I have so much to do to catch up from ALA that I don't know where to begin, so I'll start with the fun stuff first - this blog. Got back home late last night but our oldest granddaughter, Allyson, was up waiting to see me before she went to bed. What a smile on her face when I asked her if she enjoyed riding the horse. Steve took them out to the horse farm so the girls could see horses up close and personal. One of them almost munched some curls off of the top of Kadynce's head. Steve said her eyes were as big as saucers when she looked up and saw that big head coming at her through the fence. Wish I could have been there to see that, and her walking over the glass tank at the aquarium and seeing the crocs below her. I woke up this morning to Kady's voice and Monica shushing her but I got up and came out to see them for a bit before Steve took them all down to Mammoth Cave so I could have some peace and quiet to try and catch up with mail and work stuff.

ALA was wonderful as it always is. The best part is listening to the authors. Orson Scott Card is the most gentle and delightful man. The Margaret A. Edwards committee members got to sit and chat with him and his wife for a bit before the luncheon. He is a wealth of funny stories. An excellent speech as well. Like some of the other authors who have won this literary award for YA literature, he didn't realize he was writing for young adults. Teens do have a way of finding the books that speak to them, no matter which division of a publishing house they come out of. Ender's Game has several different reprints, with different covers, on the market. One of them is very tween friendly as this is a popular title in MS - http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Enders-Game/Orson-Scott-Card/e/9780765342294/?itm=2 However, I am not keen on this cover as it is so childish looking. An upper elementary age student may enjoy it as a SF adventure but there is so much more to this book in relation to mature themes that I'd hate to see it read too young. As Card stated, it is hard to determine the market for this book if using the old theory that kids like to read about other kids 2 years older than they are. Well, Ender is only 6 at the beginning of the book and addresses events that happened to him as a toddler, events that push the sense of disbelief to the boundaries of the reader's ability, but Card makes Ender's amazing intelligence believable. It works for me and pulls me into the books.

I am actually a bigger fan of Bean than I am of Ender. We get to meet him in more detail in Ender's Shadow http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Enders-Shadow/Orson-Scott-Card/e/9780765342409/?itm=7 , the other title honored by the award. This book takes him from his early years to his time in Ender's Dragon squad at Battle School. For more about Bean as he ages read Shadow of the Giant http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Shadow-of-the-Giant/Orson-Scott-Card/e/9780812571394/?itm=4 He has matured into an incredible young man with heartbreaking life events to deal with. I found that I preferred to listen to these books rather than read them as I felt more connected this way. Not sure why, but listening allowed me to absorb more of the background material that I missed when I read them. All I can say is that meeting and listening to Card given his acceptance speech was the highlight of the conference for me.

Lots more to talk about too, but that will have to wait until the next posting.