems

I'm one for terseness. I think a writer should say what she wants in as few words as possible. That's one of the reasons why I love haiku--there is an absolute minimum of words used to capture a moment.

There are some writers for children who have also undertaken to write with a minimum of words. They write what I'll call bite-sized poems. I suppose the queen of the bite-sized poem is Valerie Worth who came out with four collections of small poems. They've been collected in All the Small Poems and Fourteen More. In Peacock and Other Poems, she continues with the small poems. Here's one to whet your appetite:

lunchbox

They always
End up
Fighting--

The soft
Square
Sandwich,

The round
Heavy
Apple.

Can't you see a kid relating to this little bite of life? I can. I've found many a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in my lunch bag. The bread battered, the impression of the offending fruit surrounded by the jelly squeezing through. Everyday life painted in a mere 13 words! Wonderful.

Here are two other writers of bite-sized poems for you to explore:

James Stevenson and his corn collections--Popcorn, Corn Flakes, Sweet Corn, Corn-Fed, Corn Chowder, and Candy Corn. Stevenson's illustrations are sometimes an intricate part of the poem, one doesn't make sense without the other.

Kristine O'Connell George and her Little Dog books--Little Dog Poems, Little Dog and Duncan, both of which are utterly delightful! (And I'm a cat person!)

The Poetry Friday Round-Up is happening at www.missrumphiuseffect.com. Check it out.

A Typical Public Appearance

On Sunday, several of the Sisters appeared at a gathering of local writers. I believe it was to showcase the writers of NH, and nearby MA, and to expose members of the community to the talents in their own back yard. There was a wonderful turnout of about 35 writers, but, the only audience appeared to be the other writers and the family members they dragged along.

We didn't sell much (one book on my end), but we did make contacts. Maybe some will result in future library or school visits. If so, it was worth the time and effort.




The view of the stage where the writers read from their work.
One writer insisted that she channels angels. We listened to the messages she relayed. I'm not convinced. What self-respecting angel is going to talk in cliches? I had such high hopes for angels! Perhaps it was the writing, and not the angel, that was the disappointment?

All in all it was a pleasant afternoon--any time spent with friends is good. Any time spent listening to the work of others is also good--if you listen carefully, you learn how not to write!

--Diane

Happy Birthday Books!

Today's the day to talk about birthday books. Why? Because it's my birthday!

I'm digging way back to 1932 for my first suggestion, Ask Mr. Bear by Marjorie Flack. You may recognize the name, Flack also wrote The Story About Ping, the much loved tale of the duck who gets separated from his family on the Yangtze River. Ask Mr. Bear is a simple story of a boy, Danny, who doesn't know what to get his mother for her birthday, so, he asks his friends. His friends happen to be farm animals. Everything the animals have to give, Danny's mother already has (eggs, wool for a blanket, etc.). Finally the animals suggest asking Mr. Bear. Unfortunately, no one wants to go with him to find the bear, so he ventures into the woods alone. I won't spoil the surprise, but considering this book is for 2-4 year olds, it shouldn't be too much of a mystery!

Ask Mr. Bear is a winner for preschool story hour since it contains a child-sized problem, a little drama (the woods and a possibly scary bear), and a simple, but satisfying ending. Also, it invites after-reading activity since Danny and the animals skip, then hop, then gallop, then trot, then run to find the special gift. It's the perfect way to get the wiggles out of a group!

For a little older group, look for Deborah Lee Rose's Birthday Zoo. This cute picture book introduces some new and interesting animals through its use of rhyme. For example,

"What do we do?"
Asked the emu.
"Make everyone happy,"
said the okapi.
"But where to begin?
asked the shy tamarin.
"Blow up balloons,"
puffed the raccoons.

Forcing a rhyme by using an exotic word doesn't usually work, but it does here! (Please, please, please make sure your end rhymes are not forced! As a former children's librarian I can't tell you how many picture books I had to reject for story hour because the end rhymes were awful, or they didn't scan...but I digress.) The illustrations by Lynn Munsinger are delightful, and she even adds a little lesson by including a recyling bin in with the party mess.

My final birthday book recommendation is Whopper Cake by Karma Wilson and Will Hillenbrand. It's Grandma's birthday and

While Grandma runs some errands,
Granddad ties his apron tight,
props the tattered cookbook up,
and sets to do things right.
(Right odd, that is...)

Of course Granddad is an experimenter, if 2 cups of sugar are good, then 23 pounds of sugar must surely be better. As you can imagine the resulting birthday cake is enormous and must be eaten by everyone in town.

A little older group of listeners, first or second grade, would love this, because by that age, they usually understand the humor of incongruity. Wilson includes a recipe for a normal-sized chocolate birthday cake.

We more "sophisticated" birthday people get margarita cheesecake for our birthday. You'll find the recipe here. (Hint: save yourself the bother of making a crust by purchasing a premade graham cracker one!)

--Diane

A slightly different version of this post appears on my library blog. It's my birthday, so I'm treating myself to one less thing to do!