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Our appearances consisted of two types: morning talks at schools in Sharjah and an evening panel with academics from the Arab community.
Both were considerably different than any previous author experience I’ve had, and my compatriots had similar reactions.
Both of my Sharjah schools were all-girl and Arab; some authors spoke at Australian or Indian schools and/or all-boy schools. My students were about 12 and 13 years old.
Simply getting to the schools was an adventure. In my first week in the UAE, I’ve been in a lot of cars (not to mention three hotels), and none of the drivers have used GPS. I don’t recall seeing traffic lights in Sharjah. (And the hotels don’t have addresses in the sense we’re used to—no street number. Just “Corniche Street.” Or sometimes even just “near the Expo Center.”) Drivers seem to be guesstimating how to get to places.
My two schools were not only all-girl but also all-shy. I understand. I get the impression they rarely if ever have guest speakers, and almost certainly never a foreign, male guest speaker. I was surprised and impressed that the schools were open to a visitor like me.
Al Noof Government School
Shyness aside, the students were very sweet, and at the first school, the girls did come around by the end of my hourlong talk; a few asked questions, in part thanks to their teacher’s words of encouragement (in English). She invited me to come back and even gave me her cell phone so I could give her notice.
Using humor in this context was tricky. Different culture, different sensibility. The one time I remember the girls at the second school laughing was at the end of my presentation. I was trying to make them feel comfortable enough to ask questions so I said I have children of my own and they ask me lots of questions:- “May I please stay up later?”
- “May I please have another cookie?”
- “Daddy, would you please stop talking?”
It was that last one that elicited some giggles.
Action at A Ta'la School.
On 4/23/14, Peter and Meghan were on a panel with two Arab speakers. The topic was something like “reading and media.” Each of the four panelists spoke for about 10 minutes each. (We were told in advance that some panelists would not be sticking to the already-vague topics. It’s a cultural thing.)
One of the others on their panel was, I believe, a children’s book author as well. The last was an Egyptian psychiatrist whose focus was the prevention of predatory behavior online. Certainly important, and she was certainly well-spoken, but a strange pairing with children’s authors.
The highlight of that panel (for me as an audience member) was what turned out to be one of many “incidents” during panels at the festival. While the psychiatrist was explaining the gravity and prevalence of child endangerment via the Internet, a man in the audience began to call out at her (in Arabic). Everyone—panelists and audience members alike—had small Star Trek devices in our ears for translations (English to Arabic or vice versa, depending on what you needed).
But the translator in the back of the room could not clearly hear the shouting audience man, who continued to interrupt the psychiatrist (and therefore disrupt the room) to the point that the translator began to plead “Peter Brown, Peter Brown, I can’t work like this! Please intervene!”
Though Peter was sitting next to the psychiatrist, what he (or anyone) could have done to remedy the situation was anyone’s guess. Luckily, the psychiatrist seemed to shut down the shouting man by saying “There is a fine line between commenting and insulting.”
On 4/24/14, Peter, Meghan, and I went from Sharjah to Dubai to see the Dubai Mall, currently the world’s largest in terms of area, and Burj Khalifa, currently the world’s tallest building. When in a foreign country for the first time, ordinarily none of us would likely go to a mall, but in the UAE, it’s another story.
The mall is indeed a spectacle. It is home to a huge, shark-filled aquarium in which you can scuba dive; presumably the sharks aren’t the human-chomping kind. The mall also includes almost any store you’ve ever heard of and probably at least a couple twice because the second one didn’t know the first one existed.
Meghan and Peter looking tough in front of a model of
the mall and the tallest building.
We are American. Sorry, this is not enough.
The first Häagen-Dazs I have seen that has a menu. A hardcover one, no less.
Five times a day in Muslim communities, the call to prayer goes out. I haven’t heard it five times a day—it depends on where you are—but when I do here, it’s quite lovely. And it was even piped into the mall. At the bottom of “At the Top” (the observation deck,
which is the highest point paying customers are allowed to go).
By association, this must be the world’s longest shadow.
(Longest manmade shadow?)
View from the 124th-floor observation deck up the rest
of the 163-floor building (and up my nose).
