Anna Pellowski talked about her journey as a writer, librarian and bookmaker. She has travelled to more than 100 countries, has researched different storytelling techniques, and has shared her knowledge with many communities. She did a fantastic show-and-tell with a handkerchief story and a string story. I am eager to try her clever string story but I am afraid I will get the string tangled in my fingers and it will stay there forever!

After lunch we heard from Atinuke who is the author of the Anne Hibiscus books and the No.1 Car Spotter. Not only did she introduce us to her wonderful books but she also told us a story that kept us all spellbound. Her voice, her singing, and her accent made her presentation come alive.

Mitali Perkins was next. I have read many of Mitali’s books and have loved them. Since we both come from India I was looking forward to her presentation very much. She is funny and insightful and her anecdotes of growing up between two cultures resonated with me. I set there smiling because I felt like she had shared these stories with me a long time ago and I knew them all.

Ginny Moore Kruse ended the program with How to Keep on Keeping Up: Finding out all Year about Outstanding Children’s Books. She invited the attendees to share ideas about how to keep up with new books published in the coming year and many of us did. I know I’m going to read the books I bought today and check new books out at a library. I also plan to attend CCBC’s monthly book discussions.

I am looking forward to next year’s conference and I hope budget cuts don’t take away this event.

Thank you Rachel Weiss (Assistant Director of Center for South Asia) for organizing this event.

September picks were One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia and The Wednesday Wars by Gary. D. Schmidt. Please check out more on Wisconsin's First Lady Jessica Doyle's Read On Wisconsin website mentioned above.

Also, Aline Pereira, Managing Editor of PaperTigers, recently interviewed me. Please go to http://www.papertigers.org for the interview. They have also reviewed Boys Without Names – read the review here. I hope you enjoy browsing the website. It has a wealth of information for teachers, educators, and students.

My picture book Monsoon Afternoon is highlighted in the Peek-a-Book section – click here to access the writeup.

Last, here are some pictures from the recently held Children’s Book Author and Illustrator Discussion Panel (see previous post):

• Madison Public Library, Sequoya Branch (4340 Tokay Blvd), 9:30-11:30 AM
• Barnes and Noble West (7433 Mineral Point Rd), 3:00-5:00 PM
  

Click here to download the flyer and read more about the event.

And then the day got even better. The speaker was Molly O’Neill,
assistant editor at Katherine Tagen Books (HarperCollins). She talked
about what an editor looks in a manuscript. She discussed the elusive
“voice” and gave concrete examples from various books. Her talk was
insightful and informative and the handouts she had passed out helped
greatly. With the points in hand, it was easy to concentrate on her
talk.

Writing is a lonely business so an event like this fuels excitement and
enthusiasm. Being part of SCBWI community has been great—from attending
national conferences and regional retreats to being in an excellent
critique group. I feel fortunate to be part of it.

No event can go on without hard work. A big special thanks to the
Luncheon organizer Thelma Godin and Emily Kort. They did a fabulous
job!        

• Publishers Weekly: “Sheth’s lush prose creates a vivid portrait of slave labor without losing the thread of hope that Gopal clings to.”
• Booklist: “As Gopal dreams of escape, he builds tenuous friendships with his fellow workers. Those wary bonds form a dramatic counterpoint to the children’s daily misery, described in moving, palpable detail, and skillfully steer the story away from docu-novel territory to its hopeful conclusion. Pair this eye-opening title with Susan Kuklin’s Iqbal Masih and the Crusaders against Child Slavery (1998)”.  — Gillian Engberg
• School Library Journal: “……..well-told survival story with a social conscience”. – Kathleen Isaacs, Children’s Literature Specialist, Pasadena, MD
• From January issue of BookPage: “Adroitly contrasting the rich sensory detail of Gopal’s village life and the sensory deprivation of his factory life, Sheth has created a story worthy of her storytelling protagonist.” http://www.bookpage.com/books.php?id=10012757 

  
• Flamingnet Top Choice: “Boys Without Names is a superb book. The characters are so real, and the material is raw…..Once I read the first fifteen pages I was hooked, and couldn’t put it down. It seemed like I was one of the boys as their emotions poured out onto the page.”  – Flamingnet Student Book Reviewer APB (Reviewer age: 13) http://www.flamingnet.com/bookreviews/newreviews/newbookreview.cfm?title=Boys%20Without%20Names
• From Richiespicks: “This story about story has me recalling why it is that I so dearly love sharing books, why I so often seek out and always enjoy hearing other people’s stories, and why I get such a kick out of telling my own.” http://richiespicks.pbworks.com/BOYS-WITHOUT-NAMES
• Susan Uhlig’s review: “Don’t miss it! I know I’ll be rereading it.” http://www.susanuhlig.com/  
 
 

• From Lindsey’s library: “I feel as if I am also one of those boys without names, working in the sweatshop, and through their experience of creating family and bonds, and reminded fondly of my own childhood…It was everything I was hoping for and more, and I recommend that everyone read it.“ http://www.lindseyslibrary.com/2010/01/boys-without-names/#more-1431