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The Albany Children’s Book Festival – Part 3

Posted on May 6, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Going to The Albany Children’s Book Festival was an experience our entire family enjoyed. As I have mentioned in two previous posts (Part 1 and Part 2), meeting some of the talented authors and illustrators was wonderful. In addition to that, the kids were excited to read books that were new to them and add to our summer reading list.

What I really appreciated about this festival was being able to see the local authors. Often times, the kids and I forget that we have some wonderful authors and illustrators within the Capital District area. One example of this is author and illustrator Matthew McElligott. I was introduced to Mr. McElligott by my oldest son after he went to NHL’s school and spoke with the children. I was so curious, I immediately went out and read Benjamin Franklinstein Lives! and adored it. I am hoping to read this and the other books in the series with the boys, plus I know JSL will like the picture books by McElligott as well.

Of course, then there is the moment that you recognize someone and feel so very naïve. That moment was when we wandered over to the table with author and illustrator Daniel J. Mahoney. Mr. Mahoney looked VERY familiar. Of course, it was NHL that realized why. NHL knows his son and I had absolutely no idea about his books none. Ooops! Now that we are on radar, JSL and I are looking forward to Monstergarten which is coming out in July. No doubt we will also look at some of the other books he has written and illustrated.

The kids had a lot of fun talking with author and illustrator Jef Czekaj when they brought their passports over. He even drew a cute little cartoon critter next to his name. I reminded the boys that we had read at least one of his books over the summer. Yes, I recall the kids reading Oink-A-Doodle-Moo multiple times and laughing and enjoying it a lot. I know we will be looking at more of Mr. Czekaj’s books this summer.

After this, the kids spotted a table set up to make some monster drawings. Local teacher, author, and artist Ira Marcks. Mr. Marcks actually had a station set up for kids to create their own Monster drawings. He talked with the boys as they were making their colored pencil creations. He also shared some of his camps and other local events that we will be investigating for the summer. His book Witch Knots is a graphic novel that really highlights his work.

After two monsters were drawn, we took the boys to get their prize for getting a lot of autographs in their booklets. Then it was time to select books so we could purchase them and go home. As I wrote in Part 2, NHL immediately knew what book he wanted to get. JSL, had some troubles selecting a book. We must have gone back to several tables over and over again. Thanks to this, we now have more books to add to the summer reading and several birthday present ideas for the kindergarten kiddo. In the end, my little Matey fell for author and illustrator Victor Ramon Mojica’s book Captain Cross Bones in the Treasure Hunt. I think Mr. Mojica sold the book by interacting with JSL and giving him a cool autographed poster of Captain Cross Bones. I also know we will be checking out Barbara Mojica’s Little Miss History book because they also looked like something the boys would adore.

Check out my little Wizards after we got home and were looking at our books and other items from some local vendors and libraries. You can see they love their new hats and were ready to dive into their new books.

If you hear about a children’s book festival coming to your area, I urge you to make the time to take your kids. This experience was beyond anything I could have imagined. It helped my boys to come out of their shell, gain confidence, and ignite their desire to read even more new and wonderful books.

Categories:
books Educational local event

The Albany Children’s Book Festival – Part 2

Posted on April 30, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

In part one of my posts about The Albany Children’s Book Festival, I wrote about some of the first authors and illustrators that we were able to meet and talk with. By this time, the boys were running ahead to check things out. While I was still chatting with Jennifer Berne and Diane deGroat, they continued on along the row of tables. When I caught up with them, they were over with author and illustrator Jeff Mack. I immediately recognized his illustrations from Bunnicula and was thrilled to see that the series now has a Ready-To-Read options for younger readers. In addition to this, Mr. Mack is the author/illustrator of the Hippo and Rabbit books for Beginning Readers (getting these for JSL’s birthday), Clueless McGee chapter books, and many other picture books. The kids loved that he signed their books with a cute little illustration.