You could pose against a green screen to be superimposed on a scene
of peril atop the building. Fun to watch people get in position.
For a fleeting moment, not counting people in planes,
we were the highest children’s book creators in the world.
Babies may not be accompanied by adults.
That night was my panel. It was supposed to be me and two Arabs in the field, but only one showed. The topic was equally vague as the night before; it involved the importance of the book and also the development of curriculum.
Due to the disruption, Peter and Meghan’s panel didn’t get to audience questions but mine did. However, it was not like Q&A during American panels. A woman asked question that the moderator didn’t ask us to answer—the mic was passed immediately to another audience member who made a statement, then another. Only then did the moderator ask me a question—but it didn’t seem to be a question that had come from the audience. I was confused but did the best I could, and some people were nodding so I guess I didn’t waste their time completely.
A view from the panel.
It was a curious honor that anyone who came to a panel about education with a focus on the Middle East would care what an American author with no Arabic experience had to say. But I am all for bridging gaps between cultures whenever possible.
My second time in Tennessee took me to two schools in one day and the Knoxville Children’s Festival of Reading the next day.
The first school was a Jewish day school, where the setup enabled me to take this photo of two symbols which, to me, each speak of peace:The other school was an Episcopal day school, so it was a day of unity.
The festival was the morning after rain, and held on a field, which had turned to grassy muck, which meant the one pair of shoes I brought was the wrong pair of shoes. Luckily, that was the only downside; the crowds were fun, I received a special gift, and I sat on a panel with people whose work I admire. Deborah Diesen, Bob Shea, Jarrett Krosoczka,
Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, me
During that panel, a girl in the audience asked us a question I found profound: how do we as adults relate to the kids we write for? I wish I could say my answer was that I stuck out my tongue, but it was not that clever. Whatever I did stammer out was heartfelt, but still a real missed opportunity on that one.
If you have ever wondered what a panel of authors looks like the night before the panel, mystery solved:
I wrote a book about ghost hunting that came out in 2007.But it was not until 2013 that I went on a ghost hunt. Fun in and of itself made all the more so because my fellow ghost hunters were also fellow authors.We came together for the 45th annual Children’s Literature Festival at the University of Central Missouri. By day, we are collectively speaking to the 4,200 students who will attend. me, Roland Smith, Brad Sneed, Michael Spradlin
But by night, or at least the night of 3/17/13, we went in search of the supernatural. We were a sizable group—perhaps 40 total.with nametag: Darleen B. Beard; in red scarf: Brenda Seabrooke;
in beret: Roland Smith; in disbelief: various
Ghost huntress Alane Ferguson was our intrepid guide. Alane demonstrating the laser thing
And she came equipped. She distributed her various gizmos (heat sensors, electrical sensors, infrared camera, etc.) among us.the doohickey I got to use
We set out for the third floor of Yeater Hall, a dorm built in 1940 and allegedly haunted by at least two ghosts. Antony Paul and me
The first ghost we saw:The first and second floors of this building are in use by students (who are on spring break). But the third floor has been off limits since 2000. We got special access because we, well, have no special paranormal training whatsoever. Some of us were skeptics, some believers, and some undecided. We spent a little over an hour spread out along the dilapidated third floor and the numerous rooms off of it; most still contained basic furniture such as wooden bed frames and dressers. The green and red lights of our detection devices dotted the otherwise dim hallway.It turns out that dorm bathrooms abandoned 13 years ago look
strangely similar to dorm bathrooms in active use.
And we were, it seemed, not alone.Things happened. Things none of us—even the science writers, as far as I know—could not explain.
Things including the following:
- hallway lights that were off suddenly flickering
- dark shadows appearing in a laser light display
- warm hallways and rooms cooling down in an instant
- most startlingly, flashlights turning on without (living) human involvement and also rolling off tops of dressers without any of us touching them
Dorinda Nicholson, Brenda Seabrooke, Vivian Vande Velde in mirror
observing a flashlight that (no joke) turned on and off by itself...many times
Ghosts?
