Banquet night

In between the entree and the dessert, the literary awards were presented. Unfortunately, many of the recipients were unable to attend. (Of course this made the evening go more quickly)

The recipients of the Sydney Taylor awards were able to come to Boston. Sholom's Treasure, written by Erica Silver and illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein, won for books for younger readers. (pictured with Heidi Estrin below)

Confessions of a Closet Catholic by Sarah Littman won for older readers. (with Heidi above) I had heard about this book earlier and had checked it out for my daughter. I read it first and thought it was wonderful. I think people, including me, sometimes forget that kids can and do go on spiritual quests too.
The title was a little 'off-putting' for my daughter, but I convinced her to invoke the '20 page' rule (try it out for 20 pages and then if she doesn't like it she can put it down) Well, she didn't put it down until she reached the end! Sarah mentioned that winning the Sydney Taylor award made her feel like nobility - note the tiara!

After dinner I went on a walk with a handful of AJL'ers. After the heat during the day, this late evening was really delightful. We walked along Boston University and then back along the river. Of course, when I say 'we' I mean those of those that came back after an hour – the rest kept walking for another hour or so.