Two Years Ago . . .

I was sitting in the audience in Philadelphia, listening to the Newbery Award winner being announced.



It was a thrilling moment because for children's book authors, winning the Newbery Medal is akin to receiving a golden ticket. Book sales skyrocket, speaking requests flood in and your book gets into the hands of many, many more readers.

This year, I felt just as excited, even though I read the list of winners on my home computer. A complete list of winners can be found here.

Hearty CONGRATULATIONS to the winners!!!

Three Things . . .

The news has been so sad lately that I came up with three things I'm looking forward to in order to cheer up a bit. Here they are:

1. On Monday, the Newbery Award and many other awards for children's literature/illustration will be announced at the ALA Conference in Boston.

2. Our son's basketball game. I love watching and cheering loudly during the games, especially since hubby is the coach. I've cheered a lot lately because they are undefeated so far.

3. Our lovely niece is visiting next week. Can't wait to take her to area parks, the bookstore, etc. and talk about her adventures as a student at a funky art school in Philadelphia.

What three things are YOU looking forward to this weekend and beyond?