While I was chatting with someone I know from Albany Kids Out and About, the boys kept moving ahead. When I arrived, JSL and NHL were mesmerized with a private storytelling for just the two of them at a table. The book was Pig Kahuna and it was written and illustrated by Jennifer Sattler (on the left below). She was not the one that was reading the book to the boys, that was author and co-owner of the The Flying Pig Bookstore Elizabeth Bluemle (on the right below).

My heart melted watching the faces on my kids, so I took a photo to share.

These two women were amazing, they spent quite some time with NHL and JSL. You could tell that they get children and love to interact with them. In addition to Pig Kahuna, Ms. Sattler has also written and illustrated quite a variety of other picture books that are now going onto our summer reading list and the kids can’t wait to see Pig Kahuna Pirates! coming in Spring 2014. Ms. Bluemle has written several books for kids including How Do You Wokka-Wokka? which are also going onto our must reads this summer.

From here, we walked to the end of the row of tables and met author Julie Berry. At first, the boys were getting a little antsy from being in the room for a while. Then something clicked with NHL. As Ms. Berry talked with us about her Splurch Academy for Disruptive Boys series he perked up. He liked that the books also included illustrations, drawn by Ms. Berry’s sister Sally Faye Gardner. When it came time to select a book to purchase, he wanted to go back to get the first from this series.

We started reading this book together and I think we are both hooked. NHL has already asked us to order the next three books. This is huge for a reluctant reader who is not typically into fiction books (my Aspie loves reading about math, science, and history). I love that this even helped us to find new books that he wants to read. The next part of this series will introduce you to some very talented authors and illustrators that are from the Capital Region. I must say we have a lot of amazing people creating children’s books in our area. Oh and I will also share how JSL finally selected the book he wanted to purchase at the event (it was not an easy task). Oh and if you are curious about the books we read, more will be featured on upcoming Tuesday Tales so stay tuned.

Categories:
books Educational local event

The Albany Children’s Book Festival – Part 1

Posted on April 29, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Books are a big part of our lives. As a teacher, I started a huge collection and now our boys have added a lot more to the mix. When we saw that we would be in town for The Albany Children’s Book Festival on April 27, 2013, we knew that we would have to go.

When we first walked into the main room, the boys were not entirely sure which way we should go. Each of them had been given a little passport like book to collect autographs of authors and illustrators. If they did this, they could show it to get a special wizard hat later on. Looking back, I wish I had taken more photos and been able to chat with the authors and illustrators more because it was a fascinating experience.

At first, the boys were a little shy and unsure of where to find the people in their different books. Soon after, they were ready to get autographs from anyone and everyone at a table and see what books were on their tables.

One of the first tables we went to was with author Amy Gordon. NHL noticed one of her books called Return to Gill Park and we learned that it is part of a series that she has written. She signed the boys’ book, we took a photo, and I grabbed her card to add these books to our reading list.

Sitting next to Ms. Gordon was author Laurie Calkhoven and many of her history based books. TechyDad was very intrigued with her picture book I Grew Up to Be President. I am excited to see more historical books that NHL may not be reluctant to read. Her Boys of Wartime looks like great historical fiction books that we will add to our summer reading list.

From here, we wandered around some more looking at a lot of tables and trying to take in all of the amazing books around. That is when I spied a book that I had been sent from a publisher in 2010 and was excited to meet the author. Jennifer Berne was beyond sweet and fun to chat with. When I asked her to pose for a picture, she immediately pulled over Calvin Can’t Fly. Now I can’t wait to read some of her other books like Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau and On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein that is coming out in May. We are also super excited to hear that Calvin will be back for a sequel.

While I was talking to Ms. Berne, she introduced me to the woman sitting next to her. At first it took me a minute and then I realized I knew her work. Yes, she is the brilliant illustrator behind the pictures in Pioneer Woman’s books about Charlie. Diane deGroat was too funny talking about how Ree is more famous than she is. I explained that my son was in love with Charlie thanks to her drawings and wanted to tell his own story while looking at her illustrations in Charlie the Ranch Dog.

There is a lot more to share, but I am going to break this into a few posts so I can highlight the people that we were able to meet and take photos with.

