Two big surprises at the Literacy Conference in Burlington last weekend.

1. The onsite bookseller, Different Drummer, had on hand a big stack of Love Every Leaf: The Life of Cornelia Hahn Oberlander - and it wasn’t scheduled for release till several days later! (It looks gorgeous, and after I spoke about it briefly during my keynote address, they sold out quickly.)

2. The night before the conference, I learned that Janet Lee Stinson and Arnie Stewart (see I’ve Got Mail posting) were planning to attend. Not only did I get to meet these two remarkable people, Arnie helped make my keynote address a truly memorable event for everyone there. After mentioning the correspondence I’d been enjoying with Janet Lee, I looked around for where they might be sitting, thinking the audience might like to recognize them. But Arnie surprised me (and his wife and Janet Lee) by coming up to the front of the room, where he described letters he has exchanged with children who have struggled with learning to read. He said he knows he will like my new book, A Pocket Can Have A Treasure In It. He then took from his pocket a stone and placed it in my hand. “Put this in your pocket,” he said, “and it will bring you good luck.”

Before going off to sign autographs (for 3 hours! what a great bunch of readers that audience was!), I had a chance to visit with Arnie and hear some more of his personal stories about learning to read. Janet Lee is working on his biography and plans to apply to a writing workshop/retreat that my husband and I are offering this summer. (See “Summer Workshop/Retreat by the Sea” posting.) I hope she does!

To read Janet Lee’s account of Arnie’s participation in last week’s event, and about how the good luck stone circle has been completed, visit Janet Lee’s blog (and find the entry for Apr9/08).

Happy reading!

My granddaughter was tickled to see that the book she got from me and her grampa for her 6th birthday - A Pocket Can Have A Treasure In It - had her name in the thanks and dedication.

She also received, from both us and a great aunt, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, a wonderful new chapter book by Kate diCamillo. After a quick look through A Pocket… Claire poured over the pages of Edward Tulane, no doubt imagining the story that might be behind Bagram Ibatoulline’s beautiful illustrations.  (She can read a little, but not enough to take on a chapter book.)

As soon as she set aside A Pocket…, her younger brother Charlie picked it up. Perched on the back of the sofa, he began to read. “A barn can have a horse in it. A house can have a me in it.” I knew he could read a few words in books he was familiar with, but this was a brand new book!

With just a little help from his proud gramma, Charlie went on to read the rest of the book, not only decoding the words, but getting their meaning perfectly. With great expression, he read, “Out of the basket, puppy! Out!” And when that puppy ended up in the pond, “Oh, no!”  

So, Claire may have got some nice surprises on her birthday, but I think I got the best one - knowing that my young grandson - thanks in no small part, no doubt, to the many happy hours his parents have spent reading to him - is well on his way to being a reader! Happy reading, Charlie! And to you to, Claire!

What fun it was to read my brand new, hot off the press, advance copy of A Pocket Can Have A Treasure In It to a huge roomful of enthusiastic parents and their preschoolers on Saturday. The crowd that had gathered for Port Colborne’s first family literacy event to celebrate the joys of reading together were a pretty restless bunch as I was introduced, but it was pure magic how they quieted as soon as I started reading Red is Best. Pretty gratifying! As was their response to A Pocket… coming soon to a bookstore near you!

6:00 Worked on my novel. Wrote a scene that makes better use of material barely touched on in a previous draft.

7:15 Ate breakfast - yogurt with bananas and almonds and cereal - and did a crossword puzzle.

7:45 Took Keisha for a walk up the line.

8:45 Had a shower and answered emails.

9:30 Drove to Toronto.

10:30 Delivered files to the Osborne Collection, where lots of archival material for my books (and lots of other authors) is housed.

11:00 Gassed up my car and paid my VISA bill.

11:30 Met writer-friend Frieda Wishinsky at The Flying Dragon. We went for lunch (I’ve already forgotten the name of the restaurant, but it was good, just a few doors down from the bookstore.)

1:00 Did a shift at the CNIB recording studio. Acted as technician on Radiance by Shaena Lambert, being read by Sondra Bolton

4:00 Drove to illustrator-friend Heather Collins’ house to get her to sign her latest book - Out Came the Sun - a gift for our grandson’s birthday

5:00 Did another shift at the CNIB. This time I read Turtle Valley by Gail Anderson-Dargatz.

7:00 Attended a book launch at Mabel’s Fables for Barbara Reid’s new board book of nursery rhymes.

9:00 On the way home dropped off a bag of clothes I don’t wear any more.

9:30 Chatted with Peter about our day’s activities.

10:00 Went to bed and read a few pages of Time was Soft There by Jeremy Mercer before falling asleep.

I would recommend every book mentioned in this untypical day!

Have I been upstaged or given a bit of pre-pub stirring up of interest in the subject of my new-next-year book?

The first time I met Cornelia Hahn Oberlander (in 2004) I was convinced she deserved to be better known, and soon I’ll be proofing galleys for my first ever biography - Love Every Leaf: the life of landscape architect cornelia hahn oberlander (to be published by Tundra next spring).

Want to know something about this woman who so quickly captured my imagination? Read “Queen of green” in the Sept/Oct2007 issue of Canadian Geographic magazine. It seems journalist Sarah Scott thought Cornelia deserved to be better known too!

Today’s the day I decide which books to take to the cottage. Despite having a growing stack that includes Scotch River by Linda Little and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Saffan Foer, I’ve taken a couple of books by Chris Bohjalian out of the library, having very much enjoyed his Midwives a few years ago. I’m looking forward to a month where hours of my days (instead of just minutes at bedtime) will be spent reading. (I’ve worked hard this year!) By the time I return home I will, of course, be itching to get back to my writing. But in the meantime. . .