The Nerdy Book Club descended on the National Council of Teachers of English Convention in Las Vegas this weekend. This annual convention is Nerdy Heaven, a reader’s rock concert, with author sessions and signings, book giveaways, and conversations with bookish people all weekend long. Meeting many Nerdy posters face-to-face for the first time was like catching up with old friends who are dedicated to promoting books and reading to children. I hope that the readers who discovered Nerdy Book Club during the NCTE convention contribute posts and add their voices to our community soon. For those of you who couldn’t attend the convention, it only takes two readers to have a Nerdy Book Club convention any time or place you want!
Here are a few photo and video highlights from our weekend gatherings.
Jonathan Auxier, Nerdy poster, and author of Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes amazed attendees at the Nerdy Book Club party with this yo-yo summary of his marvelous book.
Colby Sharp and Katherine Sokolowski hang out at the Nerdy Book Club party.
Everyone was starstruck when R.J. Palacio showed up at the Nerdy Book Club party. Beth Shaum’s giant smile communicates how much we all love Wonder.
The Michigan contingent of the Nerdy Book Club includes Brian Wyzlic, Nikki Barnes, Colby Sharp and Beth Shaum.
Beloved Nerdy author, Jenni Holm, and equally beloved Nerdy poster, Mindi Rench.
It was a packed house at the Nerdy Book Club roundtable session.
Jen Vincent and Brian Wyzlic at the Nerdy Book Club party.
Cindy Minnich talks up Twitter during the Nerdy Book Club Roundtable.
It might take awhile to share Nerdy’s inscribed copy of Wonder with over 200 posters!
Thanks to everyone who participated in Nerdy Book Club events and presentations this weekend and to all of you who help make Nerdy great every day.
Donalyn Miller is a fourth grade teacher at Peterson Elementary in Fort Worth, TX. She is the author of The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child. Donalyn co-hosts the monthly Twitter chat, #titletalk (with Nerdy co-founder, Colby Sharp), and facilitates the Twitter reading initiative, #bookaday.
Wow!
What a great post. I hope the Nerdy Book Club gatherings will be an annual event at NCTE/NWP – I couldn’t get to Vegas this year due to financial constraints but this “literacy tribal council” is the most vibrant, meaningful, living PD I’ve experienced in these first 15 years of my teaching career. Twitter, specifically through #titletalk and #nerdybookclub, have informed my teaching, inspired my thinking, and given me the strength to do the right thing for kids in my classroom when admin and others are directing me to do otherwise, and I’d love to be able to thank all of you in person next year. Rock on tribal leaders!
How lovely! Hope to be at next year’s!
Oh Man! RJ Palacio???? That must have been awesome! I need to start saving for next year. Las Vegas is a looong way from Maine
Next year NCTE will be in Boston.
I so wish I’d been able to come to the Nerdy Party! But though I missed out on that, I had a great time meeting so many of the people I ‘know’ online and hanging out (and learning!) in the sessions. For me, NCTE has been so much more than the sum of its parts, and I’m so glad I came. Thanks for being awesome, Nerdy Book Club friends!
This is just too cool for words. I’m sure my resident Nerdy will have lots to say when she gets home. What a Thanksgiving Day we are going to have!!!!
You’ll hear all about it – I have do much to be thankful for from this trip!!
Thank you for your kind remarks about Nerdy. We think it is special, too!
So many Nerdy Book Club members in one place – what a party! I got started with Twitter after Donalyn’s keynote at the Dublin Literacy Conference last February and it has completely changed my professional life. It is so great to know that I’m not alone in loving to talk about books and teaching. Looking forward to meeting the new NCTE recruits!
Thank you so much for sharing this. Wish I could have been there. Hopefully next year in Boston! So fun to put faces with names! Love Nerdybook club! It’s so nice to have people to talk to about reading, books, kids, teaching & learning, esp. if you don’t have this kind of community in your own area. Thanks again!
What an awesome event! While I sadly could not attend NCTE this year, I love that posts like this bring all Nerdy Book Clubbers together. Throughout the weekend, I felt as if I was learning and celebrating the conference awesomeness through everyone’s posts and tweets . Thank you!
I love the movement this group has become. If only you’d been around during my teaching days…
Power to the kiddos with you guys as teachers! xo
Love Nerd Vegas! Thank you for including, inspiring and celebrating all of our learning here and throughout the year.
words cannot begin to express how bitterly jealous I am.
*weeps*
Dude!! I’ve gotta get in on the Michigan contingent in a future Nerd Fest!
Looks like so much fun! Thank you for sharing all this… you do great work.
Great party! Wish I could’ve joined in the fun. Hopefully there’ll be another Nerdy Book Club party in Boston next fall.
Thanks so much for this post. I really appreciate all the Nerdy Book Club members who remembered their friends back home and posted tweets, pics, and blog posts to keep us included. Nerdy Book Club profoundly impacts so many people around the world. Isn’t it magnificent that people who love books so much can spread so much love and change the world one word at a time? How about hosting a special Twitter chat recap of #ncte12 and #nerdybookclub to debrief everyone with your new found knowledge and ideas?
Following along on Twitter all weekend was KILLING me! I’m so glad everyone had such a great time though. Maybe next time!