Peg Kehret Blog

I received some exciting news today: Abduction! has won the 2007 Young Hoosier Book Award.  This is the young reader award in Indiana, and it is the fourth time that one of my books has won.  That’s a state record for me.  The other Indiana winners were Nightmare Mountain (the first award I ever won), Horror at the Haunted House, and Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio.

I was able to go to the AIME (Assoc. of Indiana Media Educators) conference in person to accept each of those awards, and I plan to go again this time, in Nov., 2008.

Since that first award I have won many other book awards but no matter how many times it happens, it is always a thrill.  I am especially pleased when the award is one that the students voted on.  I write for kids, so when they choose one of my books as a favorite, it is very gratifying. 

Before I head to Indianapolis, I’ll be receiving two other honors, also voted on by kids.  In October, I go to Hershey, Pennsylvania, to accept the Keystone State Reading Award for The Ghost’s Grave.  In April, I will be in Missouri to receive the Mark Twain Award for Abduction! This is my first time to win in Pennsylvania, and my second time in Missouri.  (I am unable to be in Minnesota in Oct. to receive the Maud Hart Lovelace Award for Escaping the Giant Wave; I had a prior commitment that day.)

One of the best parts about going to a conference of school librarians (also known as media specialists but I love the word, librarian) is that I meet so many wonderful people. When I go back for a repeat visit, as I’ll be doing in Missouri and Indiana, it’s like going home to see family. I have dear friends all over the country because I’ve been privileged to attend these conferences.

So, thank you, young readers in Indiana and Pennsylvania and Missouri and Minnesota, and all of the other states who have read my books and liked them enough to cast a ballot for them.  Thanks, also, to Penguin, who published Abduction!  and The Ghost’s Grave and who generously help with travel expenses so that I can accept these awards in person.

This brings my state book award total to 33, and I cherish every one of them.

Yesterday I received a chain saw sculpture that I had commissioned.  Mark Herrington is a local chain saw artist whose work I admire. I had asked him if he made custom orders and told him what I wanted: a big bear reading a book to a small bear, and when Mark said he would carve that for me, I could hardly wait.

Since I live in a log home in the woods, this kind of outdoor art work is perfect for my setting.  Both bears are seated on stumps, with the small one looking up eagerly, as if hanging on every word of the story.  The big bear holds a book, titled Spy Cat.

I will enjoy this sculpture every day, and I know my visitors will smile when they see it. I’m pleased that I was able to support a local artist by purchasing his work.  It is not easy to make a living in any artistic field and I try to encourage my fellow creators.  Both bathroom sinks in my home were hand-painted by a local artist.  My front door was carved by hand with a scene of deer and fir trees. A stained glass carrot hangs in one window; the local birds eat from my hand-crafted bird feeder.

Because I appreciate the creativity and work that went in to each of these pieces, I treasure them far more than I would a factory-made door or a Made in China bird feeder.  Yes, my door cost more than if I’d gone to Home Depot and chosen one from the stack. It is also more substantial, far more beautiful, and it gives me pleasure every time I open it. 

I also have several paintings - one of which is the original cover art for Searching For Candlestick Park.

Last Saturday, I spoke at the Elmhurst, Illinois, Public Library.  It is a beautiful facility with a huge children’s department and a wonderful staff.  The murals on the walls of the “story room” are fantastic!  I always enjoy meeting young readers, teachers, parents, and librarians. Before my talk I had a tour of Elmhurst, including a stop at a used book sale. After my talk, I had dinner with a group of librarians - interesting people and great conversation!  It was the kind of day that makes me glad I’m an author.

 My son, Bob, and grandson, Mark, went with me. Like me, they are baseball fans, so while I was at the library, they went to a Mariners/White Sox game.

On Sunday,  we saw Wrigley Field, the Sears tower, Navy Pier, and other Chicago landmarks. It is a beautiful city. Then the three of us went to another Mariners game before heading to the airport to fly home.

It was a special treat to have Bob and Mark accompany me. Like most families, our busy schedules (plus the fact that we live 200 miles apart) keep us from being together as often as we’d like. 

This trip began when I received an invitation to give a library talk, and evolved into wonderful new friends in Elmhurst, plus happy family memories.

I’ve had two recent free speech issues to consider. The first involved the Cat Writers’ Association (CWA), which I belong to on Pete’s behalf.  They are having a conference in Nov. and the banquet speaker was to have been the President of the Humane Society of the United States.  TRAPPED is entered in the Children’s Book category of the Cat Writers’ competition, and I had planned to attend the workshops and the awards banquet. I had looked forward to the conference, and to hearing this speaker.

CWA came under pressure not to have this speaker, even though he had been invited months ago and was already announced as the banquet speaker, because his organization was in favor of some pending spay/neuter legislation in California, where the conference will be held.  This seemed to me like censorship, and I felt strongly that it would be wrong to remove this speaker from the conference program.

The CWA board disagreed, and voted to uninvite him.  I have changed my plans, and will not be attending the Cat Writers’ conference.

The other issue involves Amazon.com’s sale of magazines and books that promote dog fighting and cock fighting, both of which are cruel to the animals involved and are also illegal in most states. Many animal welfare groups are urging their members not to buy from Amazon as long as they sell materials which instruct people how to harm living creatures. Amazon says this is censorship.

So where do I draw the line? While I believe people should be allowed to read whatever they want, I also believe it is wrong to promote cruelty. In this case, I am choosing not to purchase anything from Amazon as long as they continue to encourage dog and cock fighting by selling these publications. 

I realize that I could be harming my own career by speaking out against the decisions of an organization, CWA, and a business, Amazon, with which I would like to maintain good relationships. However, I think it’s important to speak up for what I believe is right.

The kids who read my books often wonder what they can do to help animals or to correct an injustice.  One thing that you can do at any age is to speak out. Write a letter to the editor of your newspaper or put your views on your on-line journal. Talk to your friends. Point out an injustice and explain why you think it is wrong.  Words have power to instigate change. 

I still have Edgar, my foster cat.  In the two months since he arrived, he has gone from hiding to being a lap cat, who rushes to greet me. 

When Pasado’s Safe Haven, the group that rescued him,  put his photo on their web site, I had high hopes that someone would adopt him.

That has not yet happened but something unexpected did:  Three people who read that story came forward and offered to be foster parents for other rescued cats.  So three of the cats who were rescued with Edgar are now also being given individual attention and socialization. 

I did not know when I volunteered to foster a cat that this doesn’t happen often. Most people who foster animals take dogs.  Even though Edgar is still waiting for his permanent home, I feel I’ve helped him and, indirectly, helped other cats.

Edgar’s room used to be my husband’s piano workshop. It was filled with antique instruments and interesting projects.  Carl built wonderful bird houses, and did some amazing wood carving projects.  After Carl died, and the space was cleared of the instruments on which he had been working, that room seemed too empty.  I wanted to use it in a good way, a way that brought life and laughter back to the space. 

Fostering Edgar has done that.  What could be more lively that a big black cat wildly chasing a yellow feather on the end of a stick?  The room has windows for bird-watching and a high counter where Edgar’s food is safe from Lucy, my dog, when she visits him.  When I stand at Carl’s workbench, brushing Edgar and hearing him purr, I know that I’ve used this space wisely. There is life and love and laughter there once more.