Bryan Collier, Marla Frazee, John Green, John Stephens, and Catherynne M. Valente spoke about their latest works, their love of libraries, and the importance of literacy in their lives during the first Children’s Librarians’ Dinner on June 4 at a New York City midtown hotel.
“It was a wonderful night celebrating some of the stars of children’s publishing,” said Renee McGrath, a librarian with New York’s Nassau Library System, about the two-hour event sponsored by SLJ and the Association of American Publishers.
More than 200 media specialists and youth librarians gathered for dinner and to hear the authors and illustrators speak at the Holiday Inn as part of the many events that kicked off Book Expo America.
“I liked the diversity of authors, with three who are very established and two who are newer to librarians,” said Tiffany Emerick, a librarian at Valley Elementary School in Bensalem, PA, referring to Stephens, a TV producer, and Valente, an adult fantasy and science fiction writer, who are writing their second book for the youth market. “I also appreciated that they wrote and illustrated for a diverse age level.”
In preparation for the dinner, moderator and SLJ’s Book Review Editor Trev Jones, says she stayed up until the wee hours of the morning reading Stephen’s The Fire Chronicle (Knopf, 2012), the second book in the “Books of Beginnings” series, about three siblings on a perilous quest to find their parents. Stephens, who’s taking a break from the world of television, said that as a preschooler he “wanted to be a writer-or a T-Rex”.
Valente told the audience about her love of libraries. Her first kids’ book, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In a Ship of Her Own Making (2011), debuted at number eight on the New York Times bestseller list last May-and her second book in the series, The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There (2012, both Feiwel), about a girl from Omaha who’s spirited away to fairyland, is expected out in October.
“Valente was the perfect closing speaker, and I had tears in my eyes as she shared her love of libraries,” said Emerick, whose publisher Macmillan will post her remarks on its website.
Marian McLeod, a librarian at Connecticut’s Darien Library, tweeted that the evening was “librarian heaven,” as Collier, Frazee, and Green charmed the audience with stories about their works.
Frazee, who has received two Caldecott Honors for her work, showed slides of her family growing up and the books that paralleled particular family and publishing events over the last 25 years. Her latest book, Boots & Shoe (S&S, 2012), was inspired by the recent addition of a puppy to her family.
Green (above) , author of the New York Times number one bestseller, The Fault in Our Stars (Dutton, 2012), discussed growing up in Orlando and his mother’s social activism.
Collier, who has written a Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King-winning title, spoke about his artwork, particularly, Fifty Cents and a Dream (LittleBrown, 2012), which is about the young Booker T. Washington and is written by Jabari Asim,
The audience ended the evening on a high note.
“These authors made the audience consider the infinite possibilities, from the realistic to the fantastical,” said Susannah Richards, an associate professor of education at Eastern Connecticut State University. “There was something for every reader.”
Emerick is already looking forward to attending next year.
“I was honored to attend, and I love that it said “first annual” on the invite so I can look forward coming for years to come!”