Post by celaeno on Jan 4, 2010 14:19:03 GMT -5
Considering this board has probably the most dedicated BSC fans (and especially since some members have mentioned having signed books), I figure some of us have met Ann at book signings or whatnot. I was surprised there wasn’t a thread already, so I created this so we can share our experiences.
I met Ann when I was 10-years-old (almost eleven). One day my mom told my sister (who is one year older than me) and me that she had heard that Ann was going to be having a book signing at a small local independent children’s bookstore near us. She knew that my sister and I had devoured dozens of BSC books over the past few years, so she asked us if we wanted to go. Of course we were like “OMG YESSSSSS!”
So on the day of the book signing (specifically, it was June 23, 1996), I grabbed my copy of my favorite BSC book (Super Mystery #1, Baby-sitters’ Haunted House) and we left for the bookstore, where I could get it signed.
When we got there, we were faced first with what I thought was going to be a problem for me – Ann wouldn’t sign any old books; she would only sign ones that you bought while she was there. This was actually a genuine concern for me, because my parents rarely bought things for my sister and me (except for Christmas or birthdays), so I was legitimately concerned that I wasn’t going to be able to get anything signed by Ann. But my mom took pity on us and bought us each a book. The Portrait Series was relatively new, so my sister got Claudia’s Book and I got Mary Anne’s Book.
(To this day, I’m still baffled why I got Mary Anne’s Book. I hated Mary Anne; she was shy and timid and a crybaby; all of these were characteristics which I was afraid others saw me as, which was the main reason I didn’t like her. Maybe Mary Anne’s Book was the only other one they had left?)
Anyway, we got our books, we got in line, and then I started to feel…uncomfortable.
You see, at that age, I was very, very afraid of looking immature and babyish. And at that time, I had already become uncomfortable with the fact that I was 10-years-old (almost eleven!), I had just finished my first year of middle school, and I was still reading the BSC. I felt this way mainly because my friends had moved on to reading RL Stine and Michael Crichton and other books that were definitely cooler than the BSC.
(You’d think that I would have just stopped reading the BSC if I was really that embarrassed by them, but at the same time, they were very addicting – I couldn’t cut the habit!)
I started looking around, and I felt even more embarrassed. I felt like all the other kids there were younger than me. I felt really, really uncomfortable and wasn’t even excited at the idea of meeting Ann anymore.
After waiting in the line for a little while, I finally got to meet Ann and have her sign my book. She looked up at me, and I felt like dying because I knew she was thinking I was way too old to be reading these kiddie books. She didn’t seem friendly, she wasn’t smiling. My mom got annoyed at me, because she was taking pictures and she wanted a good picture of me smiling at the camera, but I kept my head down and didn’t look at the camera or her.
I got my signed book back, we left, and that was the end of the experience.
Once I got interested in my old BSC books again (about a year ago), I naturally thought back to my unpleasant experience where I met Ann. I didn’t remember how old I had been, and when I went to look at the old photos, I was surprised that I had been only 10-years-old. Ten! It makes me so sad to think that I was so concerned with looking mature (and sophisticated, as the BSC would say
at that age, that I psyched myself out of enjoying meeting Ann. It makes me sad that I was so embarrassed to be reading the BSC at age 10 when, nowadays, I wouldn’t think twice if I saw a 10-year-old reading the BSC (heck, I don’t think twice about 20-somethings reading the BSC . Ten-years-old is perfectly fine to be reading the series.
So I found the photo of me, and surprise surprise, Ann looks smiling and friendly in the picture. I had been so self-conscious about being too old to read the series that I had been certain she had an “OMG you’re too old to read kiddie books!” look in her eyes. I had been completely blind to the fact that she was just being nice and friendly to a fan. In the photo, Ann is smiling at me, and I'm looking at the ground, looking pretty miserable.
So, it was a bittersweet experience. I got to meet the author of a book series I devoured, but it was ruined by my own self-conscious attitude. If only I could have been more comfortable with myself and what I like, it would have been a more pleasant memory in my mind.
Several years later, my sister and I got rid of the majority of our big BSC collection through garage sales, giving them to younger cousins, etc. But I held onto our signed copies of Claudia's Book and Mary Anne's Book. I guess I realized I would regret it if we got rid of them. I am so so glad I held onto them.