I would love to know if you have met any authors and illustrators and what your experience was. This was so much fun for the boys, especially after they heard about my tour with author Ridley Pearson a year ago in Epcot.

Categories:
books Educational local event

A Spark of Inspiration

Posted on April 19, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

A lot of the last few months feel like a blur to me. Thanks to items going on in the background, I was focusing a significant amount of my attention to those areas. During this time, I was able to keep up with blogging and freelance writing. Unfortunately, other projects had to take a backseat. There was simply no time to develop them to the level that was required. Call me a type A individual, but I can’t put partial effort into something.

Yesterday, Christina from Well, in THIS House… and I went to a networking event held by Women TIES. The luncheon included an educational program with a focus. The theme was “How to Get Companies to Pay You to Market to Your Audience” with keynote speaker Shannon Cherry.

I had met Shannon before, but not on a professional level. Her enthusiasm and helpful hints made the wheels in my head start to go a mile a minute. I drove home thinking about ways to dust the project off and twist it to something new and even more exciting. A huge thank you to Shannon and the other women in the room who are leading the way to empowering more of us to try new things, think outside of the box, and get out of our comfort zones.

Of course, I also hope to connect with more of the people that were at the event thanks to the sheet with contacts. The fun part, one of the people there was a seventh grade teacher that I had for Social Studies.

So this week I ask you, what are items that have served as sparks of inspiration in your life? I would love to hear about them and please include a link in the comments if you have written about them.

Categories:
local event me moments

Teddy Bear Hospital Experience

Posted on April 15, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Kids can often be afraid of hospitals and medical professionals. I know that my boys do not have fond memories of visiting them. Of course, being rushed on an ambulance and having people be unable to get an IV in a child can be traumatic. Thanks to this, we wanted to help ease the boys’ perception of hospitals, doctors, and others that work in the emergency fields.

Albany Medical Center held their tenth annual “Teddy Bear Hospital Day” over the weekend. Children in the community can bring their teddy bears (or aliens) to the event to have check-ups by a medical student. The kids actually rotate around different stations, where they learn about medical procedures while getting hands-on experiences.

When we arrived and parked our car, we went over to see the First Responders that were parked outside. The members from Western Turnpike Rescue Squad had their ambulance to give kids a tour. NHL was in an ambulance years ago when he had a febrile seizure. Poor JSL has been on one many more times after a hand full of febrile seizures. Neither of the boys recall those rides, but I do. They really enjoyed looking around inside the truck to see all of the equipment.

Members of the Engine 9 from the Albany Fire Department were also there with their truck. The kids were able to walk around the truck, ask questions, and explore. Oh and they also were allowed to jump into the truck for a great photo opportunity. I know these first responders are often the ones that show up at home, so allowing the kids to see how kind and patient they were was priceless.

From here we wandered through Albany Medical Center to the cafeteria where the event was being held. The boys had their stuffed friends ready. First, we signed them in and got our bags. Next, we waited on line for Stitch and Duffy to get their medical gowns and ID bracelets.

After this, Stitch and Duffy had check-ups from one of the medical students. The boys were allowed to use stethoscopes and other medical instruments to assist in the exam. From here, we wandered around the different stations that included: Emergency Medicine, Anesthesia, Hospital Adventure, Psych-Neuro, Clinical Nutrition, Orthopedic Surgery, Dermatology, Tar Wars, Lyme Out, and more. In addition to this, the kids were able to get ID badges made with photos of them with their friends. This was by far the cutest part.

Stitch and Duffy did really well, although they both required a cast. Stitch ended up having a broken ear as he went around with NHL. He got that fixed up and did really well in the end.

Poor Duffy ended up breaking his little tail when he went to get some shots. At least that is what JSL told them when they asked what happened to him. Thank goodness they had the supplies to help and stabilize that break.

A huge thank you to Albany Medical Center, the staff, professors, and medical students that ran this. It was so well done it was a pleasure to take the boys to. If you ever have the chance to go, I highly recommend it.

Have you ever been to an event like this one? I would love to know what your family thought and how it helped your children.