Stead-ily finishing Bud

Author Rebecca Stead signs at Old Orchard today

I have made sufficient progress reading Bud today. I will be finished by projected time tomorrow. The book has kept me entertained with it's child-like spirit! I love the confident attitude Bud maintains as he is running away from Flint, Michigan (I would be confident, too, running from Flint). His imagination is wonderful and his perception of librarians is still making me laugh. The librarian recalls his childhood likes of Civil War books. Bud requests a pencil and maps and the librarian tells him when he gets back to return the pencil she has a big surprise. His response runs along the lines of "Great. When a librarian says they have surprise for you, you know it isn't going to be that great." LOL. I was thinking...so true. That was my perception as a kid, as well.

When Bud leaves the Shantytown of Hooverville, he goes to the library to figure out how far it is from Flint to Grand Rapids. He is determined his dad is a bassist (or the man who plays the really big fiddle), Herman E. Calloway. Bud's last name is Caldwell, so it must mean this is his dad because how many names have a C, A, L and W all in common? Makes sense to me. So, this must mean Dennis Rodman is my dad...because how many names have a R, O, D, and N in common?

Look, isn't the resemblance uncanny? We both are naked. We both have orange in our hair. We both have muscles. It must mean he is my dad. And...one of my middle initials is a D (for Donald) and his first name starts with a D and we both have similar last names. Maury Povich paternity tests would say with a result of 98.99%, Dennis is his father. And I do have a quick story from college to narrate that parallels this (it will be in italics to represent story time): One day I was eating lunch with a couple of music majors. One of them, Katie, asked me how I got my name...my name for those of you who do not know has four names to it. She asked me if I was named Patrick because I was born on St. Patrick's Day. I told her no and that I was actually born in November the day before Thanksgiving. My friend Stephanie was sitting next to me and quickly retorts to her "My name is Mother because I was born on Mother's Day (which she was)." This gave us all a great laugh.

Speaking of doppelganger's, here is mine. This is Liev Schreiber. I have this pic up on Facebook as a profile pic. Everyone thinks it is me! :)
OK. So back to Bud. Bud is on his way to Grand Rapids (which is a pretty cool place if you haven't been. I have been to a bar there) to meet his dad he has never met before. He is walking, too, which is about a 120 mile trek from Flint. Well, at 2:30AM, a man drives by and stops to pick Bud up. The man insists Bud come with him because at 2:30 in the morning, you do not want to be a black man walking on the side of the road outside of Owosso, Michigan. So, he lures Bud into his car. Well, as a side, the man turns out to be Lefty Lewis (but call me Mr. Lewis); he transports medical stuff as a porter. Bud sees a box in the car labeled "Human Blood." When Lewis closes Bud's car door and walks to the other side, Bud reaches over and locks the driver's side door so Lewis cannot get back in. He thinks he is a vampire. Bud then attempts to drive the car off but does not get far at all. Mr. Lewis laughs when he finds out Bud thinks he is a vampire and tells him only a person from Flint would think something like that (Bud has told him he is from Grand Rapids so he can hitch a ride back to his dad). Mr. Lewis inquires about his running away and Bud tells him his dad is in Grand Rapids. Mr. Lewis turns out to know Calloway and sends him a telegram. Lewis takes Bud to his daughter's house and this is where I left off.

Bud is definitely a good, quick read. It is quite enjoyable. I have been entertained. I really wish I would have paid more attention to Newbery Medal winners as a child.

Well, speaking of Newbery Medal winners...today, we had the pleasure of hosting Rebecca Stead, author of the newest Newbery When You Reach Me. She and her publisher, Wendy Lamb, came to speak and do a reading and signing at our store at 3PM this afternoon. I must say, I don't think I have met two more down-to-earth people before. Both were extremely appreciative and grateful to be there. This was Stead's first time to Chicago and I think she really enjoyed it. I got the honor of doing her introduction before speaking. It will probably land in the top coolest things of my life category because really, how many people besides a handful of librarians and teachers get to introduce Newbery Medal winners? Not many. And I did (such a nerd, I know).

The question and answer session went extremely well. I am going to write a few things down she said. When asked what her inspiration for writing: My childhood and newspaper articles. I don't know what I would ever do if the New York Times would stop publishing. Newspaper articles have such interesting info that can be expanded upon and built into a wonderful story with the right amount of research. When asked about her inspiration for When You Reach Me: I am Miranda, the apartment was my apartment. The book is my childhood and my memories of the places I grew up in in New York. The streets were the ones I walked to school on. Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time was also a major inspiration. When asked about her writing process: I love to read. Reading is the gas that fills the tank for writing. When I feel as though I am stuck, I always read. It motivates me and makes me feel good. When asked about her first book versus the second: First Light took me four years to write. The first draft was finished in the first year. The other 15 were completed over the next three years. First Light is about a civilization that lives in Greenland under the ice sheet that is two miles thick. Peter goes to Greenland with his father who is a climatologist to study these sheets. Peter discovers this civilization under the ice. So, I had to research the jobs of these climatologists and create the research world on top of the ice and then create this parallel society that was completely from my imagination under the ice. It took time. When You Reach Me took nine months to write first draft and Wendy (her publisher/editor) and I spent about another nine months to finish it. Parallel universe and time: I love the idea of parallel universe or things not seen. We have Google Earth now that gives everything away about society and the world. We can now see anything anywhere with the click of a mouse. I like to think of places that no one can see and no one thinks about like the two mile-thick ice sheet in First Light. I like to think there are places we do not know about and have not seen. I like to create these places in the hopes that they might be discovered one day. On winning the Newbery Medal: I could not believe it (a big smile followed).

Stead was such a pleasant person. She took the time to talk to each fan that came through the line. She signed a poster, First Light and When You Reach Me for Me and thanked me profusely for her intro and for being so loving of children's literature. I think one of the most exciting parts was having Holly, a librarian at Skokie Public Library AND a member of the Newbery Committee that chose this book, at the signing and watching her show Rebecca the video from the conference where they announced the Newbery at the moment she won. Stead was so humbled by the video. She had her head almost all the way down on the table. I was truly appreciative to meet such a wonderful author.


Rebecca Stead has a website you should check out: Rebecca Stead

As far as her publisher/editor, Wendy Lamb. WONDERFUL woman. She was so nice. She talked to me for quite a while and expressed her appreciation for me and my understanding of children's literature, as well. And, as it turns out appropriately enough for this week, she was the publisher/editor of Curtis' Bud, Not Buddy. I thought that was awesome. She was thrilled I was reading the book!!! I was thrilled to meet her. I should have had her sign the publication page.

Wow, what a day! I also got to speak with the head of Skokie Public Library. She encouraged me to become a librarian (which is funny because a customer told me today someone needed to talk sense into me since I have a music degree and want to become a librarian...blah blah blah you'll never get a job) since I expressed my interest in attending U of I Urbana-Champaign for their Master's in Library Science. I actually called them last week.

Well, it is late and I am going to the gym in the AM before my Barnes and Noble shift tomorrow!! I hope you enjoyed words from Rebecca Stead! :) Have fun watching the Superbowl today!