Book Release Party: Blue Moo by Sandra Boynton
(CONTINUED FROM PART ONE)
It was about this time that I realized that I didn’t know anybody there. Nada. No one. Where were all the librarians? Here’s a view of how crowded it was:
As you can see, it was very busy. Busy and bereft of librarians. You can’t see the wall, but there were screens and screens playing a video made of various big name singers doing the songs from the book.
Utterly baffled but game I heard that there was a buffet upstairs and lo and behold there was. Sweet succulent beef, chicken wings, and the ultimate in comfort food; macaroni and cheese. There were even waiters floating about, so I sat myself behind the videographer and chowed down. On my way down I finally ran into someone I knew. Stacy Dillon of Booktopia was there! Fellow New York children’s blogger, Stacy Dillon! I nearly threw myself on her ankles in relief, but she was on her way up the stairs to eat and I was on my way down to do a second turn of the room. Still, it was nice to see her. Pieces were falling into place. Obviously I was here in my capacity as a blogger, rather than a librarian. An odd way to go, but not entirely unexpected. I pressed on.
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About this time the announcements began. First up were some nice Workman Publishing folks. Then the lady of the hour herself, Sandra Boynton! Here’s a picture in case you ever have to find her in a crowd yourself.
That’s her. There’s a theory out there that states that the sweeter the picture book illustrator’s work, the sourer the person. Maybe that’s true of some, but Ms. Boynton just seemed the sweetest of the sweet. I don’t know why but I kept thinking of her as a kind of mom-like Meryll Streep. After she said some very nice words about the book it was time for her kids to perform. Here you can see Ms. Boynton’s two sons and teenage daughter singing "Bobby’s Girl".
Next, her daughter joined two of her confederates and they become a trio.
As all this was happening I was essentially blocking the view of this fellow at the table behind me. My big ole butt managed to wipe out any view he might have had of the proceedings. Realizing this, I moved to one side. Good thing too, since eventually he burst onto the stage area, hitting a tamborine for all he was worth. Like so:
There really is no good reason why I should have recognized Davy Jones. I thank whoever it was who plastered the gigantic D to his chest. Made him awful easy to spot, I can tell you.
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As I backed up so that I wouldn’t be clustered so closely to the Davy Jones table, I almost literally ran into Nancy of Journey Woman fame. She had taken a significantly longer trip to get to this event, which made me feel a little shamefaced about my five block on-the-way-to-my-subway walk. We discussed how we didn’t know anyone, her current blog break, and other matters as the girls crooned. Then Davy Jones went on officially.
To say that you’ve sung Daydream Believer with the guy who made the song what it is today is great. As Nancy said, "I don’t care what I sound like. If I get to sing with Davy Jones then I will." Right on. Davy was apparently a little ill, but as you can see, he threw himself into each song with aplomb.
Sandra got back on and mentioned that a certain Mr. Neal Sedaka was also in the audience, and then it was all over. Milkshakes consumed and I decided to high-tail it home. My plans for introducing myself to Ms. Boynton went up the chimney when I realized that she was about to be swamped with well-wishers. The sad thing is that I had the perfect line for introducing myself. Something along the lines of, "Hi! As the only New York City public librarian present, I’d like to say hello!" Next time then. Next time.
For a glance at Ms. Boynton’s webpage, go here. She also is notable for being the only children’s author/illustrator that I know of who has a portion of her biographical webpage that reads "Bored? Why not visit HOMESTARRUNNER.COM?"
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About Betsy Bird
Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.
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It was a fun night even though familiar faces were few! Good to see you, Betsy!