Jon Scieszka completed his two-year term as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature yesterday. I’ve oohed and ahhed and sighed over Jon Scieszka here before. I love his Math Curse and Science Verse books, in particular, and appreciate the sophistication he gets away with in his work for kids. He knows kids are smart, he trusts them to understand, and they do. Hey, I just gave a Timewarp Trio book for a holiday gift.

I thought Jon would be a hard act to follow, until I learned who was named to the position today: Katherine Paterson. She says it brilliantly: “I cannot fill Jon’s shoes, but I can follow in his footsteps…”

How’s that for stepping right into the role? Add that to my Lines I Love list.

I’ve oohed and ahhed and sighed over Katherine Paterson here before, too. I’m a fan not only of her novels, but of her speeches and essays, too. She is a wise, insightful woman. And guess what: I gave one of her novels for a holiday gift, too! Park’s Quest or The Great Gilly Hopkins, or perhaps both.

“Read for Your Life” is the theme for her platform. It occurs to me that I might make her a bookmark based on that theme. Wouldn’t that be fun? Surely I could send it to an agent or publisher or the Library of Congress and it would find its way to her.

I’m saying it here; you know what that means. Now I have to do it.

Congratulations, Ambassador Paterson!