The Hudson Children's Book Festival

I love to travel. I love to catch up with friends. I love to make new friends. I love books. So just imagine how much I love participating in the Hudson Children's Book Festival which occurred this past weekend!
This festival takes place each year in lovely Hudson, New York which is on the banks of the Hudson River and is quite a ways from my Shelby, Ohio home. So I set out on Thursday morning and drove many hours until I reached the home of my friends Barbara and Victor Mojica. They invited me to stay at the guest cottage behind their home and a lake view was included. Two more gracious hosts you will never find.

Victor is the creator of the CrossBones Comics and Eugenics as well as the illustrator of Barbara's Little Miss History Books. They both love, love, love history, which is evident in the fine books they produce. And if you happen to be visiting the Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island, be sure to check the gift shops for their books.

 

Victor and Barbara weren't the only authors and illustrators I was already acquainted with. I also had a blast with David Biedrzycki and his new selfie stick. David is the author and illustrator of several books including the Breaking News Series.

David and Me

There was also the Fabulous Susan Hood whose latest book released just days before the festival and David A. Kelly who writes the Ballpark Mysteries for all you baseball lovers. I particularly like book #6 The Wrigley Riddle because it reminds me of when my dad and I used to watch the Chicago Cubs together when I was a kid.

Beth Ferry, Me, and Susan Hood

There was Diane DeGroat a superb illustrator/author of the Gilbert books as well as illustrator of Ree Drummund's, Charlie books, the husband and wife team of Wendell and Florence Minor, and the creator of the Monster Needs series, Paul Czajak.

David and Diane DeGroat

David with Florence and Wendell Minor

David and Paul

 
I also met brand new author Katherine Gardner who is a pre-k teacher as well. She is just as cute as can be and the type of teacher every pre-ker dreams of. I met Beth Ferry, the author I mentioned last week, Daniel Mahoney, author of Monstergarten, and one of my table mates, Bianca Rell, who turned out to be with my very own publisher Tate.

Katherine Gardner and Me

Daniel Mahoney and me

Bianca Rell and Me

And did I mention I met Kwame Alexander, author of many books, including my favorite, Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band. For kids interested in the history of Jazz, this book is a must. It turns out, that Kwane is as sweet as he is tall and handsome!

Kwame Alexander and Me

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by and join the Literacy Musings Monday Blog Hop where you will find other great blogs, or my personal website, Fun With Aileen, where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own early grade Fern Valley chapter book series and my Quack and Daisy picture book series. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

Life and Books

Life is like the tide with ebb and flow. Some weeks are restful with not much going on and others are chock full of busy and interesting events. This past week was one of those busy weeks. Emily attended not one, but two pizza birthday parties. We also attended Cook Book Club where the theme was casseroles. She chose to make our family's version of goulash and I made bread pudding out of a box of stale yeast donuts. I wasn't sure how well bread pudding would go across, but much to my surprise, the dish was empty when I went to retrieve it.

In addition, I had a book signing at a local store downtown. My friend Connie, who owns the local Avon store Connie's Place, hosted a children's day resplendent with balloons, face painting, and a cookie decorating station run by Emily. While the children waited their turn to have their faces painted, I read to them from Quack and Daisy.

During our school week, we started a new unit in Social Studies about going West. Emily was pretty excited about the fact that I found a fun online game called Wetward Trail for her to play. So it only seemed appropriate to read a book from my library pile called Covered Wagons, Bumpy Trails by the esteemed blue board creator at the SCBWI, Verla Kay.

Told in beautifully flowing rhyme, the story follows a family of three on their long journey west. Through hardships including foul weather, rocky mountains, and parched land, they forged on until they found their own promise land. Although this book is over fifteen years old, it is well worth the search.

Another great book about traveling west is a book titled, Apples To Oregon - Being the (Slightly) True Narrative of How a Brave Pioneer Father Brought Apples, Peaches, Plums, Grapes, and Cherries (and Children) Across the Plains, that I reviewed two years ago.  Apples to Oregon is a terribly funny story of the pioneers traveling there and the cargo they brought. Even the title is funny claiming to be slightly true. So if you want a bit of history told in a fun manner, you really need to check out this realistic fictional piece!

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Drop by the Literacy Musings Monday blog hop where you will find other great literary blogs. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequels, Return To Fern Valley,  and Cooking In Fern Valley, along with my very first picture book, Quack and Daisy! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days. 

Ohioana And Some Really Great Books!

As I mentioned in my last post, April is a busy month. This past Saturday I spent the day in Columbus, Ohio at the OHIOANA Book Fair. One of my favorite pastimes at book fairs is getting to meet social media friends in person, and this time around, I was able to meet fellow Ohio authors Brandon Marie Miller and Tricia Springstubb. My librarian friend, Miss Holly, also stopped by to say hello.

Brandon Marie Miller, Tricia Springstubb, and Me

 

Miss Holly and Me

 

Brandon writes a super informative and interesting series about some of our early Presidents and historical figures like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Ben Franklin. These books would be great for teachers to use in the classrooms or for kids who love history. I am simply awed by the amount of research and work that Brandon has put into these books.

Tricia has several books. Her picture book Phoebe and Digger is adorable, and her brand new middle grade book Cody and the Fountain of Happiness is sure to be a great success with the eight to twelve girls. Tricia even passed out buttons that said HAPPY on them. How can you not love a book about happiness?

Next week I will be attending the Hudson Children's Book Festival in New York, I can hardly wait to see what other great authors and books I will encounter!

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, the sequel, Return To Fern Valley, and the soon to be released Cooking In Fern Valley (fall 2015)! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.