An Event in Black (with Shannon and Dean Hale)

As I've mentioned before (here, here, here, and here), I love going to author events. But even more than that, I love taking my kids to author events. Seeing the real faces of the men and women who wrote and illustrated our favorite stories adds a whole new dimension to the reading we do in the comfort of our home. So when I saw that Shannon and Dean Hale would be at The King's English promoting their new transitional book, The Princess in Black, I knew we had to go.

(Side note: it was not in my original plan to take all four of my kids, but I'll tell you more about that another day . . .  )

First, let me tell you a little about this book. While I am an avid Shannon Hale fan, my kids are not familiar with any of her other books because they are not old enough yet to enjoy them (although, I have to say that when I read Rapunzel's Revenge last year, Aaron was totally sucked in by the pictures and asked me dozens of questions about what was going on at this point or that point). But the Princess in Black is just the right level for the three older ones (ages 6, 4, and 3) to enjoy.

It's about Princess Magnolia--she's pretty and frilly and just, oh, so perfect. The Duchess Wigtower is determined to find something to put a mark in the princess's pristine reputation.While they are conversing over tea, Princess Magnolia gets an urgent call on her ring phone--a monster has escaped from Monster Land. Making a hurried excuse, Princess Magnolia transforms into . . . the Princess in Black! She dons a black mask and rides her unicorn-turned-horse to the entrance to Monster Land and puts a quick end to his hungry plans. She makes it back to tea but not without making the duchess a little suspicious.

Those who have compared it to Mercy Watson are exactly right--the full-color pictures on every page, the short chapters, the funny action reminded me of our beloved Mercy in all the right ways. And there are several more books to come! That makes me pretty happy.

Now that you know all about Princess Magnolia, you might wonder how my boys reacted to her. Because, as some of you know, they pretty much balk at anything with ribbons or lace. But I'm happy to tell you that even though this book is about a princess, it is one that girls and boys will enjoy. They eyed it warily but were immediately pulled into the story: there's action and danger, a noble horse, and an awesome goat boy . . . and also, the princess in black, who is pretty awesome herself.

Anyway, back to the author event.

The boys wore masks and tied black scarves around their heads to get into the appropriate mood.

Don't let the empty chairs fool you. We were the first ones to arrive (since I was juggling all four kids by myself, I wanted to make sure we had plenty of wiggle room).

The Hales made a dramatic entrance:

 

And then they talked about and read from their new book. (When they started, everyone was wearing masks, and they said something like, "We were hoping there would be some people we knew here, but we don't recognize anyone!" At which cue, Bradley whipped off his. They both acted appropriately surprised and said, "Oh, it's you! You could have been anyone under there: a monkey, a man, anyone!" Bradley reveled in the attention.) They kept it all fast-paced and entertaining so that even Bradley stayed interested the entire time (unfortunately, not Clark, but I'll reserve those details for the aforementioned post for another day).

 

Afterwards we waited in line to have our book signed. The Hales were personable and friendly. I was so impressed with how truly interested they were in every child in attendance, taking their questions seriously and acting thrilled to have them there.

A few days later, I saw a picture like the one below in this article from Publishers Weekly. I think I recognize three of those ninjas.

P.S. If you'd like to read more about what Shannon Hale herself thinks about this latest book, see "Like every superhero, every book has an origin story."

Starstruck Over Kate DiCamillo

I can still remember my first Kate DiCamillo book (it was only like four years ago, so you would hope I could remember it). I listened to The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, and I couldn't believe how such a short, simple story could impact me so profoundly. I think that was one of the first moments where I realized that anyone who thinks children's literature can only be enjoyed by children is CRAZY.

Edward Tulane was soon followed by Winn-Dixie who was followed by Despereaux. Once my kids were old enough, we devoured Mercy Watson (they became our stand-by, comfort books) and Bink & Gollie. When I heard Kate DiCamillo had a new book coming out this year (Flora & Ulysses), I was so ecstatic, I wrote about it here.

A few weeks ago, I found out she would be speaking at our library, and do you think I was about to miss it? Not a chance.

I was going to go with a friend, but when she sadly ended up with a migraine, I asked Aaron if he wanted to go instead (it was only fair since Maxwell got to go when the Steads came two weeks ago).

In a word, Kate DiCamillo was delightful. She's short (just like me!) and funny. Her humor feels spontaneous even though I'm sure she's told many of the same stories and answered the same questions again and again.