(And no, I’m not going to post my picture of me and Ann, because 10/11 was easily the most unattractive age I experienced.
I met Ann when I was 10-years-old (almost eleven). One day my mom told my sister (who is one year older than me) and me that she had heard that Ann was going to be having a book signing at a small local independent children’s bookstore near us. She knew that my sister and I had devoured dozens of BSC books over the past few years, so she asked us if we wanted to go. Of course we were like “OMG YESSSSSS!”
So on the day of the book signing (specifically, it was June 23, 1996), I grabbed my copy of my favorite BSC book (Super Mystery #1, Baby-sitters’ Haunted House) and we left for the bookstore, where I could get it signed.
When we got there, we were faced first with what I thought was going to be a problem for me – Ann wouldn’t sign any old books; she would only sign ones that you bought while she was there. This was actually a genuine concern for me, because my parents rarely bought things for my sister and me (except for Christmas or birthdays), so I was legitimately concerned that I wasn’t going to be able to get anything signed by Ann. But my mom took pity on us and bought us each a book. The Portrait Series was relatively new, so my sister got Claudia’s Book and I got Mary Anne’s Book.
(To this day, I’m still baffled why I got Mary Anne’s Book. I hated Mary Anne; she was shy and timid and a crybaby; all of these were characteristics which I was afraid others saw me as, which was the main reason I didn’t like her. Maybe Mary Anne’s Book was the only other one they had left?)
Anyway, we got our books, we got in line, and then I started to feel…uncomfortable.
You see, at that age, I was very, very afraid of looking immature and babyish. And at that time, I had already become uncomfortable with the fact that I was 10-years-old (almost eleven!), I had just finished my first year of middle school, and I was still reading the BSC. I felt this way mainly because my friends had moved on to reading RL Stine and Michael Crichton and other books that were definitely cooler than the BSC.
(You’d think that I would have just stopped reading the BSC if I was really that embarrassed by them, but at the same time, they were very addicting – I couldn’t cut the habit!)
I started looking around, and I felt even more embarrassed. I felt like all the other kids there were younger than me. I felt really, really uncomfortable and wasn’t even excited at the idea of meeting Ann anymore.
After waiting in the line for a little while, I finally got to meet Ann and have her sign my book. She looked up at me, and I felt like dying because I knew she was thinking I was way too old to be reading these kiddie books. She didn’t seem friendly, she wasn’t smiling. My mom got annoyed at me, because she was taking pictures and she wanted a good picture of me smiling at the camera, but I kept my head down and didn’t look at the camera or her.
I got my signed book back, we left, and that was the end of the experience.
Once I got interested in my old BSC books again (about a year ago), I naturally thought back to my unpleasant experience where I met Ann. I didn’t remember how old I had been, and when I went to look at the old photos, I was surprised that I had been only 10-years-old. Ten! It makes me so sad to think that I was so concerned with looking mature (and sophisticated, as the BSC would say
at that age, that I psyched myself out of enjoying meeting Ann. It makes me sad that I was so embarrassed to be reading the BSC at age 10 when, nowadays, I wouldn’t think twice if I saw a 10-year-old reading the BSC (heck, I don’t think twice about 20-somethings reading the BSC . Ten-years-old is perfectly fine to be reading the series.So I found the photo of me, and surprise surprise, Ann looks smiling and friendly in the picture. I had been so self-conscious about being too old to read the series that I had been certain she had an “OMG you’re too old to read kiddie books!” look in her eyes. I had been completely blind to the fact that she was just being nice and friendly to a fan. In the photo, Ann is smiling at me, and I'm looking at the ground, looking pretty miserable.
So, it was a bittersweet experience. I got to meet the author of a book series I devoured, but it was ruined by my own self-conscious attitude. If only I could have been more comfortable with myself and what I like, it would have been a more pleasant memory in my mind.
Several years later, my sister and I got rid of the majority of our big BSC collection through garage sales, giving them to younger cousins, etc. But I held onto our signed copies of Claudia's Book and Mary Anne's Book. I guess I realized I would regret it if we got rid of them. I am so so glad I held onto them.
(And no, I’m not going to post my picture of me and Ann, because 10/11 was easily the most unattractive age I experienced.
