back to school!

Yesterday I spent a glorious fall day in Philly. The train from Lancaster ran express so I reached 30th Street Station in an hour and walked over to the nearby post office where I was greeted by a postal clerk who recognized me as a regular (and correctly predicted that I was mailing books). As I walked over to my first school my editor called to say we were *so close* to sending SAY HER NAME to print. I was able to get wifi at the school and sent off some last minute emails…and within a couple of hours the galley was out the door and on its way to the printer! The finished illustrations are SO beautiful—vibrant and funky and mesmerizing. Here’s a sample spread by Loveis Wise. I seriously hope she gets award recognition for her contribution to this book.

My first book talk was at a school that has lots of resources; my second visit was at a school that has far fewer resources and I left feeling a little demoralized. One 3rd grader told me her mother couldn’t afford to get her glasses so could I please make books with larger print. I couldn’t get into these schools when I lived in the neighborhood, but Sibylla at A Book A Day finally opened the door for me. I think what I do matters—the kids at both schools were captivated by my stories—but what am I doing to challenge structural inequality? Giving free book talks and donating books to schools in low-income communities feels like a drop in the ocean. I need to think about this some more. Redistribution has been on my mind a LOT lately and we’ve got to do something about the disparities in our schools.

I got some more good news yesterday—well, I’ve known for a while but had to keep it under wraps. The Ontario Library Association officially announced its nominees for the Forest of Reading,  and DRAGONS IN A BAG is a Silver Birch Award Express nominee! I’m thrilled that so many Canadian kids will now be reading my book. My dragons were also selected for a school-wide reading program in Columbia, MO and by a city-wide program on the west coast—but I can’t share that until November 1. Here’s some information about the Forest of Reading. I don’t think we had this when I was a child in Toronto…

The Forest of Reading® is Canada’s largest recreational reading program! This initiative of the Ontario Library Association (OLA) offers ten reading programs to encourage a love of reading in people of all ages. The Forest helps celebrate Canadian books, publishers, authors and illustrators. More than 270,000 readers participate annually from their school and/or public library. All Canadians are invited to participate via their local public library, school library, or individually.

The Forest of Reading Award Programs are where children and young adults pick the winner! Readers choose a program that they would like to be a part of, usually based on their age or grade, and simply begin reading! They can read all ten of the titles, or pick and choose to read only the ones they are interested in. Participants are encouraged to read at least five of the ten titles to be eligible to vote in April. This program aims to encourage a genuine and life-long love of reading among readers of all ages.