We loved hearing about the inspiration behind Mercy Watson. One day (I think while she was traveling), she had a picture of a pig come to mind with the name "Mercy" under it. (When I related this story to Mike, he said, "Okay, that's a little weird," to which I retorted, "You've had plenty of strange ideas yourself, mister, and we all happen to love Mercy Watson around here, so I wouldn't be criticizing how she came about if I were you!"). Then awhile later, she thought of Mr. and Mrs. Watson and realized they weren't going to be pigs but humans. The last piece of the puzzle came one morning when she was driving her friend to the airport. Her friend came out to the car with a large piece of toast, which she proceeded to eat on the drive. Kate eventually asked her to save the rest until they were at the airport as she was getting greasy crumbs all over her brand-new car, but instead of stopping, the friend proceeded to give all the reasons why buttered toast was the perfect food.

I loved hearing this story because it demonstrated how stories come a piece at a time and how it's so important to pay attention to those little flashes because eventually they add up to something much bigger.

I had been planning on buying her newest book, but then the line was so long and I had another meeting I had to be to in the evening and I thought Aaron was probably getting tired and restless. But Aaron said he really wanted to stand in line and meet her. So we did, and I'm so glad.

Even though she hears it from everyone, I was glad that I personally could tell her how much we love her books. Our lives really have been so richly blessed because of them.

Why We Now Own a Copy of "A Sick Day for Amos McGee"

I have made a little informal promise to myself that if an author I like does a book signing, I will make a reasonable effort to go to it.

All of the author events I have been to in the last year have been fabulous. And every time, I come away with a greater appreciation for their work specifically but also for all authors and illustrators in general. Plus, I love getting a little glimpse into their personalities, and I love showing my children that real people create the books we love.

So when I saw that Philip and Erin Stead were going to be at The King's English today, and I looked at our calendar and saw that the afternoon was gloriously free of piano students, I said, "Hey, Max! Want to go on a date with me?"

Luckily he did, and we were soon seated on the floor of the children's section listening to the Steads read from their books.

Philip Stead began by saying how excited they were to be at the King's English, which (according to him) is one of the more well-known independently owned bookstores in the country (always nice to feel that little twinge of pride right off the bat). Then he had all the kids introduce themselves all at the same time to his wife, Erin, because, he said, she is a little bit shy.

They read three of their books: A Sick Day for Amos McGee, If You Want to See a Whale, and Hello, My Name is Ruby (which just came out 11 days ago). They invited the kids to interact and participate. Max loved trying to say "Ugh" in just the right way.

They shared some fun facts about their books, like that the idea for A Sick Day for Amos McGee came about because Philip wanted Erin to draw a picture of an old man and an elephant playing chess together.

Then Erin showed some samples of her work to show the process of sketching, then making the wood cut, then finishing the details. Each page takes her about one week to complete.

They talked about upcoming books, and now I can't wait for next fall. (Sometimes it makes life less painful to not know about the good things on the horizon.)

I loved the dynamic between the two of them. You can tell that they both love what they do, and it was so fun to hear about the ways that they collaborate and edit and critique one another's work.

I have long wanted our own copy of A Sick Day for Amos McGee, so of course I had to purchase it today (although Max would have rather had If You Want to See a Whale because it has an imprint of a whale in the clothbound cover).

When Philip Stead read A Sick Day for Amos McGee, he prefaced it by saying that it's a quiet story. And it is. And yet, quiet in this case definitely does not mean boring or distant. Amos McGee is a zookeeper who does far more than feed the animals and clean their cages. They are his friends, and when he doesn't show up to work one day due to a nasty cold, they all rally to give back to their dear friend, Amos. The illustrations are subtle (Erin said she only used eight colors), and the balance between the text and illustrations is marvelous. This is the kind of quiet story I can definitely get behind.

Max was very patient as we waited in the signing line. And when we finally made it to them, they were very gracious about letting me snap a picture of him with them. (Max, unfortunately, didn't look at the camera, but I didn't dare hold up the line while trying to get a three-year-old to cooperate. That could've taken hours.)



As we were leaving, Max said, "They were a lot nicer than I thought they would be." Not exactly sure what he was expecting, but I have to agree that they were very nice.

When I got home, I was justifying my purchase by saying that I supported a local bookstore, supported an author/illustrator team I really, really like, and got one of my favorite books. "I guess it was a win-win-win," Mike said.

A win-win-win, indeed.