ALA 2024 Conference Highlights

I got to sign my Hank the Tank books, talk about decodables, and share the wonderful work of Teach My Kid to Read at The 2024 American Library Association Conference in San Diego last weekend. I'm pictured above at the IBPA booth for the Independent Book Publishers Association. I talked with many librarians about resources for struggling readers. The man above is author Ryan Van Cleave who has compiled works by famous poets in beautifully illustrated books for children. I'll be talking more about his Edgar Allan Poe collection in October when my Level 3 decodable book, The Raven Remix: A Mashup of Poe Titles, is released. His publisher is Bushel and Peck. They had a fun book display just across the aisle from IBPA.

When I wasn't signing books, I helped out at the IBPA booth with other delightful volunteers, including Kathyrn Sparks from the American Academy of Pediatrics publishing department. In the photo below we just realized we were wearing the same navy blue pants from Betabrand. If you aren't familiar with their products, you must look them up. I won't share our fashion secrets here. (Hint: It involves the word "yoga.")

I ended the conference talking with librarians about my Hank the Tank Activity Book which recently was named a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Award over at the booth for Headline Books. Cathy Teets, owner of Headline Books invited the award winners to sign books at her booth. She made these amazing signs and hosted podcast interviews which will be available later this month. Watch for the link to my interview coming soon.

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