Wow.
You know what? The International Reading Association (IRA) conference is superb! I cannot begin to tell you how much fun we are having here! ... oh wait, yes I can. And it starts now.
So today was Tuesday, the penultimate day of the show. And, true to form, the day started out miserable and quickly moved to fantastic... and here's how. (Editor's note: The following paragraph is boring. Please skip ahead to the **starred** paragraph to read the good stuff.)
I was scheduled to work the Weekly Reader Booth at 8:00 a.m. I arrived at the convention hall in plenty of time, but of course, just as I was about to gear up to talk to my first teacher of the day, I realized that I had left my business cards back at the hotel. It seems like a minor thing, but really, they are essential for making contacts. So I ran back to our rental van and attempted to drive back to the hotel. I say "attempted" because the traffic back to the hotel was horrendous! I was on the verge of a meltdown in rush hour traffic because I knew that there was a very important lecture I wanted to attend at 9:00. I somehow managed to maintain my rage and turn the van around and head back to the convention hall. Grrr! Oh I was so mad! I can't even tell you.
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**I arrived back at the convention center JUST in time to power walk to my lecture with not a second to spare. I sat down just in time for the beginning of a speech by Mo Willems and Brian Selznick.
Willems is an author/illustrator who has penned and drawn gorgeous children's books such as Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus!, Edwina, The Dinosaur That Didn't Know She Was Extinct, and Today I Will Fly!
Selznick is the author/illustrator of many young adult novels including The Houdini Box, The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins, and most recently, the highly acclaimed tour de force, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. (We recently featured "Hugo Cabret" in Writing's April/May issue. Maybe you saw it on page 4 in Write Stuff?)
Together, Willems and Selznick spoke about their love of writing and drawing and how they go through their creative processes to come up with fascinating new ways to tell a story! And they spoke with such humor and such love of their work that it really put their captive audience on the edge of their seats. Willems is an author who's sense of humor and love of life is impossible to ignore. "When I was a child," Willems said, "I was, what is now called, a 'reluctant reader'. back then, it was called 'a boy'." He then went on to assure us he was kidding. Boys love to read just as much as girls do. For sure.
Willems' sheer enthusiasm and good will erupted out of him and we, the audience, were mesmerized. He even conducted a draw-along session where he taught us all how to draw a pigeon. (Mine was a little off, but then again, most of what I do is a little off.)
When it was Selznick's turn to speak, he came out shining. His award-winning new book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a young adult novel the likes of which the world has never seen. It's "part book, part graphic novel, part movie, part historical fiction, part everything." Reading "Hugo Cabret" is akin to living it. I would love to tell you about the plot but there's just too much else to talk about. You can learn all about this extraordinary book by clicking here.
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After that INCREDIBLE experience, I went back and worked the booth some more. I met with many fascinating teachers (maybe one of them was yours?) and I got a lot of great ideas for READ magazine! Look for great things next year! And, as always, you can ALWAYS contact us and let us know what you think of our magazine (and Writing, too) by emailing us at word@weeklyreader.com. And while I'm on the subject of plugging our stuff... have you checked out our Student Writing Showcase yet? I mentioned it the other day... anyway, check it out if you get a chance. It's only just the beginning of what we want to do with YOUR stories and poems!
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I MET NAOMI SHIHAB NYE!! She's the author of The Flag of Childhood: Poems From the Middle East, This Same Sky: A Collection of Poems from Around the World, and What Have You Lost?, among many others.
Ms. Nye is sooooooo excited to be.... oh wait... maybe I shouldn't announce this just yet? Hmm... ok, well I really see no harm in it. So check it out! This past year, Writing's student writing contest called "Take Me Away" was judged by the fabulous Ursula K. Le Guin. For next year's writing contest, I am pleased to announce that we have signed on the glorious Naomi Shihab Nye to be our guest judge! How cool is that?! Ms. Nye was all smiles when we talked about it today! And she can't wait to read your work! The theme of the contest won't be announced until September, but I can tell you this with confidence: you're gonna like it. :)
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So after THAT happy experience of meeting Ms. Nye, I went to hear S.E. Hinton speak in front of a HUGE audience! Ms. Hinton is the author of the classic novel, The Outsiders. It is a timeless tale of a young boy named Ponyboy who is stuck in a gang of "Greasers." But are the Greasers really that bad? Or are they just misunderstood? What makes a bad boy bad? Who decides? I don't know, you tell me.
Ms. Hinton started writing The Outsiders when she was only 15 years old!! The story was based on her personal experiences in school. There were two sets of gangs, The Greasers and The Socs (or "Socials"). And she was fed up with both of them. She wrote her anger and disappointment and it turned into art... and it has stood the test of time.
During her speech, Ms. Hinton did speak at lengths about writing and how hard it can be. She said that the year she was writing The Outsiders, she "got a D in Creative Writing." It just goes to show that anyone can write! Even near-failing writers! You just have to find something you love to write about and get it down!
"After writing The Outsiders, I took a break," Ms. Hinton said, "When I finally came back and decided to write again, I realized... that I didn't know how to write! I couldn't write on a typewriter... I couldn't even write letters to my friends!" She sighed under the weight of the memory. "Many writers will tell you that there's no such thing as 'Writer's Block'. Well I'm here to tell you that yes Ma'am, there is."
So to make a long story short... there is always hope. All you have to do is do it. So do it. Get to it. And send it to us. Click on submit your writing in the right hand column or send your writing directly to word@weeklyreader.com. What have you got to lose?
Nothing. Exactly.
Goodnight Toronto!!!!
-WORD
