The SCBWI Nature Writers Workshop with author and Alaskan Debbie Miller, http://www.debbiemilleralaska.com , in Hattiesburg, MS, was wonderful. Debbie's presentations conveyed a sense of life in such amazing country as well as her passion to protect the environment. She's devoted to connecting kids to the natural world.
Workshop attendees also spent time in the exhibit room featuring items from the tremendous de Grummond Collection of Children's Literature. Curator Ellen Ruffin shared the inside scoop on some of the pieces in the collection. I delighted in seeing a real 18th-century hornbook - who knew they were so small? About the size of a playing card! I also loved the original Kate Greenaway art, correspondence from Madeleine L'Engle and so many others, and a colorful display of the work and tools of Ezra Jack Keats. One of these days I'll make it to the Festival.