Some among us would say yes. Including me. Henry Cole, teacher Casey, me, Antony Paul in light
Henry Cole, teacher Casey, me, Antony Paul in dim
On 10/14/12, I had a double fortune:
- being one of two authors of books for young people at the West Virginia Book Festival
- meeting the other, Robert Sabuda, the staggeringly gifted creator of elaborate pop-up books
The organizers concocted an ingenious way to thank us: a note that combined a signature element of both of our oeuvres.
By:
Aline Pereira,
on 1/21/2013
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PaperTigers is a proud sponsor of the Asian Festival of Children’s Content, an annual event held in Singapore that brings together content creators and producers with parents, teachers, librarians and anyone interested in quality Asian content for children around the world. Dates for the 2013 AFCC have been announced – May 25th – 30th , and festival organizer, The National Book Development Council of Singapore, is hard at work ensuring that this year’s program is equally, perhaps even more so, inspiring than previous years. The AFCC website has recently been relaunched and details for the 2013 festival are being added daily. Early bird registration has begun and the call for submissions has gone out for the Book Illustrators Gallery.
Both Marjorie and I plan on attending this year’s AFCC and will be speaking in several of the sessions. I was blessed to be able to attend the 2011 AFCC and have been counting down the months until I could return. It will be such a thrill to reconnect with old friends and make new ones all while being immersed in the world of Asian children’s literature! If you are able, do try to attend. It may take a wee bit of time to travel to Singapore but it will definitely be worth the effort!
(
Read PaperTigers’ July 2011 issue to learn more about my time at the 2011 Asian Festival of Childrens Content).
Like to read? Shore you do!
The first annual
Martha’s Vineyard
Children’s Book Festival
It will give new meaning to “beach reading.”
20 award-winning, untanned authors and illustrators
6 schools
1 billion grains of sand
1 historic day…
THE CO-SPONSORS:
Local Bookstore(s)
Corporate Contributor(s) *
and/or
Generous Patron(s)
THE AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS:TBD. But awesome ones.THE SCHEDULE: Chapter 1—School Visit Round Robin What it is: three back-to-back author presentations per school:8:30 a.m. author 110:00 a.m. author 211:30 p.m. author 312:45 p.m. lunch with authors (perhaps a select group of writing-focused students who applied/were chosen in advance)Chapter 2—Beach Book BonanzaWhat it is: an open-to-the-public afternoon of book-themed fun on the beach, including continuous book signings and the following activities **:2:00 p.m. sand character building contest (forget sand castles—kids make a sand sculpture of their favorite children’s book character; authors are judges) 3:00 p.m. kids vs. authors beach volleyball 4:00 p.m. aerial photograph (kids positioned to spell out “I’m Needing Beach Reading” or similar) Prizes for all winners (hint: prizes
After the Franklin County (KS) Children’s Literature Festival on 3/9/11,
LINK
I had to drive straight to the airport. The night before, I’d gladly agreed to take a jovial fellow author who kindly gave me permission to name him here: Steven Krasner. He was longtime sports journalist in the Boston area; I have virtually no knowledge about the Red Sox (or any other team) so I’m sure I disappointed him in that I couldn’t hold up my end of that part of the conversation during the 1.5-hour drive.
We did, however, have a great discussion about the current state of education and childhood in general, as we see it.
And for me, underlying the whole ride was a very real sense of risk.
You see, at 2:30 a.m. that morning, Steve had awaken with pain. He couldn’t sleep for most of the rest of the night but did manage to wait till 7:30 before accepting that he needed to go to a hospital. Luckily, one was near the hotel all the authors were staying at. Steve was diagnosed (and not for the first time) with kidney stones. They took care of him and he was discharged within a couple of hours; though that was quick, he still missed his first two sessions with the students.
Being a trooper who earned the admiration of the other authors and event organizers, Steve insisted doing his last two sessions, even though everyone thought he should just take it easy. He assured us that the medication was working. Yet…
…the ride to the airport would be just Steve and I down a long stretch of highway with no hospital in range. I told him, as if it wasn’t already clear, that I have no medical training. When I found out that one of the other authors is also an EMT, I asked her if she would please come with us. I wasn’t totally kidding.
But Steve was right. He was fine. He made it not only to the airport but home with no further pain.
