Ten takeaways from Kidlitcon 2014.

1. So many new blogs to follow! Many of them can be found on the list of Kidlitcon Attendees and in this brochure created by Sarah Hannah Gómez.

2. I am not the only one who feels dismay at the lack of books that explore/portray rural poverty. On the one hand, it's nice to know I'm not alone in that; on the other, it makes me sad/frustrated/angry that those kids and teens so rarely see themselves in fiction. (That isn't to say that those books don't exist... but there aren't a whole lot of them.)

3. I would like for Charlotte to be my next door neighbor. Not just because she's hilarious and smart and thoughtful, but because she knows everything there is to know about middle grade SF, and because we disagree about as many books that we agree about, and debating/squabbling about such things is oftentimes more fun than agreeing wholeheartedly. Also, if she gets a Slanket for her birthday (HINT HINT HINT), then we could be Slanket Twins.

4. Tanita S. Davis is even more lovely in person than even I, in my infinite adoration of her, could have possibly imagined. Ditto her husband. Also, I look forward to their continuing harassment of Josh via the USPS. (Josh, meanwhile, is already on HIGH ALERT.)

5. Jewell Parker Rhodes, Mitali Perkins, and The Disembodied Head of Shannon Hale are all excellent speakers, and if you get the chance to see/hear any of the three of them, DO!

6. I would like it if MotherReader could avoid missing any future Kidlitcons: As Kelly Jensen put it, "There is a Pam-shaped hole at KLC this year."

7. Even when we're connecting with people we've known online for years, many of us are still shy.

8. Even though I've avidly followed it from the beginning, hearing the behind-the-scenes story of #WeNeedDiverseBooks was hopeful, inspiring, and just flat-out awesome. 

9. My new favorite photobomber:

10. Even though I'm SUPER EXHAUSTED by a very very LONG TRIP HOME, I can't wait for Baltimore in 2015, and am already working on getting Josh to come with.

See the #kidlitcon feed for MUCH, MUCH more. If you've got a Kidlitcon recap, let me know and I'll compile here!

• Charlotte's Library
• Maya Gonzalez 
• McLicious 
• Ms. Yingling Reads 
• Tanita Davis, at Finding Wonderland 
• Crazy QuiltEdi 
• Sarah Stevenson, at Finding Wonderland 
• Zetta Elliott 
• Jen Robinson at the official Kidlitosphere website.
• An Unconventional Librarian 
• School Library Journal 
• Tanita, again, at Finding Wonderland 
• Tanita, again! A follow-up on the previous post on cultural appropriation 
• Charlotte, again: My Kidlitcon 2014 talk -- Finding Your Voice, Finding Your Passion- Blogging With Conviction 
• Stacked 
• Mitali's Fire Escape: A Checklist to "See" Race/Culture in Kid/YA Books 
• McLicious: What Type of Blogger Are You? 
• A round-up of links from Finding Wonderland, including a few I missed!

Bonus, semi-unrelated note: Josh knows EXACTLY how to wind me up, even from across the country:

Josh: i'm rereading astrocity in bed.

Me: Which astro city are you on? I bought the new Thor, which stars a LADY.

Josh: just the first book, the beginning, and Thor is no lady, you beatnik.

As you may imagine, the conversation devolved from there.