This year's book chosen to represent Minnesota at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., is Laura Purdie Salas's already much-honored, many-prize-winning, delightful "BookSpeak! Poems About Books."
Her lovely, lively poems celebrate everything book-related. The book won a Minnesota Book Award earlier this year, and also was honored by NCTE Notables; Bank Street Best Books; Librarians' Choice; Honor Book - Gelett Burgess Center for Creative Expression; White Ravens; and (my favorite) the Nerdy Book Award.
Salas lives and writes in Maple Grove.
The National Book Festival's 52 Great Reads (50 states, plus Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands) are meant to represent the literary heritage of each state.
Previous Minnesota books have included two by Anton Treuer ("Ojibwe in Minnesota" and the Ojibwe-language "Awesiinyensag: Dibaajimowinan Ji-gikinoo'amaageng") and "Night Driving," by John Coy.
