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In my previous two posts on Judy Blume's reading tips and Neil Gaiman's fave kids' book this year, I mentioned the Children's Author Breakfast.

It was worth waking at the crack of dawn to go, partly because the authors speaking were so phenomenal -- Neil Gaiman, Judy Blume and Sherman Alexie. But it really did help to have a masterfully funny master of ceremonies to get everyone revved up. That master of ceremonies was Eoin Colfer, the hilarious author of the Artemis Fowl series. He brought each writer to the stage with just the right balance of toasting them and roasting them.

In fact, his speech yielded so many laughs, I'm anxious to get our hands on his books. Word is, they're excellent for reluctant readers, especially boys, as they're packed with humor, adventure and suspense. Artemis Fowl Book 1 starts the series. He's now on Book 6, and Artemis fans will also like the new graphic tales Colfer's writing.

So you get the full effect of the breakfast's spirit, we found the full audio recording from the early morning event. Publisher's Weekly also posted a great write-up.

I sat at the Harcourt Brace table with some funny and fabulous children's authors: Adam Rex, author/illustrator of "Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich," George McClements, author/illustrator of "Baron Von Baddie and the Ice Ray Incident" and Marlene Perez, author of the forthcoming young adult vampire novel, "Dead is the New Black."

But one of the most exciting moments? When, looking for the Disney Publishing representative, I accidentally introduced myself to Dave Barry! If you don't know, the prolific Mr. Barry has written lots of works for adults but is known in kid circles for his and Ridley Pearson's take on Peter Pan. The book series starts with a tale called "Peter and the Starcatchers" and is a fantastic read for all ages. Barry and Pearson are teaming up again on the forthcoming "Science Fair."

So you know, Mr. Barry was extremely nice, even when I became visibly and blabberingly mortified at not realizing at first that he was Dave Barry (or reading his nametag for that matter.) He was also helpful, pointing me toward the publicist I needed to find. Thanks, Mr. Barry!