A beautiful day in Long Branch!

A Tuesday, on which I post something completely unrelated to children's literature ...

Today I attended the annual NJLA Conference in Long Branch, NJ.  It was uncommonly warm day at the beachfront Ocean Place Resort.  But despite the beautiful beach day, all the action was inside at the conference.

I attended several worthwhile sessions, but here's my main takeaway for the day - author Adriana Trigiani rocks!

I am a children's librarian with a penchant for reading nonfiction.  When looking for a book to read, one of Adriana Trigiani's would probably not be my first choice - at least not before today.

But let me tell you, Adriana Trigiani is flat-out funny!  She was today's keynote speaker, and she brought down the house!  To say that she's a warm, personable, intelligent, best-selling author seems to just scratch the surface. She paid homage to librarians (her mother is one), to her friends, her hometown, her mentors.  She gave away her impressive jewelry (really, she did!). She shared the intimate details of the half-frozen bag of peaches in her purse. She had the audience in stitches! I could have listened to her all day. 

Check out her website to see Adriana and all of her books, including the Valentine series, The Big Stone Gap series, and more. 

Kudos to the NJLA conference committee and thanks to Adriana for a great speech.

Flotsam, but no jetsam in Long Branch

New Jersey native, David Wiesner, was talking Tuesday (and Flotsam and Free Fall) on Tuesday at the New Jersey Library Association Conference in Long Branch, New Jersey.

David Wiesner, signing books at NJLA

Librarians who attended the afternoon Children's Services Section program featuring illustrator, David Wiesner, were treated to a glimpse of the painstaking process of creating award-winning wordless picture books. Personable and humble, he detailed his long-standing love of art, comic books and painting - even sharing his Kindergarten artwork.
Then, he took the appreciative crowd on a step-by-step journey from idea to sketch, to layout, to revision, to painting, to finished product.  His presentation was peppered with humor as well.  Want to know why frogs fly?  So do a lot of other people, but David Wiesner doesn't really care why they fly.  In his mind, they just do.  Wonder why there are pigs in Free Fall? If something tells him to add a few pigs, he doesn't question it, he simply adds a few pigs! He also called attention to little known details.  Many of the children in Flotsam are based on his family members and friends; others from Google Images. Ever notice the froggy clouds in Tuesday? The reflection of the camera in  Flotsam's fish eye cover? Wiesner's attention to detail knows no bounds.

Spend some time reacquainting yourself and your young readers with the imaginative worlds of David Wiesner's picture book collection. 

And keep an eye out for his new book coming out in the fall - Art and Max.  (And no, they're not pigs; they're lizards)

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