Here was the plan.  To crash the conference floor on Friday and take it easy on Saturday. Of course, the floor wouldn’t open up until Saturday so my well-laid/poorly researched plans went ah-skittering across the floor and out of sight.  Convention floors are only open three days of any given conference.  This is done, I [...]

Simon & Schuster had other interesting covers to boot. I was a big big fan of Phineas L. MacGuire… Erupts! last year. And I felt that it really didn’t get the attention it so richly deserved. Someone at S&S obviously agreed with me, but they decided that the flaw lay in the original cover. I [...]

Kids Can Press was next on the list and they’ve an interesting selection, fer sure.  Mr. Maxwell’s Mouse by Frank Asch was such a hit that now there’s a follow-up by the name of Mrs. Marlow’s Mice.  You know, when William Wegman puts dog heads on human bodies, it depresses me.  Why is the case [...]

Quick now, quick now! Well, there was a gay children’s books article with a magnificent quote from Arthur A. Levine found thanks to Kids Lit. Kids Lit, for the record, also directed me to the Anti-Princess Reading List. And what kind of cruel person would I be if I didn’t let you know about the [...]

Poetry Northwest, Spring 2002 Be sure to go to Shaken & Stirred for today’s round-up. August   Squirrels on the shed roof, trying to mate, don’t seem very good at it though the way he clasps her approximate waist with his almost arms, seems nearly tender, echoes the human.  That, and the way, after several [...]

These round-ups are dangerous in part because I suffer from a severe case of ALA Aphasia. I’m going to try to tell you about some of the folks I bumped into while at ALA. This is partly self-indulgent and partly apologetic because I know I’ve forgotten people.  Sorry, guys.  Next conference I’ll let you tattoo [...]

I also met Laura Amy Schlitz during the conference, but she’s a rather private person so I won’t go bandying about the facts of the matter.  Except to say that I want her hair, of course.  Laura Amy Schlitz rules the roost in terms of magnificent hair.  Now go read A Drowned Maiden’s Hair.  Go! [...]

To my chagrin, it appears that the world continued to turn while I was at the ALA Conference. That means that I’m woefully behind on any and all cool news items. Consarn it.  What did I miss telling you about? Well there was that full-color illustration of the love of my life on 7-Imp.  He [...]

Speaking of blogs, mark this one under the cool illustrator section of your blogroll. Over the next few weeks or so, illustrator Matt Tavares will be showing you the process by which he creates the illustrations for Lady Liberty: A Biography, written by Doreen Rappaport. You may recall Mr. Tavares from his jaw-droppingly stunning pics [...]

This one deserves its own entry, I think. There are a couple facts that you should know at this time. First of all, there is no bathroom in the Teen Central portion of the Donnell Library. And though it is not encouraged, some teens have figured out that it’s much faster to use the children’s [...]

For those of you who’ve had trouble commenting on this blog, I’ve learned some interesting things.  Apparently pasting an HTML code into the post will mean that SLJ won’t allow you to comment.  I suspect this extends to more than just website addresses, but I’m not sure.  It bears looking at.  Always copy your message [...]

They’re not an exact match, but when I was discussing covers this week and how similar the images are on them, someone sent me these two images.  Of even more interest, apparently the second cover got rid of the part containing the man in its paperback edition, but kept the bridge.  Interesting.

Now I am back, relatively rested (all things considered) and willing to divulge to you the gist of what I’ve seen and done. For your reading convenience I am splitting these into different postings. They are, as follows: Convention Floor Goodies (Upcoming Titles and the Like) List of Authors/Illustrators. Met, Loved, and Tripped Over. How [...]