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Author: Jacqueline Briggs Martin (on JOMB)
Illustrator: Beth Krommes (on JOMB)
Published: 2001 Houghton Mifflin (on JOMB)
ISBN: 0618548955 Chapters.ca Amazon.com

Soothing speculation, striking details and spellbinding scratchboard art present a gripping account of The Karluk’s last icy voyage and the strength and resourcefulness that beat all odds.

More shipwrecks on JOMB:

• The Edmund Fitzgerald: Song of the Bell
• The Killick

by Yvonne Brooks

BEA—Book Expo America—reflects both the cacophony and passion of the book industry. Attended by publishers, librarians, distributors, agents, authors, illustrators and civilian bibliophiles, Book Expo is a different event for every badge holder. I offer my perspective as an author, publisher, and first-time BEA visitor.

Dateline: New York, May 31, 2007, 7:30 a.m. I stride through the sliding doors of the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Forewarned by every blog and Google search that attendees might become weighed down by an abundance of catalogues, review copies, magazines, water bottles, buttons, pens, posters, bookmarks (reams of bookmarks), topped by a book bag (or two, or ten), I dutifully check an empty, rolling backpack at the $2.00 storage area. Wearing the requisite “comfortable” shoes, with energy bars and business cards stashed in my purse, I plunge bravely into the breach.

For the next three days, I attempt to absorb and retain wisdom from industry experts hosting a panoply of educational sessions: how to pitch your product to publishers, how libraries develop collections, hosting successful author events, the rise of graphic novels, how to expand readership, best practices in digital marketing, etc., etc. The breach, in this case, turns out to be scheduling conflicts; fortunately, some sessions are repeated, but attendees may find themselves a few days short of answering their every question about the book industry. They also may be disappointed at the long lines to meet a favorite author.

Then there’s the Exhibitor’s Hall; high octane, full throttle, everyone in overdrive: 4,100 booths, 52 aisles, 9,000 buyers, 4,000 librarians, legions of support staff. My experience at the Exhibitor’s Hall of the Javits Center mirrors the most vital aspect of bookselling: the magic which happens when someone puts a book in your hands and pages start turning. Everyone knows this secret and everyone wants their book, pamphlet, advertisement, DVD, or bookmark to touch your hands because, atom by atom, the world leans more and more toward your book with each small effort until suddenly that tipping point is reached, you sell 7 million copies, and live one castle over from J. K. Rowling—happily ever after.

The industry eagerly trolls for the next hot theme, while desperately trying to dodge the dreaded “derivative” label. Every day 250 new books are published, while the tried and true titles of forty years past continue to outsell them. The production and concomitant consumption of words has continued unabated, literally expanding beyond our comprehension as publishers. Teenagers now text more than they talk. Blogs flood the Internet with words. Individuals speak just as comfortably to communities of one or one thousand. Close friends can number 5,000; 50,000 for acquaintances with a common interest in, say, rappelling the Shawangunk Mountains, or tracing the literary influence of Aphra Behn. The Internet has evolved into a conduit for written words and images capable of channeling whatever we, as an industry, can imagine. An explosion of self-publishers injects more new titles into the industry each year. At the center of this revolution, local booksellers and librarians continue to serve as reliable information resources; now, through considerable effort and ingenuity, many of these outposts have invigorated entire communities of readers and consumers.

Ultimately, I went to BEA because I want my books (not at the expense of your books, of course) to be successful. I want my life to be successful. I want my children’s lives to be successful. No, no, I mean happy; success is good, but happy, happy is better. And BEA dispensed life lessons as freely as it offered supplicants a souvenir book bag (or ten). If I take myself too seriously, the cure is simple: Simple Happiness: 52 Easy Ways to Lighten Up by Jim Ryan. I can believe in something by believing in nothing: Nothing: Something to Believe In by Nica Lalli. If complaining is in my cards, I can whine in good company: My Latest Grievance by Elinor Lipman. If my writing career doesn’t take off, there’s always eBay: The 3rd 100 Best Things I’ve Sold on eBay — Ka-Ching! by Lynn Dralle. And if all else fails, I can take solace in my arduously acquired knowledge: Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You by Peter Cameron.

Sunday, 4 p.m., June 2, 2007, and Book Expo 2007 is officially over. I still have my rolling (now bulging) backpack, my Book Expo badge, and a fresh infusion of purpose. I’m home at my communications pod, beaming value directly into the waiting arms of 3.2 billion people, waiting for the checks to roll in. Thank you, BEA.

Next year’s Book Expo dateline: Los Angeles Convention Center, May 29-June 1, 2008. I’ll see you, and 30,000 of our closest friends, there.

Yvonne Brooks is a writer and photographer who co-authored Meet the Goat Kids (Lotus Pond Media, 2006) and The Goat Kids Explore the Woods (Lotus Pond Media, 2007).

Recently, Brooks spoke with Book Bites for Kids host, Suzanne Lieurance, about her books and the Expo. Listen to the podcast by clicking on the clip in the right sidebar of this page.

Learn more about The Goat Kids by visiting their website.

Listen to author and photographer Yvonne Brooks talk about her new book, The Goat Kids Explore the Woods, coauthored with her husband, Steven Grant.

And here’s some exciting news - The Goat Kids® would love to hear from you. Please get your parent’s permission if you’re younger than 13, and their help, especially if you’re too young to type.

To send a note to all of the goat kids just e-mail them at [email protected]

To reach Charlie, the big brother with the sharp horns, please e-mail [email protected]

To reach Ella, the intrepid explorer and fierce wrestler, use [email protected]

By now you’ve probably figured out that Jack, the sweet younger brother in the herd, is at [email protected]

Sally, the youngest of the four with the fiercely independent spirit, can be reached at [email protected]

Each e-mail will receive a response with a brief note about the goat kids’ recent activities and a current photo. This way you can keep current with their adventures while they’re putting together their next book. The goat kids would love to get a drawing or photo of your favorite pets–maybe you have a pet goat that might want to say hello.

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Children’s Author Dori Hillestad Butler

In this next interesting edition of Book Bites for Kids, host, Suzanne Lieurance, talks with Dori Butler about her two new picture books, F is For Firefighting, and My Grandpa Had a Stroke.

Visit Dori Butler’s website - KidsWriter.com - to find out more about her other great books for children.