Today started real early with the famed Little Brown Breakfast Preview. Victoria is back (!) and five editors gave a spectacular overview of their spring releases. I am so excited about, well, the entire list. Each one seems like my next favorite book. I have already shipped my arcs and inadvertently shipped the handout with the lists, so I may circle back and blog about the titles later. My big takeaway: Jerry Pinkney has retold and illustrated The Three Billy Goats Gruff!! So excited for this. Of course, there were no fngs, but he's an automatic purchase for both my school and personal libraries.
Next up was Scholastic's Picture Book Salon, featuring Peter H. Reynolds, who I finally got to meet in person, Kate Messner and Carmen Agra Deedy. Each spoke from the heart of their newest picture books and they are all books I cannot wait to share with my students and teachers back at school.
It was pouring rain by the time we left the Picture Book Salon and the walk back to the convention center was interesting. Does rain ruin leather? Tried my best to protect my horde of books. Priorities.
After dumping my books and changing my clothes, I had some time before my next publisher event so I returned to the exhibit hall after learning that Notables was back where I had just come from! Aargh! Typical conference mess-ups. On top of that, my room key stopped working and I'm staying at a hotel that requires a key to use the elevator.
I picked up another bunch of arcs this go-round. Then headed to the Simon and Schuster Middle Grade Luncheon, which featured Hena Khan and her newest middle grade novel that is launching S & S's Salaam imprint. I am very excited to read Amana's Voice, releasing in March. I was also psyched to hear about Barbara Dee's next book, Star Crossed, also due out in March.
I briefly considered joining the Women's March, which started a couple of blocks away at the Center for Civil Rights and proceeded past my hotel, but opted instead to sit in on Best Fiction for Young Adults. I sadly could not make the teen feedback session, which I always find refreshing. Instead, I sat in on the first straw poll of the list. I read a fair number of books on the list, but am still behind on my YA reading. I was gratified that some of my faves of the year did well in the polling. We'll see what the final list brings.
I am heading out to dinner with Barb Langridge of abookandahug.com in an hour or so. Curiously, I am rather hungry. After all the eating I did this morning, I thought I would not eat until tomorrow. Let's hope all the lugging of bags of books (twice) to the FedEx office burned off some calories. It sure did a number on my lymphedema.
I can't wait to read what I sent home. I chose books with specific students in mind.
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