Meeting Authors Old And New

Growing up, I loved to read.  My mother would always joke that she was the only mother who had to tell her son to stop reading and go outside and play.  Though I read a lot of books, my favorite author by far was Isaac Asimov.  I really wanted to meet him, but alas it was not to be.  He passed away when I was sixteen years old.  So I was very happy when the boys were able to meet some authors of books that they love to read at The Albany Children’s Book Festival.

First, we met the author of Belches, Burps, and Farts, Oh My!, Artie Bennett.  This might not be the most polite book in the world, but I love how it mixes actual facts in with the potty humor.

Next, JSL insisted that we track down Nick Bruel.  Nick’s got a special place in our hearts.  Only a short while ago, JSL couldn’t read.  Well, he could, but he would insist that he couldn’t and get more and more frustrated when he needed to.  Then, JSL picked up a Bad Kitty book.  Twenty-four hours after he first opened the book, he was done.  Then he moved on to the next one and the one after that.  JSL is now at the point where he refuses to go in the car without a book.  Sometimes, he insists on taking two just in case he finishes one book en route – can’t have any non-reading time, after all!  All this is thanks to Nick’s book sparking a love of reading in JSL.

Then, there were the new authors.  We let the boys select a new book each.  Not only did they get the books, though, but they got to meet the authors and had their new books signed.  So here is NHL with Tommy Greenwald after he picked Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to NOT Reading and JSL with Lenore Look having chosen Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things.

If you could meet any author (still living or not), who would you want to meet?