Speaking to a full house Monday, April 26, at the Opening General Session of the International Reading Association's 55th Annual Convention in the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago, Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan told the audience that teaching was her favorite profession and the "most noble profession." The queen spoke simply and with heartfelt eloquence about what literacy means and the important role teachers have in molding life. "The future is in your hands…. You can be that one person who brings out the greatness in a child," she said.

Queen Rania serves as the Eminent Advocate for Children for UNICEF and the global chair of the United Nations Girls' Education Initiative, working for broader access to schools and higher quality education for all children, especially girls. The queen, who is co–author with Kelly DiPucchio of the new children's book The Sandwich Swap, told how their story of two girls who trade their peanut butter and jelly and hummus sandwiches is based on her own childhood experience. The gooey purple jelly looked unappealing but turned out to be quite tasty, she said.

This story tied in well with her overarching message about the importance of fostering cross–cultural literacy and the theme of the four–day convention, Reading In Many Languages. "To be successful today, a global perspective is necessary," Queen Rania said to the audience of more than 4,200 in the theater on the second day of the convention.

Known as the Tech Queen, she uses the latest in social media, including her own website, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to reach out to literacy and education advocates around the globe.

A new initiative of hers, timed with the World Cup this year in South Africa, is 1Goal—Education for All. The online petition drive is designed to make political leaders understand that the lack of universal literacy and education is a humanitarian crisis for the 75 million children who still are out of school. "In Sudan," she said, " a young girl is more likely to die giving birth than to have a primary education."

A Sunday of learning

Brisk registration, informative institutes, stimulating presentations at the IRA Marketplace, and a meeting of IRA's new Teacher Advisory Panel were among the highlights of activities at the convention on April 25, its first day. The 19 institutes covered a range of categories including struggling readers; literacy and technology; and strategies for teaching elementary, adolescent, and English–language learners, among others. Institutes featured keynote addresses, sessions and breakout groups to enhance the learning experience, and panels of distinguished education professionals and authors.

The day was capped by an evening celebration of the accomplishments of IRA's network of councils.

Gore pleas for action

"Reading and the skills of literacy and the survival of books in varied forms serve as the bedrock of our hope" to understand and solve the problems created by climate change, Al Gore told the audience at the Second General Session on Tuesday.

The former U.S. vice president and co–recipient of the Nobel Prize interspersed statistics about global warming and its effects with an impassioned plea for all people to become more knowledgeable about the issue and more active in helping to find solutions. He also referred to his book, Our Choice: How We Can Solve the Climate Crisis, which is aimed at raising awareness among young readers.

Gore several times returned to the role that teachers can play, noting the vital importance of education—especially the education of girls—in addressing critical issues such as global population growth. "What you are doing is more important that it has ever been," he said.

In order to address issues of climate change, we must "communicate to create a shared understanding and then take action based on that understanding," Gore said. Citing the success of the Marshall Plan following World War II, he noted the need for bipartisan support, consensus, and willingness to follow a course of action over an extended period of time.

"If I could, I would transfer from my heart to yours the passion I have formed about this issue," Gore said.

A dynamic closing

IRA's 55th Annual Convention closed on a high note with inspirational presentations by keynote speaker Belle S. Wheelan and incoming IRA President Patricia A. Edwards. Wheelan, president of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is the first African American and first woman to hold the post. She has a doctorate in educational administration and four honorary degrees and has served on several national boards.

Wheelan described a variety of challenges facing education today, but also shared inspirational stories about the lasting effect that teachers have on their students. "You do make a difference—not only in students' lives but in the fabric of this nation," Wheelan said.

Edwards shared the story of her educational journey, delighting the audience with the tale of how at age 6 she ran Pat's Saturday School in her father's backyard barber shop. If the boys who came for haircuts refused to attend her school, she threatened them: "My daddy is going to cut all of your hair off."

She said that in today's world shifting demographics are bringing transformation to the United States, and public schools are in the vanguard of change. "Our challenge as educators will be to meet the needs of a culturally and linguistically diverse student population," she said, before concluding with an invitation to attend IRA's 2011 convention in Orlando, Florida, with the theme "The Power of Literacy."

Literature on the lunch menu

Kevin Henkes

Caldecott Medal–winning author and illustrator Kevin Henkes delighted the audience Monday, April 26, at the Primary Literature Luncheon with stories and artwork relating to his children's books. He read from My Garden and showed illustrations from it.

"Children are passionate," Henkes said. "They see things with such freshness." To illustrate the point, he read a selection of his favorite letters from children, drawing much laughter. Henkes said he remembers and returns to picture books from his childhood, and he hopes his books have a lasting impression as well: "I hope my work will be slept with, spilled on, and remembered."

