Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Hey, Kiddo Spotting


Gina and I never miss an episode of CBS Sunday Morning (Even if we don’t get to watch on Sunday.) This week’s segment on migraines piqued our interest because Gina suffers from debilitating migraines. But then, we paused immediately at the sight of the book in the background... ‬

Goodnight, Ghostbusters!



‪Every night, my son gingerly puts his Ghostbusters to ni-nights, and I feel like the luckiest dad in the world. ‬

Hey, Kiddo in France



Happy publication day to Une touche de couleur: Comment j'ai perdu ma mère, trouvé mon père et fait face aux addictions de mes parents.
Thank you, Éditions Delcourt for publishing Hey, Kiddo in France!

Thanks, Clinton Middle School!


The entire middle school lined the hallways and greeted me while wearing T-shirts emblazoned with quotes from my books—all while the Star Wars theme blared. What an astounding way to start the day! ‬





That face you make when you walk in to your school visit and you’re blasted with the Star Wars theme and a few hundred cheering students lining the halls between the front door and the auditorium. ‬Thank you for that incredibly warm welcome, Clinton Middle School! 📸 by ‪@SarahGaetano1 ‬on Twitter.

Hey, Kiddo Live Reads


The Hey, Kiddo Live Reads informed the audiobook. ‬
‪And now the Hey, Kiddo audiobook is informing the Live Reads. ‬
‪Updating the show PowerPoint to include music created for the audiobook. ‬
(And I’ve also developed a way in which I can present this to communities with community members reading alongside me.)

Wednesday, February 05, 2020

Hey, Kiddo LIVE





We are getting a majority of the Hey, Kiddo audiobook cast together to stage another Live & Unabridged reading on Feb 23rd at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA. WHO’S IN?! 



Making of Punk Farm!




In case you missed the webcast on PUNK FARM! 

We're going to the Audies!




This is HUGE! The Oscars of audiobooks! HEY, KIDDO has two Audies nominations! I'm so fired up for the entire team who brought my graphic memoir to audio. We're a Young Adult Finalist and a Multi-Voiced Performance Finalist.
Time to get the kiddos fitted for tuxes and gowns!



Last week, we gathered the young cast of HEY, KIDDO to tell them about the Odyssey Award. We just told them that we’re also up for two Audie Awards!


Audiobook Behind-the-Scenes


Paul Gagne of Scholastic Audiobooks is the reason why HEY, KIDDO was put forward for an audio adaptation. We rolled up our sleeves together trying to figure out how to tell the visual story in an auditory way. I wish we had cameras following us the entire time because the story behind the story would have made for an incredible documentary filled with so many ups and downs and emotional breakthroughs—and ultimately an Odyssey Award win!
But I am grateful that author Lisa Yee took this behind-the-scenes video. (Did you know that she voiced the soap opera actress from Shirley’s “stories”?)



I sat down with Audiophile Magazine to chat about the process of adapting graphic literature for audio. From initial concept to Odyssey Award! Read more here!



Odyssey Award Excitement

I gathered the young cast of the Hey, Kiddo audiobook to watch the American Library Association Youth Media Awards press conference. Everyone got to be late for school. If you were in that audience applauding, it reached the ears of these young performers!





In related news:



Thinking about every librarian and classroom teacher who has ever made the case for comics. (And knowing we will all continue to push this format forward.)