My favorite conference of the year! It’s always great to be surrounded by librarians, teachers, and authors who love books. And to hear about and receive piles of books that make my TBR pile dangerously tall.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from the conference (and, yes, I heard each of these authors speak and have each of their newest books):
I love the smell of books in the morning.
(there is) a pillar of books that you’ve read that raise you up…that have influenced you.
(when you’re very young and you’re reading and realize) you might be a book…the hungry caterpillar has a hole in it and you have a belly button.
My father had three daughters. That meant I was the oldest boy.
Inspired by mom who said the house was haunted and told her, “Don’t astral project.”
big, elaborate story with friends growing up. Hard to give that up.
Stories are not childish. They nourish us, give us courage, teach us how to empathize.
When you’re young, you don’t know you can repair yourself.
You can tell who the good teachers are because they like the same stories/characters you do.
Education doesn’t happen unless you get into the imagination.
What does hope really look like? Where was it lost? Where is it hiding in the story?
Secretly I’m writing for middle-aged women. I don’t know why children like my books.
The idea that we have to give kids hope is … I don’t have any to spare.
I hope I come up with another idea so my family doesn’t starve.
Good books build strong, resilient souls.
English class is where you learn the tools to survive.
family pain that is the scars, love story that is the muscle.
Next year’s conference is the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving in Washington, DC. Go!