ALA 2013 Chicago: Epilogue (long, but with pictures!)*

What an exhilarating, exhausting, whirlwind of a conference!!!

While I didn't force my business cards on every person I came in contact with- I traded with a few select folks.  I even attended a session on bragging/selling yourself- and couldn't even bring myself to give those in attendance the card with my blog on it.  Sarah Dawn Fail.  I used to be so good at talking to strangers.

Cliffs Notes version, with pictures:

Went to opening session. Watched our Board Member get an award. Steven D. Levitt (Freakonomics) spoke. Exhibits opened- mass chaos. 

Went to a dinner at The Gage, hosted by Scholastic publishers. Networked with some other Illinois Children's Librarians. 

Got up bright and early. Saw Spotlight on Gene Yang, with Thien Pham. Got their autographs (and got my copy of Saints signed!)

Went to a session on Crossover Fiction, and got to meet Amanda Sun of INK! (review here)

Wandered the exhibits, got my copy of Stitches signed by David Small, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. And finally bought Hugo and got it signed by Brian Selznick.

Went to Fearlessly Leading session (where I failed to sell myself, as mentioned earlier). Then went to my UWM-SOIS reunion.

Woke early again, went to session on Caldecott books for storytimes; Buzz Books featuring VIZ media (they're coming out with a Hello Kitty graphic novel series!) and then met the lovely Francesca Lia Block (Girl Goddess #9 is one of those books I could re-read forever).  

More sessions, and then- oh, and then- the Newbery Caldecott Wilder Awards banquet!  Clad in a cocktail dress and grey Chucks, I walked over to the Sheraton where it was being held.  With a Calde-cocktail in hand, I accompanied my boss to the VIP reception where I got to hobnob (aka stare in awkward fangirl glory) with ALA Past Presidents, and folks like Jon Klassen (This is Not My Hat, Extra Yarn), Mac Barnett (Extra Yarn), David Small (One Cool Friend), Brian Selznick (Hugo, Wonderstruck), and Peter Brown (Creepy Carrots).  Then got to talk to Brian Selznick about my friends' son, who is a huge fan. And laughed til I cried at Jon Klassen's Caldecott acceptance speech; same for Katherine Applegate's Newbery speech (One and Only Ivan).  Then fell in love with Katherine Paterson, who received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award. 

[with Brian Selznick- and his awesome outfit]

Woke early again, attended a session, got in line for a Jon Klassen signing- they had sold out of This is Not My Hat (sad buckets...). Got another book by him, and got it signed; then stood in line for Extra Yarn. Jon remembered me from the previous signing (a relief, since it was a mere 45 minutes earlier). 

[Me, Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen]

Attended a session where my friend Nick was quoted on a slide (we've known each other since the pre-librarian days- college and grad school together; realized we work a mere 20ish miles apart; didn't realize we were in the same session til the next day). Went back to hotel- had a burger and Bloody Mary and crashed for about 3 hours.

Woke early for the last time- took the shuttle to McCormick Place and captured the week in a picture. 

Attended Closing Session with ALA President and Octavia Spencer, who has a middle-grade children's book coming out!  

Took cab to train station, grabbed the essential bag of Garrett's Chicago Mix, and took train home to my husband and Boston the wonder-dog (who greeted me with a simultaneous sucker-punch to the boob and giraffe tongue lick to the face).

An amazing experience.  Though they probably don't know it, I have mentors within the library field now.  People I know I can contact for advice and such.  I have so many ideas for my library now, and am overwhelmed with excitement/terror at implementing them.  But first...sleep.  Some much needed sleep.

Have a Happy 4th of July!!!  Book reviews to resume soon!

*clearly I need formatting help

Boxers & Saints (Part II)

Saints is Gene Yang's graphic novel that parallels Boxers.

