Mini-Report from NCTE Annual Convention in Columbus (Whew!)

 The 2023 Annual NCTE Conference was held in Columbus, Ohio in the middle of November. When I noticed that location, WA-A-Y-Y last spring, I planned to attend. Doing so has been a long-time dream, since this is the largest literary conference in the country each year. I've never had the opportunity/circumstances to make it happen until now. Their gatherings offer remarkable contacts, resources, and connections for teachers of preschool through university level (National Council of Teachers of English). Why wouldn't I want to go?

Planning ahead, I scheduled review posts for this  blog throughout the days and weeks leading up to that exciting weekend. I was certain I'd return home with fodder for countless posts, including books obtained in long lines, waiting to speak with and obtain signatures from their creators. Those things did happen, as well as meeting and visiting with several authors, poets, illustrators, educators, and literacy leaders with whom I've connected online or through work on my blog. I'll just say, ZOOM, webinars, YouTube, and other virtual experiences pale in comparison to even brief encounters with these talented folks in real life. I was a four-day-fan-girl, and that feeling continues.

To snap back into a regular posting schedule (delayed until now due to some personal/family issues)  I'm sharing this annotated collection of images taken during a whirlwind of four exhausting days. Next up, in only a few days, I'll begin reviewing some of the remarkable books I was able to bring home with me. Topping all this off? Saturday morning the keynote speaker was TOM HANKS, who was not stingy with his praise for teachers in his life who had shaped the man he is today. For now, just know that picture books continue to fill my thoughts each day, and I look forward to sharing many of them with you.

Here's hoping this is only the first of MANY times I manage to attend NCTE conferences. Fingers crossed for next year in BOSTON! This year clearly measured up to its theme: CONNEXIONS. Next year the theme is HEART, HOPE, and HUMANITY!