T.A. Barron

On a recent trip to West Africa, author T.A. Barron met a man who told him how he had grown up in Congo and feared the forest. A teacher, who glowingly described the wonders and beauties of all its creatures, completely changed his view. "I was the tinder; she was the match and I have been on fire ever since," the man said.

That was Barron's message, too, at the Young Adult Literature Luncheon on Tuesday, April 27, in the Vista Room of the McCormick Center. The power of teachers is wondrous and can ignite passion, curiosity, and heroism, he told attendees. Barron is the author of the popular Lost Years of Merlin series and now has a book about how to be a real hero, The Hero's Trail, and a film with profiles of seven young heroes, Dream Big.

Janet Wong

Years ago Janet Wong entered a neighborhood bookstore in search of a present for a two–year–old relative. She left with an armload of books for herself. Soon after, she left her highly paid job as director of labor relations for Universal Studios in Hollywood to pursue a career as a children's book author. After 26 rejections, she sold her first book, and she never looked back.

Wong's credits include poetry books, chapter books, and novels. She entertained the audience Wednesday, April 28, at the Book and Author Luncheon with tales of her multicultural roots and how family experiences and the language some of her relatives used ("Immiglish," she called it) found their way into some of her books.

Wong read a section from her forthcoming book, Me and Rolly Maloo, which includes a scene about standardized testing, and she praised teachers for the work they do. "I want you to leave here feeling important and proud of what you do," Wong concluded. "I want you to think and remember every day that you make this world a better place."

Featured, fantastic authors

Henry Winkler

Called stupid, lazy, and an underachiever as a child, Henry Winkler didn't learn until much later that he had something with a name: dyslexia. Speaking to a capacity audience Wednesday morning at Chicago's McCormick Lakeside Center, Winkler wondered why arts education is the first thing cut from school budgets. To applause, the Fonz, as he was known on the television series, Happy Days, said that sometimes art is the only key that can unlock some children's minds. He also urged teachers to erase the line between intellectual talent and other kinds of talent, and used the example of a child who could find success designing a room or a house instead of being a scientist.

Winkler led the audience on a hilarious whirlwind tour of his life—from grade school with his teacher, prototype for a character, Miss Adolph, who had a gray spirit, gray breath, and yes, gray knees, to his applications to 28 colleges and acceptance by two, and then his triumph at being accepted into the Yale School of Drama. Without missing a beat, Winkler told the audience, "You never outgrow the need to be read to," then read from A Brand–New Me!, the 17th and latest book in the series, Hank Zipzer: The World's Greatest Underachiever, coauthored by Lin Oliver. The series follows the adventures of a boy with learning disabilities and a great deal of pluck.

Winkler ended on the theme he started with: "If you will it, it is not a dream," urging the members of the audience to make the most of themselves, take action for a child, and listen to their children because they have a lot to say.

Regie Routman and Sandra Figueroa

In an impassioned presentation, coach and author Regie Routman and elementary school principal Sandra Figueroa, described the despair felt by many English–language learners (ELLs) who languish in the nation's classrooms, hampered by difficulty in mastering a second language and teachers' low expectations for them. They told the story of one young girl who was placed in special education because of a mistaken assessment and how it took her six years to get out—the average length of time ELLs stay in special education classes simply because they don't get the differentiated language instruction they need, Routman said. She told the hundreds of educators in the audience that the underperformance of ELLs is one of the biggest civil rights issues of our time.

The two shared how to creatively engage ELLs in improving language skills through a variety of classroom practices, including getting students to read more fiction and nonfiction, to write about what they read, and to use what Routman calls an optimal learning model: demonstrate or show students what they will be learning, share learning experiences, and guide practice until students are ready to perform independently. Routman also cited the importance of having the right resources and good leadership in place, a collective vision, and thoughtfully implemented professional development. Parents should raise their expectations, too, she said, and make college the goal for their child, not just a dream.

Jon Scieszka

Featured speaker Jon Scieszka had a packed room enthralled as he introduced his latest endeavor—a multimedia project called Spaceheadz, which includes a series of four books and an online component. Spaceheadz is the story of three aliens who decide to invade Earth by assuming the persona of two fifth–grade students and the class hamster. Their mission: to convince 3,400,001 kids to BE SPHDZ.

Scieszka shared a couple of excerpts from the first book, which is scheduled to be published in June by Simon & Schuster. Several of the book's characters have their own websites, and Scieszka showed examples of these as well.

"Kids are under this waterfall of stuff that inundates them from a variety of media," Scieszka said. His goal was to create a book/online package that motivated kids to read while also taking advantage of their inherent interest in technology. Judging from the examples he shared and the reaction of the audience, his new project will be another hit that tickles the funny bones of children and teachers alike.

A gathering for "the most noble profession" (June 2010). Reading Today, 27(6), 28–31.