It is the story of Four Girl- the fourth daughter born, on the fourth day of the fourth month, and the only one of her mother's children to live past a year.  Her grandfather refuses to give her a name, because "four" is a homonym for "death."  She is unwanted in her home, and finds solace (and food) from the Christian missionaries and converts.  She takes the saintly name Vibiana, and begins working at an orphanage in a Christian compound.  Throughout the novel, she sees visions of Joan of Arc.  Guided by Saint Joan, she becomes a maiden warrior, fighting for her faith against the Boxers.  

This graphic novel, as with its companion, is very well done.  It takes the alternate perspective- that of the Christians converts and foreigners- and contrasts it with those fighting to free China from them.  The book also does particularly well with highlighting symbolism in Chinese numerology, as well as showing the place of females in that society.  

The colors are mainly sepia, with visions of Joan of Arc in bright gold.  The gold gave a very ethereal feel, and more purposeful than ghastly.  Like "pay attention to me- I'm not haunting you, I'm actually showing you something very important."

One thing that really caught me was a layout-ish difference between the two novels.  In Boxers, the chapters are titled by years- in Saints, by Vibiana's age.  This was kind of a punch-in-the-gut for me, as I hadn't realized how young these characters were.  While reading Boxers I had assumed the characters were in their twenties.  I was wrong.

Maybe it's because I'm a girl, but I connected more with Saints.  However, I can't really compare the two volumes separately.  Together they tell the story of an important time in history, from two perspectives, and they do it in a way that is accessible- but still heart-wrenching.  They weave together the society, history, traditions, religions, arts and symbolism of that period in China.  The illustrations are fantastic.  

All in all, a perfect recipe for reaching kids and adults alike.  Boxers & Saints gets two thumbs up from this librarian!


For my review on Boxers, click here.



Saints is published by :01 First Second.  Digital ARC provided by NetGalley.
Release Date: 09.10.13

Boxers & Saints (Part I)

Confession- when I get excited, I do this with my hands:

And this is exactly what happened when I got my hands on the review copies of Gene Luen Yang's Boxers & Saints two-volume graphic novel.  

When I was getting my MLIS, Mr. Yang's American Born Chinese was required for my YA lit class.  I read it twice in as many days.  I still grab it when I see it on the shelf at the library, and flip through at my desk or on breaks.  I just love the way this man writes and illustrates.

Boxers is the first in a two-volume graphic novel series about the Boxer Rebellion.  It is the story of Little Bao, a young man in 1898 China, who has had enough of missionaries and foreign soldiers hurting those he cares about.  A major breaking point leads him to form a band of common villagers. He trains them in kung fu- they are called Boxers (or "The Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists").  They make their way to Peking, fighting to free China from the "foreign devils."

Little Bao's journey is one side of this historical uprising.  Yang's narration and drawing is...magical.  I had actually never heard of the Boxer Rebellion.  Well, I may have heard of it, but hadn't looked into it at all.  I loved the way this graphic novel wove together history, folklore, religion, and traditional arts.  The overlying colors are incredibly neutral, and then Chinese Gods and Goddesses, opera characters, and puppets come out in shockingly bright, beautiful colors.  It's this awesome punch that really shows what Little Bao is feeling.  There is laughter and heartbreak, all told beautifully.  It makes a pretty rough topic accessible to young adults.

Plus, there's a climactic library scene.

The main character's name has a place in my heart as well.  My sister spent a few months in China, and every morning went to the same bakery and ordered the same thing: Gai Mei Bao.  To the point where the ladies started calling her Bao (it is also one of the few things I can actually order in Chinese [and the extent of my Chinese is absolutely just food]).

I can't speak enough praise about this graphic novel.  I enjoy anything that makes me want to learn more about...anything.  Like how Mirror, Mirror made me go on a Borgia stint.  I have a feeling I will be researching this for the next few weeks.

I'll be reviewing Boxers' parallel novel, Saints, next.




Boxers is published by :01 First Second.  Digital Copy provided by NetGalley.
Release Date:  09.10.13