William Sleator's books

It was telling when Orson Scott Card, upon finding that I had read many of his books and not just the Ender series, got so excited and asked, "So, you must like William Sleator's books a lot?" and proceeded to gush over Sleator's work, specifically Singularity. I acted a bit dense and tried to high-five Card who told me that he's not the "high-five kind." ooops! But, our brief conversation reminded me how much I DID enjoy all the books I read by Sleator, and how much I appreciate that he not only creates gripping plot and probing philosophical and moral dilemmas, he also really gets in science right (at least according to the theories of the time when the books were written.) My favorite titles by him are Singularity, for its illuminating explanation of black hole and singularity and for its protagonist's emotional and moral struggle after he realizes that he can age himself and turn the table on his superior and sometimes bullying brother; The Boy Who Reversed Himself, for its vivid depictions of different dimensional worlds and the protagonists' grappling with adolescence and romance; The Green Future of Tyco, for its dizzying time-hopping scenes and Tyco's realization of how a person's past shapes his future and how one can become careless with one's actions and turn out to be quite despicable; The House of Stairs for its chilling social experiment and exposure of the darker sides (and some brighter sides) of human nature; Among the Dolls, for its creepy depiction of neglected dolls and their revenge upon the careless girl. And I can't talk about Sleator's works without mentioning how much fun my students and I have had for years now when we shared the jokes (gross, quite often) and humorous events (highly exaggerated, quite often) in Oddballs -- short stories based on his family stories.

2008 Anaheim ALA Highlights in Pictures

I'm back home in warm and breezy New York City. It's beautiful here by the Hudson. The sun just set. And we saw many beautiful white sails on the river in the dimming sunlight.... Now it's time to upload some pictures from the ALA Annual Conference. I never remembered to bring a camera but this time, I did and boy did I go a bit crazy! I should have taken some pictures of the Notable Children's Books Committee but I got too nervous and too focused on "work" and never thought of capturing those moments which were super important. These pictures here preserved the moments that I relaxed and had fun with friends -- old and new.

But before the people pictures... see the carpet in the Ballroom of the Disneyland Hotel.... can you "Spy Mickey"?

Yes. Monica and I (and Nina) went to Disnleyland!

Peter Sis

Orson Scott Card



Nina Lindsay, Me, Candace Fleming, Eric Rohmann, Richie Partington at the Lucky Strike Bowling Lane (Orange Block)



Andrew Clements



Reunion with the 2002 Newbery Committee
(Kathy Odean, Ken Setterington, Louise Sherman, Jeri Kladder,
Patty Carleton, Me, Vaunda Nelson, Vicky Smith)



Lisa Falk, Vicky Smith, Elizabeth Overmeyer, and Kathy Odean



I also saw Joanne dinner and "glanced" and said hi to Deb. Junko is in Germany and Gail and Shron were not at the Conference.

THE CALDECOTT/NEWBERY BANQUET, JUNE 29th, 2008.

Yup, it's me with the 2008 Caldecott Medal winner Brian Selznick. Our footwear matched!



2008 Newbery Winner Laura Amy Schlitz with Nina Linday, Newbery Chair.



2002 Newbery winner Linda Sue Park with me.



Me, Kathy, and Louise pre-banquet



Jonathan Hunt, friend, librarian, reviewer, and 2008 Printz Committee member Monica Edinger, friend, teacher, author, blogger of children's literature, and 2008 Newbery Committee member. At the banquet.



Me with Hope Anita Smith, poet, author of The Way A Door Closes and Keeping the Night Watch.