National Book Festival 2010

We had a great time at the National Book Festival this past Saturday. We were especially happy for the chance to see our client and friend Pat Mora in action -- she's an awesome speaker.

Pat Mora

 Katherine Paterson

Katherine Paterson

Anita Silvey

Jules Feiffer and Norton Juster



 Rebecca Stead with a young fan at the New York state exhibit in the Pavilion of States

Hunger, Satisfied

Is there ANYTHING more satisfying than finishing off a trilogy (or a duet, or a series) of books that you've been connected to over a period of time?

We were dying to read Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins, the final book in the trilogy begun in The Hunger Games. Thanks to our friend Diana, we both devoured it over the past few days. It did NOT disappoint!!

Yesterday I was talking about the book to my friend Heather, from our fabulous client Children's Book World. I told her that luckily I was sick last Saturday and spent the whole morning in bed reading the book, and I commented to her, "Oh, I guess you can't do that much, with two kids."

She got a crafty look on her face and said "I call books like that the BAD MOMMY BOOKS because I put in the Thomas videos, sit them down and say "Mommy's going to read now!"

So there, all you literary anti-TV folks. There is a good side to kids watching TV, after all...

StarCrossed, by Elizabeth Bunce

Well, now that I've read it, I can kick myself for letting this galley languish in my reading pile for the last few months. All the signs were there - it's published by Arthur Levine Books, edited by Cheryl Klein and recommended by my fantasy Queen, Tamora Pierce (she says it's "Splendid...a smashing read!") Tamora's right - it IS smashing, and I couldn't stop reading it once I started.

Bunce's main character, Digger, would be right at home with all of the lovely girls-who-fight, girls-who-steal, and girls-who-have-magic that Tamora's introduced us to over the years. She's just a great gal: a sneaky, fearless, compassionate little thief who finds herself keeping company with a noble family...Digger has a lot of secrets, but so does everyone else, and I just couldn't wait to get to the end to find out what they all were.

And the ending was SO gratifying...and yet...now I have to wait for the sequel, Liar's Moon. Aarrggh!!