if it's September in DC...

... it's National Book Festival time!! Oh dear, I'm a blob of enthusiasm over this event each and every year, and this year is going to be phenomenal. With an author appearance list that insists upon being read with accompanying shouts of "ooooh!" and "yaaaay!" NBF 2009 promises excitement and fun.

But this excitement and fun cannot happen without a little work this year for me, and I'm calling upon you lovers-of-books and thinkers-of-creative-thoughts for some assistance. I took the plunge and applied for a press pass for this year's festival, knowing that I'd be writing about it for 5 Minutes for Books, and most especially because of the WAY impressive list of authors. Okay, okay, if you know me, then you know my primary motivation was because of one name on that author list. It just so happens that my favorite children's author ever, the one who I feared Red had scared off the book-signing-circuit back in January, the one and only Mo Willems is on that very author list! Oh yes, I filled out that form and hoped that it might all somehow come together...

Guess what? It's totally come together! This Saturday, I will have the pleasure and the honor of conducting two author interviews in the Media Tent of the National Book Festival, and I'm literally shaking with excitement and terror. Terror, you ask? Well, uh, yeah! What in the world can I ask these two amazing authors that doesn't fall under the category of "Been Asked That At Least 746 Times, and Now You're Boring Me!" questions? That's where you all come in. I figure if I get five questions in during my very brief interview window, I'll be lucky, but I want those five questions to be noteworthy. Exceptional. Memorable. And at least a little bit humorous, perhaps. (But not in a screaming toddler kind of way for memorable or funny.) Here's some info:

First up, my pal Mo. (It says so on my Leonardo cover.) Known for his amazing collection of books featuring Pigeon, Trixie and Knuffle Bunny, Gerald and Piggie, Leonardo, Edwina, and Naked Mole Rat, Mo is adding a new buddy to the mix, with Big Frog Can't Fit In! - a unique, 'pop-out' book that is cute and absolutely adored by my children. This man has created the books that I most loved to read to my preschool classes when I was still teaching, and whose books now grace my shelves at home, where they are enthusiastically pulled down by the kids (and me) for readings on laps and in beds. What can I ask the creator of my very favorite children's books? Please help me to not stand in front of this man for five minutes in silence with a crazed-fan-face plastered on!

Speaking of being potentially frozen in place by a celebrity-- check out the other amazing author I get to chat with, Craig Hatkoff. Aside from his life as a philanthropist, real estate investor, and co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival, he's also a successful nonfiction children's author, as well! With several beautiful books already under his belt, he also has a new one coming out called Winter's Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again. Having looked at the new one, along with the Owen and Mzee, Miza, and Knut books, I'm really impressed with his storytelling and the collaborative work he's done with his own young daughters on these books. So, this guy starts film festivals with Robert de Niro... help me not make a fool of myself in front of him!

Alright, I do have some ideas of my own as a starting point, but I really want to make my book reviews of their new titles for 5M4B truly dazzle with the added experience of having been able to talk with the authors. I'm counting on your wit and wisdom, folks. You have a few days to put your noggins to work. Let me see what you got!


Believing in the power of brainstorming,