Monday, May 4

My day at the convention started with what is called the "Opening Session." It is like a big assembly with almost everyone attending together in a huge room for speakers, and other things. It started out with a junior high choir from St. Paul, MN singing two songs. They did a really good job, and I think their choir director was pretty proud of them. There were people who made announcements, welcomed everyone to Minneapolis and the convention, and things like that. The main speaker was a man who writes for adults, and has had some best-selling books. His name is Khaled Hosseini, and he wrote Kite Runner. He was very interesting and passionate about the importance of education for all people.

Next, since I had a little time, I went to the exhibit hall. The exhibit hall is where companies set up booths to show what they have to offer teachers and students, and to sell things to teachers. These companies also know that teachers love free stuff, and so a lot of them have things to give away in addition to the things they are selling. I got bunches of posters, pins, bookmarks...and free books! Some of the books are "real" books that have been out for a while. Others are called "advance copies" and are uncorrected proofs, meaning that there may be changes once the book is published in its final form. I got several advance copies, including a new book by Andrew Clements! Hooray! It is called Extra Credit, and I can't wait to read it!

A lot of the companies that come to this conference sell books, because this is a conference for reading teachers! The book companies also bring in authors so teachers can meet them, ask questions, and get the books signed that they buy from the companies. One of the first books I bought today was by the author Julie Danneberg. She wrote the picture book First Day Jitters, but she also has a new chapter book out called Family Reminders. I thought it looked like a good book, so I bought it. When I took it to her to sign, she said this was the first of that book ever to be sold! Isn't that cool?! It isn't even in bookstores, yet, so I bought the first copy of the book! She autographed it, and also put a note saying it was the first one sold. I thought that was pretty cool. I have a picture with her, but my camera and my computer aren't cooperating, so I can't get it posted right now. I'll try to get it working so I can post some pictures later. I did meet several other authors, including the poets Bruce Lansky and Brod Bagert, and my favorite author of nonfiction, Seymour Simon.

In the afternoon, I went to the Delegate's Assembly. I was sent by the Kansas Reading Association to be a representative at this assembly. It is kind of like when we elect representatives to go to the senate. I was supposed to speak for and vote according to how our state association thinks is right. I sat with people from Maryland, Michigan, and North Carolina. There were also people there, who spoke at the meeting, from Australia, New Zealand, and Finland. It was interesting to hear people speak and hear what they had to say.

This evening I went to the Mall of America with my friend who is travelling with me. Wow! What a place! We ate dinner at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company. It was so yummy! I was incredibly full when we got done there, so I wasn't up for riding the roller coaster or any of the rides. We did look at some of the shops in the mall, but we only saw a few compared to how many stores are in that mall. It has 4 floors of stores! I did go to the Lego store, though, and bought some new pieces of legos to add to our class set. I thought some new pieces might spice things up a bit.

Tomorrow is going to be even earlier than today, so I really need to get to bed. I am going to a special breakfast that one of the publishers is doing. I also have some really interesting sessions I'm going to tomorrow, and I don't want to be too sleepy to pay attention! I'm hoping that my camera will cooperate tomorrow, so I can get the pictures uploaded.