Richard Peck, Richard Peck, Richard Peck!

As a collector of Newberry award winners, I have definitelly picked out my favorites over the years. At or very near the top of that list is A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck. Because of that one that I loved, I have read several others of his books. I have become a big fan (even though the books are a bit below my age bracket), and thus was very excited when my sister told me he was coming to town and her friend who works at the library that hosted him had reserved us some seats!

Afterward my sister commented, "I wish I had a transcript of his whole speech. It was like reading CS Lewis. You want to take time to study every line. Every line was thought out and penned beforehand, you can tell." She was right. Listening to him talk was a feast for the ears. He had a lot to say about education and families, mentioning that if schools seem like they are failing, families have already failed. He's a big advocate of reading to very young children. He said that too many people come up with excuses like they're too busy, or the kid is too hyperactive; "I wanted to be hyperactive, but my mother wouldn't let me."

All in all, it was great, although, he did manage to get in a dig about me not having a job. During his speech he talked about what makes a good story and mentioned that moving home after graduating college is not cool.