Marty Chan
I received some great news the other day in an email from the Young Alberta Book Society, which supports reading, writing and the work of Alberta authors, illustrators and storytellers. YABS hosts an annual literary arts festival for children called Taleblazers. I have participated for almost every one of my thirteen years at the school and I was thrilled to hear that I will be hosting a visit from Marty Chan next October.
Something else to look forward to in the fall is the announcement of the winners of the array of awards —– by The Canadian Children’s Book Centre. You can see all the finalists at the link.
But for now – School’s Out for Summer. The kids will forget all about us for two months. Teachers, administrators and support will try to do the same – on and off – for a few days less than the kids. I don’t expect to be posting much over the summer if at all, but you never know. I might just come across something interesting by accident and have to share it.
Meanwhile, I’ll be at the school as little as possible to tidy up for September. I also have the yearbook to finish, company coming and a few short trips planned, and a couple of weddings to attend. Of course I’ll be reading; I’ll be spending lots of time with my children and grandchildren, my parents and siblings and my friends. I’m looking forward to doing a little horseback riding with my hubby. I want to get out as much as possible with my camera and make some posts for my photography and nature blogs, which have been sorely neglected…
And then…I will try to follow the sage 5-Rs advice of the inimitable Daring Librarian: Relax, Reflect, Revise, Rededicate and Rejoice. Each stage has it’s own challenges and 2 months doesn’t seem like enough time to get through the process, but I will try to fit it all in because I’m a library manager and I’m totally used to biting off way more than I can chew.
From my little town in the woods of Alberta, I wish all of those who wander by here the best of the best during the next two months. See you again in September.
Evening by a Pond on the Hill
Beyond Survival in a School Library 
Congrats on the hosting job, Cindy. That sounds like an awesome festival and one I would enjoy experiencing. I hope you have a wonderful summer out riding, visiting and exploring. I look forward to reading all about your adventures in your other blogs. Say hi to the rest of the family for me and we’ll talk soon.
Happy summer!
Thanks, Heather. The time is going to fly by so I’m practicing my ‘enjoy this moment’ mantra. 🙂 I will pass your greeting on to the family and look forward to keeping in touch.
Thanks for posting about the Taleblazers festival, Cindy! We’re so pleased to be able to send Marty your way and grateful for your long term support of the program. Without wonderful teachers and librarians like you wanting to host Albertan artists, we would have a much harder time introducing Alberta’s students to Alberta’s artists. Hope you have a very relaxing summer!
Thanks, Stephanie. It’s my (and my students’) pleasure!
It’s great to read your post about hosting authors. Meeting a creator encourages kids to look at reading and writing in new ways. It’s also a wonderful method for enriching the school experience without taking a field trip.
Both your points are so true and I will add that having an author or illustrator visit our school can be very enlightening to students who may not have considered that ‘real’ and ‘normal’ people make books and thus the possibility is open to them. BTW, did YABS tell you that you were also on my choices list? Perhaps next year?