Team Blog waving goodbye. They only said 'wave,' not 'wave at the camera,' so I'm waving at the Coat Check Lady.
Lots of SCBWI love still floating around the kidlitosphere days after the conference is over. I'm thrilled to have been a part of
Team Blog again and hope you enjoyed all our posting and tweeting. Conferences go by so fast, it is lovely to have a record of them however brief, and I cannot tell you how much we DIDN'T blog. The conference was choc-a-bloc with great stuff. We only scratched the surface. New York was all about soaking up knowledge.
And socializing with my People!
Old SCBWI WWA buddies made a formidable showing in Manhattan. Happy to see new faces like
Peter Brown and
Julia Sarcone-Roach. Plus old favorites like darlink
Betsy Bird,
Esther Hershenhorn,
Sydney Salter and
Ann Haywood Leal. And all those groovy editors, art directors and agents that I've gotten to know by being involved with SCBWI. Not to mention the SCBWI staff and, one more time, Team Blog. I'm building them a shrine.
I got a brief howdy with my buddy G. Brian Karas, too! Those of you in need of an art class slash vacation in Italy are IN LUCK!
Brian is actually teaching there this summer via Art Workshop International. AND he says he started a
blog thanks in part to my nagging, so go visit!
For this Winter Conference I'm willing to go on record and say that Allyn Johnston gave one of my all-time favorite conference talks ever. You can read my post on it
here. I love how she and Marla Frazee are always able to articulate what children's book making is all about. KIDS.
On the topic of kids, below is some eavesdropping I did a few afternoons ago. Most might find this tedious and maybe it's only funny if you were there, but... But it was just too exciting to see adolescent purchasing power in action. Plus
"Boy" is my ideal audience–twenty years from now I could see him on the comedy circuit. And I only hope I might write or draw something someday soon that makes this guy laugh:
Boy: What's up, man? What can I get for five dollars?
Barista: What do you
want for five dollars?
Boy: How about a root beer and a hot chocolate.
*Another kid walks in, let's call him "Other Guy"*
Boy sees Other Guy: Oh, this guy! He's loaded!
*Barista gives Boy change back. Friend giggles. Boy seems surprised to have money left over*
Boy: OH... Can I get a graham cracker, too?
*Boy starts reading root beer bottle label out loud. Friend giggles*
Barista interrupts label reading: Do you want milk chocolate or dark chocolate?
Boy waving hands like little flippers: WHAT's this?!?
Barista sighs: You can get milk chocolate or dark chocolate on your graham cracker.
*Boy's mind has just been blown*
Boy: Oh! Ha ha, milk chocolate.
*Boy is checking out countertop and sees tip jar
*
Boy: And heeeeeeeere's some change. Heeeeeeere!
*Boy puts change in tip jar with energy -- plonk! plonk! PLONK. Friend giggles*
*Friend and Boy sit and eat sugar straight from sugar packets. A minute later, sugar and chocolate covered graham cracker have been consumed*
*They leave and Boy is holding his still sealed root beer bottle upside down like a baseball bat. Friend is catching up from behind while giggling and slorping the whipped cream off his cocoa*
The café made you take an elevator to the john, but what an elevator! Could there be a cooler elevator company logo?
The ceiling beams were covered in text. I don't know if that translates to Insipid Jello?
Plus nicely decorated wood posts. The tables and chairs had 1,000 layers of lacquer on them. If only I'd had my fur or my Bentley idling nearby I think I could have spent more time in there.
Team Blog waving goodbye. They only said 'wave,' not 'wave at the camera,' so I'm waving at the Coat Check Lady.
I got a brief howdy with my buddy G. Brian Karas, too! Those of you in need of an art class slash vacation in Italy are IN LUCK! Brian is actually teaching there this summer via Art Workshop International. AND he says he started a blog thanks in part to my nagging, so go visit!
Boy: What's up, man? What can I get for five dollars?
*Friend and Boy sit and eat sugar straight from sugar packets. A minute later, sugar and chocolate covered graham cracker have been consumed*
You should be over on the Official Conference Blog, guys! We are blogging and tweeting up a storm. This morning's keynote is Libba Bray who has already referenced cajones, unicorn erotica, her Printz afterglow, and she just did The Robot.
You guys, can you hardly stand it? The SCBWI Winter Conference is less than a week away. Have you registered? Do you have your fancy shoes packed? Have you decided on what breakout sessions to attend or are you still trying to pick?
Hi Allyn! Thanks so much for letting SCBWI TEAM BLOG interview you before the conference. First up, can you give us a hint of what we can look forward to in your NY breakout sessions?
And of course, the newest Caldecott Honor winner: ALL THE WORLD by Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee.
First, the adorable front door and couch area
Awesome meeting table
Ooo, I have those IKEA drawers. Wonder what is on the inspiration board above the desk...
Cute chicken on back porch – maybe it is the Beach Lane resident mascot?
Happy corner office
Thanks, Allyn, and see you in a few days!
Peter Sis! One of the most amazing illustrators of our time has been up to no good lately. Since winning that genius thing, he just fritters his days away it seems. Still, we've got some sneak peeks at what Peter's been up to as well as a few hints about his upcoming books:
Out in April from Scholastic Press, THE DREAMER is a YA novel by Pam Muñoz Ryan with illustrations by Sis about the early life of Pablo Neruda. Love this review here, which tells us we can look forward to an intriguing array of illustrated pages and poems in the book.
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