I got to meet so many fun authors recently!

Hard to believe that in the space of just a few weeks I had a chance to hang out with four fantabulous authors!  Authors are like rockstars to librarians, you know, and it was way fun to get a chance to talk to these people whose work I admire so much and who make such a difference in the lives of children.

First I got to spend a whole day with the very fun and sassy Amber Keyser, who visited Highland Elementary School.  She talked to the kids about her books Paddle My Own Canoe and her Max Axiom graphic novels.  In the evening she even helped students make their own comics.  It was a super fun day.  Unfortunately, somehow I never got a photo of me with amber.  Tragic.  I got lots of great ones of her, though, such as this one where she's showing the her own childrens' canoe paddles to the audience .

At my library conference I had the chance to meet and talk with Oregon author Elizabeth Rusch who's written several books, both fiction and nonfiction for elementary readers.  Her lastest book is The Mighty Mars Rover : the Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity. Amazing story, amazing book.  I loved hearing her talk about what she wanted to be when she grew up and then seeing how she made all of those things happen through her diverse collection of writing topics - from art to music to science to sports.  Writing provides some pretty amazing opportunities for the right person.  I also might have the chance to work with Liz later this year on another book she's doing, and I'll definitely post about that if it happens. Exciting stuff.

Young adult author Chris Crutcher was also at our conference, and since he has long been one of my favorite young adult authors, it was really fabulous to have him there.  He's got such a gift for tackling difficult issues and making connections with readers, the theme of our conference - making connections.   He also uses humor in his books, which I love and which I think is what makes his books work. If he just tackled these heavy issues without the humor, they'd be pretty hard to take.  He's super funny in person, too.  If you ever get to meet him, ask him if he wants to do something neat...

Finally, this week I was invited to hear young adult author Libba Bray, winner of the Printz Award, no less, speak.   She was super funny, which I should not have been surprised by, because the last book I read of hers, Beauty Queens, and her Printz book, Going Bovine, were both hilarious.  She was speaking to kids when I heard her, and she was just fantastic with them.  Engaging and fun but also pretty serious at some times. It was a treat to get to listen to her for an hour and to actually meet her.  I'd actually had a conversation with her on Facebook about Beauty Queens earlier, so that made it extra special for me.

So it's been a great few weeks for me, as you can see.  Any authors wanting to meet me this week? Leave me a note in the comments. I'll have my people call your people!