At Bookfest 2023 in Elmira NY, I got to hang out with the real Dr. Cosmic from my Mad Scientist Academy books. Thanks to Mick Morgan, whose dedication to bringing the character to life meant visiting multiple costume shops in Manitoba to find the perfect green lipstick to match the rest of his makeup. Mick’s commitment to the role was nothing short of extraordinary.
While visiting Hendy Elementary, my presentation was interrupted by a visit from the real Benjamin Franklin, back from the dead and wandering the neighborhood. I persuaded him to stick around for a couple minutes, and together we presented a quiz on his life to the kids in the room before he had to go.
Sometimes, a student will come up and give me a gift they made just for me. After one presentation this spring, I was silently handed this awesome miniature monster book containing a one-eyed spider, a vampire bat, a ghost, and Frankenstein in a hat.
At the morning assembly at Rockwell Elementary this spring, the music teacher, Mr. Meyer, led everyone in some songs. On a whim, I asked him if he wanted to join me and play some improvised accompaniment as I read Bean Thirteen. We had so much fun that he came back and played along as I presented several other books throughout the day. (The plan is for us to tour together next year, if I can convince him to quit his day job.)
So often, when I do an author visit, someone has put in a huge amount of work preparing artwork to welcome me to the school. Here is just a small sample of the terrific projects that greeted me this past spring. (Kensington Road Elementary, Forts Ferry Elementary, Veeder Elementary, and North Broad Street School)
It’s always a treat when the author visit is just down the street. Especially so, when it’s such a terrific day. Thanks, Slingerlands!
Such a fun day visiting Jefferson Elementary this week!
Two wonderful author visits up at Kensington Rd. Elementary and Harrison Ave. Elementary, both in the Glens Falls area, this week. My thanks to everyone at both schools who helped make the visits so special!
This week, after about five years of work, Benjamin Franklinstein: The Musical opened at the Theatre Institute at Sage, at Russell Sage College in Troy, NY. It runs through Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022 and you can find more info and order tickets here: theatre.sage.edu
This is the result of a long collaboration between my co-author of the book, Larry Tuxbury, and Sage musical theatre professor Michael Musial. I couldn’t be more happy with the way this strange, funny musical turned out. Everyone involved, from the actors to the designers to musicians to the stage crew pulled together to bring this to life in a way I never dreamed possible. If you get a chance, come check it out!
Love this Mad Scientist Academy drawing from a reader I met at a recent school visit. Beware the Tacobot!
If you’ve ever been curious how a book is made—not written or illustrated, but physically put together—this feature from the New York Times does a great job of explaining the whole process. I learned a lot!
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/02/19/books/how-a-book-is-made.html
Having a book launch party in quarantine means doing things a little differently than usual.
(If you’d like to learn how this video was made, click here. Hint: the secret ingredient was Legos!)
Happy to announce that my newest book, Do Not Eat The Game!, is now available at fine bookstores everywhere. You can order your own copy from the links below, and if you do, I’ll send you a custom bookplate with your very own unique monster to put in it! Just click here to find out more.
Such a fun week of school visits last week at South Side, Waterman, York, Pavilion, and Elba Elementary Schools. Thanks to everyone involved for making them so special. If these are to be my last visits of the school year, it was a nice way to finish up.
My newest book, Do Not Eat the Game, just got a wonderful review from Kirkus! Look for the book in stores on May 1.
Board games, much like playtimes, take two or more players to make everything go right. Schoolkids need a helping hand as they move from solo to social play—especially in a screen-oriented world—and McElligott here guides them along. Illustrated in a game board-style layout and written in the imperative style of game instructions, this clever book externalizes kids’ worst playtime impulses in the form of literal monsters. Readers first encounter a small child laden with a big, multicolored game box. When the family’s gray terrier wanders out of the room, the kid lets a pink, furred monster in through the window to serve as a substitute playmate. Things begin well enough, but, as a crowd of monsters accumulates and overwhelms the protagonist, the loyal pup returns to scare them off. Unfortunately, the furry fiends abscond with the game board, then refuse to give it back. Undaunted, the enterprising kid handcrafts a decoy game that distracts the thieving horde with explicitly naughty directives—throwing pieces, munching the board, and so on—enabling the retrieval of the board. Once the monsters realize good fun is contingent on good sportsmanship, they apologize and rejoin the game. By the amicable ending, readers have discovered the basics of fair play: abiding by the rules, waiting your turn, respecting your competitors, winning (and losing!) gracefully, and, per the titular mandate, abstaining from conspicuous consumption. This book requires two or more readers—the more participants, the merrier. (Picture book. 5-8)
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