Don’t know how I missed this one before, but Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast is a really fun and inspiring blog about all things books, including a wealth of terrific illustrator interviews. Check it out!
http://blaine.org/…
Continue reading →The Lion’s Share has sold foreign rights to several Asian countries, and this week I received a package in the mail containing my author’s copies from Japan, Korea, and China. My mind was seriously blown.
Just by looking at the covers, can you tell which one is which? (Answer below)
The covers, in order from top to bottom, are China, Japan, and Korea.
How well did you do?
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As much as I wish I could write about every author visit I do, there just isn’t time. I did a string of great visits these past few weeks, and each had its own terrific story.
I’m going to have to pick just one. I visited Deposit Elementary for the second time in three years, and the return visit was just as great as the first one.
Continue reading →This past weekend Larry and I spoke at the NY State SLMS Conference for school library media specialists. We ate a delicious lunch, then spoke for a little while about writing Benjamin Franklinstein Lives! and screened our new video.
Wow, what nice people those librarians are. Turns out I even had some food on my jacket and no one said a thing.
Also, we’ve launched a new website for the book. If you get a chance, check it out…
Benjamin Franklinstein
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A few weeks ago I had a wonderful visit out to Buffalo, NY to visit Windom Elementary. I hadn’t been back to Buffalo in almost seventeen years, and it was comforting to see how many of my favorite sites were still just as I remembered them. It even snowed for me on the last day – just a little bit, but enough to remind me of the old days.
Continue reading →Last week, while on the road, I had the chance to drop by and visit my friends Tedd and Carol Arnold. Tedd, of course, is the author of about a zillion books including the Green Wilma and award-winning Fly Guy series.
Tedd has a new exhibit of his work at the Arnot Art Museum in Elmira, NY, and he graciously gave me a sneak peak of the show last week. It’s phenomenal. If you find yourself anywhere in the neighborhood of New York’s Southern Tier in the next month or so, do yourself a favor and check it out. It’s a master class in illustration.
(As a bonus, the Arnot is also running a great show on fairy tale illustration upstairs. Two for one!)
Tedd’s website
The Arnot Museum
Continue reading →Yesterday I visited Malta Avenue Elementary and caught up with my longtime friend, librarian Colleen Leclaire. We did a full day, then an evening reading program that drew over two hundred people – a great turnout for a Friday night. Kudos to the Malta Avenue parents and everyone who worked so hard to make it all happen.
Below are a just a few of the pirate designs for Backbeard’s crew made by the kids at Malta Avenue…
Continue reading →I visited Division Street Elementary School in Saratoga yesterday, where the kids had done some really funny pictures of what Backbeard’s costume might have looked like had he been shopping for clothes in other parts of the world. Here are just a few of my favorites:
Hawaii...
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Just finished a grand day at Slingerlands Elementary. It’s a wonderful school, and the teachers and students all made me feel right at home. (Thanks especially to Mrs. Collen for being such a wonderful host.)
One project the Slingerlands kids worked on was to write a pages recommending ideas for what my next book should be. They were, by and large, genius. Here are a few of my favorites.
The next book should be about…
…the pig’s F.B.I. motorcycle.
…two jelly beans that talk and almost get eaten
…a special seed that can turn into a tree that can move and can change into anything.
…dinosaurs vs. Backbeard.
(and my favorite)
…Backbeard sells donuts.
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I’m happy to report that the Lion’s Share DVD is now available from Nutmeg Media, perfect for school libraries everywhere. The people at Nutmeg did a great job with this, and I’m really pleased with the results.
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