The BEA10 Diaries - Children's Book & Author Breakfast

Yawn!  How did it get to be 5:45 Wednesday morning already!?  Time to rise and shine, shower, down a cup of weak hotel coffee and mosey over to the Javits Center for the Children’s Book & Author Breakfast.

This is one of the conference add-ons that I think is well-worth the price of admission.  Entry to the breakfast is two-tiered:  one price to sit in the rear of the room, auditorium-style, another price to sit at an eight-seat table and enjoy a light breakfast (coffee, juice, water, bagel OR muffin) before the presentation begins.  Last year and this I’ve chosen the round-table seating; it’s a relaxing way to start the day (and we all know how cranky I get when I don’t eat!).

Master of Ceremonies for the event was Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.  The Duchess is the author of a series of Helping Hand Books, picture books designed to give parents/educators the opportunity to talk with children about potentially difficult subjects (new school, new sibling, illness, etc.).  She addressed the proverbial elephant in the room by saying that she “preferred children” to the ‘one or two people” who were “in her way” that morning, then said she might learn from her own books, Ashley Learns about Strangers and Matthew and the Bullies.

She went on to introduce the other speakers at the breakfast – what a line-up!  Cory Doctorow, co-editor of boingBoing.net, spoke about his recently-published novel, For the Win.  For the Win is a cautionary tale of players in video games amassing wealth at the expense of others, drawing a parallel to sweatshop workers around the world.  This is certain to raise awareness in his young (and older!) readers, using language and metaphors that they can relate to.

Richard Peck, a prolific author of middle-grade and young adult books, set us up with the premise of his novel Three Quarters Dead (to be released October 2010).  Three of a pack of four BFFs are in a car, with the driver talking to the fourth friend on her cell phone.  Suddenly the line goes dead, as the girls are involved in a fatal crash, leaving the fourth friend alone and hanging on the line.  She’s not alone for long, however; one day her cell phone rings, as her friends call her from beyond the grave.  Cue spooky music.

The star of the breakfast (in my ever-so-humble opinion!) was YA author Mitali Perkins.  She spoke a bit about her upcoming novel, Bamboo People:  “This coming-of-age novel takes place against the political and military backdrop of modern-day Burma. Narrated by two teenagers on opposing sides of the conflict between the Burmese government and the Karenni, one of the many ethnic minorities in Burma, Bamboo People explores the nature of violence, power, and prejudice.” I was able to read a very early review copy of Bamboo People (Charlesbridge, July 2010), and will tell you that it’s powerful for readers of all ages; young males (especially those reluctant readers) will be drawn to the teenage protagonists and their stories.

Stories of prejudice, multiculture, and bi-culture are often found in Perkins’ writing; a personal slide-show of photos accompanied her talk about her own background, where her ethnicity caused her to ‘stand out’ both in New York, where her family moved from Calcutta when she was very young, and in California, where they relocated when she was of school age.  Worlds opened up to her when she discovered the public library; her reaction was “All these books.  All for free.  All for ME!”

Books became both windows and mirrors for Perkins, which was the theme of her presentation.  Windows into another world, a time or a place other than the one she lived in, and mirrors, in which she saw herself, or her situation, reflected – even if the skin color, background, or place of residence was different than hers.  It’s rewarding for her to get feedback from readers, indicating that they learned something about others (a window), or about themselves (a mirror) when they read her novels.  Perkins ended her time on stage by acknowledging the role booksellers (and librarians, etc.) play; they are that slant of light that can turn a window into a mirror (and vice versa).

One last tidbit I want to share about Mitali Perkins at the Children’s Book & Author Breakfast:  She showed a slide of her worn copy of Maud Hart Lovelace’s Emily of Deep Valley (a book in the famed ‘Betsy-Tacy’ series), a book that she read again and again as a young girl, and one that was both window and mirror for her.  She then said that she wished she could travel back in time and tell 9-year-old Mitali that as an adult she’d be asked to write the introduction for the 2010 re-issue (HarperCollins 10/10) of the novel.  How’s that for a wonderful full-circle story!?

The Children’s Book & Author Breakfast was a great way to start my Wednesday at BEA.  Enthusiastic, “real”, and with a touch of humor, all four presenters have space reserved on my bookcase!

There was something for everyone – picture books with a message, novels about conflict at home and abroad, and a ghost story of sorts that will have readers examining their own lives.  Which book(s) catch your attention?  I think we’ll see windows and mirrors in each of them!