ALA Experience-Josie
I didn't blog at ALA because the line was always really loooong to access the computers, and so forgive my late posts.

On Saturday I dragged myself out of bed at to attend the 8:00 session, YA Literature, Graphic Novels, and Books on Popular Culture: How Do They Attract Reluctant Readers? The authors that attended were Barry Lyga (The Astonishing Adventures of Fan Boy and Goth Girl), Kozu Kibuishi (Amulet) and Holly Black (the Spiderwick chronicles). They all gave their definition of what a reluctant reader was and then went on to talk about their work. It didn't seem like authors were prepared to discuss reluctant readers, with the exception of Holly Black. Part of the discussion focused on pop culture, which is always fun and trends in YA Lit. They all predict books like Steam Punk are going to be the next big thing.

One of the best workshops I attended was on The Bilingual Mind: How Children Acquire and Use Language. This workshop summarized the research that has been done on the subject and recommendations that librarians can give patrons. This is a very controversial issue around the country and a lot of the advise given to parents by professionals on this subject is false. The attendees received a free book, The Bilingual Edge, Why, When and How to Teach Your Child a Second Language Kendall King, Ph.D., which presents the newest research simply while using practical examples.