the week of dePaola, Yolen, Stemple and Yaccarino

I've always said, if there was an Us Weekly for the kids-lit world, they could be headquartered in the Northampton area and get zillions of paparazzi shots on a daily basis.

G and I recently had a great week of hanging out with some great author friends. While there are so many authors living in the area, living near the area and visiting the area -- we still don't always get to connect in this busy life of parenting and deadlines.

First, we celebrated G's birthday a few days early and had dinner with the always lovable Tomie dePaola and his wonderful assistant, Bob. We ran into a surprise guest at dinner. Read Tomie's blog for more details.


Then, just a few days later as we were running errands and stopped for a bite to eat at a local cafe. Who walks in but Jane Yolen and her daughter, Heidi Stemple. Jane was quick to point out that she saw more of me when I lived in Boston. And it's true! Sometimes it's your neighbors that you see the least! (We need to take more pictures, too.)



Then to round out the week, Mr. Dan Yaccarino was yakking it up at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Look at the amount of books on that table! Dan is the man.