Dear friends:

Slinging on my bowtie to announce the winners of the 2021 Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards on Wednesday at noon EDT on Hbook.com. I like ʼem and hope that you do, too. (Note to self: also remember to shave.) You can review the winners since 1967 here to see if you can predict what will prevail on Wednesday. (Good luck with that.)

Know what we’re getting? Hats*. Horn Book hats. I’ve ordered one for every editor so we can get up a basketball (that’s five, right?) team to challenge Candlewick, Charlesbridge, and Page Street. (What, you say basketball players don’t wear hats? Bastards.) I’ve ordered a few extra, so I’m going to ask cruise director Cindy to come up with a contest for prizes.

For the first time since February 2020, Richard and I went to the movies last weekend. What a thrill! And In the Heights was the perfect movie for the occasion, its festiveness and production numbers glorious on the big screen. You barely noticed the paucity of plot, conflict, or (according to Twitter) Black people.

This weekend marks Juneteenth, Father’s Day, and, the beginning of summer, the longest day of the year. Don’t be a Daisy Buchanan. Don’t miss it. Go to a movie!

Love,

Roger

*Does anyone. Still wear. A hat?