Kate DiCamillo has been named the next National Ambassador To Young People's Literature!

Kate DiCamillo signs a book for a young fan during the ceremony where she became the National Ambassador To Young People's Literature / Photo by Shealah Craighead, as on the Library of Congress blog

“I want to remind people of the great and profound joy that can be found in stories, and that stories can connect us to each other, and that reading together changes everybody involved.” — Kate DiCamillo, from her interview on PBS' Newshour

Kate DiCamillo has been named the Library of Congress' next National Ambassador to Young People's Literature, succeeding Walter Dean Myers, who was appointed in 2012. DiCamillo will spend the next two years traveling (including required appearances at the National Book Festival and Children's Book Week.)

Kate is the author of "Because of Winn-Dixie," the recent "Flora and Ulysses," and Newbery Award-winning "Tale of Despereaux."

Our congratulations to Kate, to whom we'll give the final words of this post:

"I feel so fortunate to have ended up where I have ended up, as somebody who gets to tell stories for a living. But I didn't start writing until I was almost 30 years old. And I didn't get published until I was 36 or 37. So -- but it was something that I always knew that I wanted to do. And I finally sat down and started trying to do it. So, hey, let's hear it for all the late bloomers and for dreams coming true, right?"

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

ps- you can read some great quotes from Kate's swearing-in ceremony at the Library of Congress here.