Chicago, Chicago, it’s so good to be back in the windy city for BookExpo! I arrived on Thursday afternoon too late for the show floor, so I can’t report on that just yet, but I did arrive in time for a couple of fantastic book parties.
Candlewick hosted a truly phenomenal slate of authors and artists in a cocktail party at the Hubbard Inn: Aaron Becker (Return), Kate DiCamillo (Raymie Nightingale), Jason Carter Eaton (How to Track a Truck), Carson Ellis (Du Iz Tak?), Paula Garner (Phantom Limbs), Dean Hale and Shannon Hale (The Princess in Black Takes a Vacation), Richard Haynes (Slingshot and Burp), Oliver Jeffers (A Child of Books), Megan McDonald (Judy Moody and the Bucket List), John Rocco (How to Track a Truck), Maggie Tokuda-Hall (Also An Octopus), and Sam Winston (A Child of Books). Wow!!
BookExpo is the place where I get to see some of my favorite book people, just once a year. Catching up with old friends at the Candlewick party filled my heart with happiness. I also FINALLY got to meet John Schu in person, aka Mr. Schu, aka @MrSchuReads, who is not only extremely young, but as enthusiastic and warm and wonderful as his book reviews. He is such a passionate advocate for children’s literature, and it was a joy to chat with him.
We also got to see the city from a spectacular vantage point at Sourcebooks’ beautiful party at 360 Chicago — a building so tall it makes even other giants of the Chicago skyline look comically small. There’s a feature on the observation deck called the Tilt — a row of glass windows with side handrails to hold as the windows tilt gently toward the ground and you find yourself looking down, down, down 94 floors, 1,000 feet above Michigan Ave.

Tomorrow, I’ll be sitting on a panel to talk about diversity in children’s books, and will have a chance to see the show floor, see more old friends, and discover new books. Hope to run into many of you there!