Last week I schlepped the kids to the library to hear children’s author Carla Killough McClafferty. I met Carla a year ago at our state’s SCBWI spring conference.
I have to say, she does a bang-up job of presenting.
Here are my kids. We were several minutes early. I’m one of those neurotic people that cannot stand to be late. Anywhere. Yeah, I was a front rower in college. But you know what? It worked out well because I met my husband (who came in very late, unshowered. But we don’t talk about that.)
I let the kids check out books to read in case her talk ran a little long. (To be fair, she writes for the 5th grade and up crowd.) Let me just say, with all the dropping and picking up of, arguing over whose book belonged to whom – I’m just grateful Carla didn’t show us the door.
My nine year old was interested in her book on Marie Curie. She told us stories of how women in the States, the Radium Girls, painted radium on watch faces for their glow in the dark effect, but these women would also paint their jewelry and buttons. Never realizing, of course, the danger of exposure.
My son loved seeing the photos of Marie Curie’s laboratory, which Carla visited on a trip to Paris.
By this point, the two year old was melting down and the three year old was break-dancing, so I rummaged through my bag. Writerly types will know a writer always has a notebook. Well I sacrificed said notebook for the sake of the talk.
Pages of purple highlighter. Saved the night. And my eyeballs because I was coming really close to jabbing them out. (Nothing to do with Carla, mind you.)
This is the book we came home with. I had NO IDEA an American journalist helped rescue more than 2,000 Jews from pre-WWII Germany. Some of those Varian Fry rescued? Marc Chagall and Heinrich Mann.
Carla’s next book is about George Washington. He did not have wooden teeth. One of my boys asked. 🙂
Hi, Kristin. Loved this post. My husband was a "front rower" while I was a usually late, back row denizen myself. Worked out in the end. We've got four sons now! Thanks for stopping by my blog and for your congrats on the book deal. Look forward to following your journey, too! Stasia
Stacia, we have 4 boys as well. 🙂 Thanks for dropping by.
I love the hidden stories about big events. And you were brave, very brave bringing all your kids!
Carla's talk sounds inspiring. History is so interesting. Imagine all that radium being used on everyday items. Now we use lethal chemicals in plastic. Ever tried to go a day without plastic?