A Treasure for My Pocket
Two big surprises at the Literacy Conference in Burlington last weekend.
- The onsite bookseller, Different Drummer, had on hand a big stack of Love Every Leaf: The Life of Cornelia Hahn Oberlander – and it wasn’t scheduled for release till several days later! (It looks gorgeous, and after I spoke about it briefly during my keynote address, they sold out quickly.)
- The night before the conference, I learned that Janet Lee Stinson and Arnie Stewart (see I’ve Got Mail posting) were planning to attend. Not only did I get to meet these two remarkable people, Arnie helped make my keynote address a truly memorable event for everyone there.
After mentioning the correspondence I’d been enjoying with Janet Lee, I looked around for where they might be sitting, thinking the audience might like to recognize them. But Arnie surprised me (and his wife and Janet Lee) by coming up to the front of the room, where he described letters he has exchanged with children who have struggled with learning to read. He said he knows he will like my new book, A Pocket Can Have A Treasure In It. He then took from his pocket a stone and placed it in my hand. “Put this in your pocket,” he said, “and it will bring you good luck.”
Before going off to sign autographs (for 3 hours! what a great bunch of readers that audience was!), I had a chance to visit with Arnie and hear some more of his personal stories about learning to read. Janet Lee is working on his biography and plans to apply to a writing workshop/retreat that my husband and I are offering this summer. (See “Summer Workshop/Retreat by the Sea” posting.) I hope she does!
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Kathy Stinson is the author of the classic Red Is Best and the award-winning The Man with the Violin. Her wide range of titles includes picture books, non-fiction, young adult fiction, historical fiction, horror, biography, series books, and short stories. She has met with her readers in every province and territory of Canada, in the United States, Britain, Liberia, and Korea. She lives in a small town in Ontario.
What a wonderful day!
Hello kathy! you write the best books ever! im thinking about getting the horros: the yearbook witch is nuber one in that series. remember when you went to the school princess elizebeth and did that presentatio? i was a kid in the crowd. And i want the horor book because i want to find out what happens after tara`s death! its spooky but i like being spooked!!!– Andrew 😛
Hi Kathy. Wat`s up? I`m writing a book on my imaginations. I think it`s pretty good, but i thinkim getting into the beggining too fast! Is it just me reading it to fast or is it the begining? I know you need to look at it to see if it is to fast but is there any chance it happend to you and you can give me words of advice???- maxx:)
Hi Maxx. Getting into a story too quickly can be a problem if you leave readers too confused about what's going on. But taking too long to get into a story can be a problem too. When I'm not sure about a story's beginning, I'll get some friends whose opinions I trust to read it for me, because other people can often see things about a story that it's hard for its writer to see. Maybe you have a friend like that, who can read your beginning for you. In the meantime, have fun with your story!
Hello Andrew. Thanks for your complement on my books. And I sure do remember my visit to Princess Elizabeth School yesterday. It was one of the best visits ever – thanks to how well your teachers prepared you ahead of time and the enthusiastic response of kids like you! I'm delighted that you're keen to read the rest of "The Yearbook" horror story. If you speak with Mrs. Van Kralingen, she may just be able to help you out on that! Happy being spooked!
Hey everybody. Sorry if my comments on comments are a bit disconnected. I'm still just getting the hang of this whole blogging thing. Happy reading!