“About the conference?”
“More specifically about what kinds of books you’re interested in acquiring at the conference.”
Julien looked around at the shelves surrounding them. “You’re the expert.”
Her sigh sounded a little exasperated. “Yes, but are you looking for something specific? Are you wanting the book to win an award like the Caldecott Medal or the John Newbery Medal? Are you more interested in an author/illustrator combo like Mo Willems? Do you have a story idea already formed and are looking for a group of authors to collaborate like the Warrior Cats books and the collective penname of Erin Hunter?”
Julien wished he knew what and who all those names were.
“You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”
He gave her a sheepish shake of the head. “I did warn you about my ignorance.”
She rolled her eyes. “I heard you when you said you didn’t know much about children’s literature, but I didn’t realize that equated to practically nothing. You, Julien King, are not leaving here without homework.”
6
Come to find out, creating an index ofThings You Should Know About Children’s Literaturetakes longer than one would think. Especially when Hayley and Evangeline keep chiming in with helpful additions. Because of this, Julien actually does leave the library without any homework in hand, but with a promise from me of an email hitting his inbox soon and a return promise from him to immerse himself in the content I send.
“Read back to us what we’ve got so far,” Evangeline instructs.
I look at our index. “Let’s see. We started with a list of the main genres of children’s literature: picture books, poetry and verse, realistic fiction, historical fiction, folklore, fantasy, science fiction, biography/autobiography, and nonfiction/informational. And, of course, added a few example titles under each heading. Next, we went on to provide a short list of the top-grossing books and series, since he’s specifically looking for a bestseller that will bring in a lot of revenue.”
“Were you surprised thatThe Little Princehas sold the most copies out of any children’s book?” Hayley asks.
I look at her askance. “Have you read Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s masterpiece? It’s one of those stories that can speakto anyone, which is probably why it’s the most translated book outside of the Bible.”
Hayley bobs her head in concession.
“No one is surprised by how many times J.K. Rowling is on this list, though, are they? Number two, four, and a five-way tie for the fifth spot as well,” Evangeline points out.
“Well, she is the only author to have a net worth of around a billion dollars,” Hayley agrees.
I puff out a breath. “And Julien wants me to find her successor. No problem at all.”
Evangeline squeezes my shoulder in support.
“Wasn’tHarry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stonerejected by twelve publishers before Bloomsbury finally accepted the manuscript?” Hayley pipes up. “You can’t be any worse at finding the next hit children’s book than those twelve misguided editors.”
I give her a wry look.
She holds up her hands. “What? It’s true.”
I shake my head and study our index again. “Anyway. After our list of top-grossing books, we’ve given him a brief overview of both the John Newbery Medal and the Caldecott Medal, as well as a few titles that won each award, respectively.”
“I think we’ve probably given him enough information to begin with. Any more and it might start to feel overwhelming. Besides, I’m not sure if he’ll have enough time to acquaint himself with all these books, much less dissect the reasons why audiences resonate so strongly with the stories to the point where he can recognize the same magic in a raw rough draft or a query letter.”
“That’s a good point, Evangeline. Okay, I’m going to send this to him and see what he says.” I click the blue send button, and the email whooshes away into cyberspace.
I turn away from my computer but freeze when I catch Evangeline and Hayley giving each other pointed looks behindmy back. They seem to be silently arguing about who’s going to say something that neither of them wants to voice.
“What is it?” I should’ve pretended I hadn’t seen their nonverbal back-and-forth. Knowing them, they more than likely want to drill me about Julien. Evangeline always has romance on the mind, and since Hayley started seeing Levi Redding, the mechanic she was stranded with in Turkey Grove when the bookmobile broke down, she hasn’t been much better.
“Look, I know what you’re going to say.” I decide to nip any romantic notions they have in the bud. “Julien is an attractive man and someone my adolescent heart went pitter-patter over. And, yes, when I saw him again, some of those crush-like feelings might have resurfaced as a momentary reflex, but that’s all it was. This isn’t some kind of second-chance, boy-next-door, it’s-always-been-you romance plot. We’re just two people who happen to be able to help each other out in impossible situations. Real life, not fiction. Got it?”
Evangeline and Hayley look at each other again, then turn back to me.
“That’s not what we were going to say.”