I was honored to be one of the authors invited to present at this 10th annual event, which took place in Ottawa, Kansas on 3/9/11.
Each author spoke to four groups of 3rd-5th graders back-to-back for nearly an hour apiece; I believe an epic 1,400 students participated. The day was well-run and full of warmth despite the rawness outside.
The previous evening, the authors were treated to a dinner at which we got to meet community members who sponsored the event. I was seated with my sponsors, the most kind owners of a store whose name is right up my small-town alley: Country Mart. It was a pleasure to hear them articulately praise the benefits of living in a town of 12,000.
Speaking of small town, this one has one of those main streets that make me yearn for the 1950s (because the street could almost be passed off as one from that decade). Three things caught my eye as I drove through town:
1.
This ATM, adrift alone in what was essentially a vacant lot. I can’t recall ever seeing a free-standing ATM like this.
2.
This store, which sells lawn machinery. One of the more memorable store names I’ve seen.
3.
Another store that was a smorgasbord of collectibles, from 1970s Star Wars toy vehicles still with their boxes to 1980s freestanding arcade games, plus comics, DVDs, and the very nice owner’s t
By:
Aline Pereira,
on 3/1/2010
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Bath Literature Festival~ ongoing until Mar 7, Bath, United Kingdom
Exhibition of Joy Mallari’s Artwork From the Book Doll Eyes~ ongoing until Mar 9, Makati City, Philippines
Entries Accepted for the Growing Up Asian in America Contest~ ongoing until Mar 10, San Francisco, CA, USA
The Making of the Word Witch: The Poetic & Illustrative Magic of Margaret Mahy & David Elliot~ ongoing until Mar 14, Ashburton, New Zealand
21st Annual Children’s Book Illustrators Exhibit~ ongoing until Apr 3, Hayward, CA, USA
Heart and Soul: Art from Coretta Scott King Award Books, 2006–2009~ ongoing until Apr 18, Chicago, IL, USA
New York Public Library Exhibit: 2010 Caldecott Winner Jerry Pinkney’s African-American Journey to Freedom~ ongoing until Apr 18, New York City, NY, USA
Read Across America Day~ Mar 2, USA
Papirolas Festival for Children and Youth~ Mar 2 – 7, Guadalajara, Mexico
20th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair~ Mar 2 – 7, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
World Book Day~ Mar 4, United Kingdom and Ireland
New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards Finalists Announced and On-Line Voting Begins~ Mar 4, New Zealand
Irish Society for the Study of Children’s Literature Conference Mar 5 – 6, Dublin, Ireland
The Environmental Imagination and Children’s Literature~ Mar 5 – 6, Toronto, ON, Canada
Shanghai Literary Festival~Mar 5 – 21, Shanghai, China
Western Washington University Children’s Literature Conference~ Mar 6, Bellingham, WA, USA
Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) Choices Day and Charlotte Zolotow Award Presentation~ Mar 6, Madison, WI, USA
SCBWI Conference: Creating Diversity in Children’s Literature~ Mar 6, Frederick, MD, USA
SCBWI Writers’ Day with Holly Thompson (Includes a session entitled “Plotting Across Cultures: A Workshop on Writing Intercultural Fiction”)~ Mar 6 – 7, Hong Kong
0 Comments on March 2010 Events as of 1/1/1900
I contributed this owl painting to the Keene State College Children's Literature Festival coming November 1, 2008 in Keene, NH. He's just little - only about 6" x 6" - acrylic. The "frame" is part of the art.
Happy Friday to all. I hope your Thanksgiving celebrations were family filled and that you didn’t spend too much money on Black Friday. Below are the sites that have been keeping me from my work all week!
Ever wondered about the tumultuous history of the Middle East? Watch 5,000 years of history in 90 seconds here. Are you more interested in the religious history of the world? Watch religion spread here.
[Via Kenyon Review] A new theory of art that proposes that art “did not arise to spotlight the few, but rather to summon the many to come join the parade.”
The end of the year “best” lists begin. The Guardian, NYTimes, and The NBCC should get your started nicely.
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Fun times, indeed, Marc. Good to have ghost hunted with you :)