Ralph Macchio in NYC part 2

What's a pug gotta do to getta taxi in this town?

The NY Times Great Children's Read ROCKED!

Here's the view from backstage.

Sketchbook Saturday

October is Annie Was Warned
month here at the Sketchbook Saturday.

LL posters

Random House Children's Books produced these wonderful Lunch Lady posters and sent them out at random. (no pun intended.) Here are posters that surfaced in Texas and Connecticut. Perhaps you will soon see a poster at your school? Better be nice to your lunch lady!

Speaking of lunch lady photos, make sure you get your entries in soon for the Lunch Lady Photo Contest!

Ralph Macchio in NYC part 1

Ralph gave the lions at the NYC Public Library some lessons in regality.

Scenes from Frisco, TX

Check out these pictures from Pink Elementary. Wow! They went all out!

Frisco Reads

I have had the great pleasure of visiting with 28 (count 'em...28!) elementary schools in Frisco, TX. What a wonderful community filled with great students, great teachers and of course great librarians! (Not to mention great Mexican food and great BBQ. . .) I'm just wrapping up my final days in Frisco. (Everyone was very understanding when I needed to reschedule those last few days when the CBS opportunity popped up. Thank you so much to everyone!)

Every year, the Frisco school system hosts an author on a district level and the author visits are planned around Frisco Reads. Frisco Reads is a remarkable evening filled not only with additional author presentations, but events for the whole family. My favorite program that was offered to the community was a session for dads that talked about how important it is to read to your babies. I've been reading to Zoe since the very start and it is such a powerful bonding experience.

Frisco Reads brought in about 700 people, a remarkable accomplishment. To read more about the program, check out this article in the Star Local News. I hope it can serve as an inspiration for you to host a similar event in your community.

Here are some pictures from the evening:

This picture of the Frisco librarians represents a small fraction of the

librarians that I met during my time here. Fifteen years ago, this town had

one elementary school. Next year, there will be thirty!

Thank you to everyone for a great evening at Frisco Reads!

CBS Early Show

We made it to the air on Saturday morning! The segment aired at different times in different markets, but reports came in across the country from people who caught Bullseye and me on the CBS Early Show. Thank you to all who tuned in!

Sketchbook Saturday

October is Annie Was Warned
month here at the Sketchbook Saturday.

CBS Early Show rescheduled

My appearance on the CBS Early Show has been rescheduled. I should be on Saturday morning at 7:45AM.

Justin Roberts at the Target Book Festival Minneapolis

Here are some shots of my buddy Justin Roberts, performing with my other buddies, the Not Ready for Naptime Players, at the Target Book Festival in Minneapolis. Head on over to Justin's website to listen to some great indie rock kids' music. My favorite song right now is "Meltdown", which ends with the lyrics, "I'll stop the world and meltdown with you!" Brilliant!

Want to see Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players perform live? Come on by the NY Times Great Read on Sunday. The band will be taking the Target stage right after I read. (I am at 10:55 AM, they are on at 11:25 AM.)

Yo Gabba Gabba at the Target Book Festival Minneapolis

Have you ever seen the show Yo Gabba Gabba? I loved the show when it was an online only show, was so psyched to see it get picked up by Nick Jr and am now so happy to call DJ Lance Rock (and Brobee) a friend. If you have never seen the show, head over to the show's website and watch some videos. I'm so happy to have such a cool show to enjoy with my daughter.

If you'd like to see DJ Lance Rock and Brobee live, come on by the NY Times Great Read on Sunday. The Yo Gabba Gabba crew will be taking the Target stage at 10 AM. (Which is two slots before I do.)

Set your DVRs and VCRs!

Set your DVRs and VCRs for Friday morning. I am scheduled to appear on the CBS' The Early Show. *Fingers crossed for a slow news week*!

I will be talking up my appearance on the Target Stage at the NY Times Great Children's Read.

I don't know what time it will air exactly, but thinking sometime between 7 and 9.

event at the NYC Public Library (the famous one with the lions)

This Saturday at 4 PM, I will be on a panel at the NYC Public Librray. Betsy Bird (AKA Fuse #8) hosts a monthly Children's Literary Cafe. October's theme is picture book creators who have now authored (and illustrated) graphic novels.

Please note, this event is for grown-ups only.


The official series description:

The Children’s Literary Café is a monthly gathering of adults who are fans of children’s literature. Professionals, librarians, authors, illustrators, publishers, booksellers, teachers, and anyone else interested in the field are welcome to attend our meetings. The Literary Café provides free Advanced Readers galleys, a rotating series of talks with professionals in the field, and great conversation. This program is for adults only.

New York Public LibraryChildren's Center at 42nd Street
Event will be held in Room 844
2nd Street and 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10018

NY Times Great Children's Read

Hey New Yorkers—come on out to the NY Times Great Children's Read this Sunday. There is a great line-up of events during the day. I'll be taking the Target stage at 10:55 AM. For all the going-ons of the day, visit the Great Read's website.

See ya there!

Kate DiCamillo at the Decatur Book Festival

We had a blast hanging out with the very charming and very funny Kate DiCamillo at the Decatur Book Festival. We got to know Kate really well at 4:30 in the morning when the fire alarm was set off at the hotel. Imagine that? A hotel full of authors evacuating before the sun even rose. Fortunately, everyone made it to their designated stage times the next day.

Frisco Reads

Howdy Texans! If you live in or near Frisco, TX, come on by Frisco Reads on Tuesday night at Liberty High School.

I'll be talking about how I wrote the Lunch Lady graphic novels. See ya there!

Loren Long & Peter McCarty @ the Decatur Book Festival

The family and I had the honor of hanging out with Loren Long at the Decatur Book Festival. We got to know him really well when our shuttle van from the airport broke down. (I was disappointed to learn that Loren wasn't able to fix the van. Come on, Trucktown! However, Loren did offer to draw a picture of the van personified.) Loren is as awesome a guy as his work would lead you to believe. Top notch all around. Those in attendance at the DBF were treated to a debut reading of his new book Otis, which is out now. Wow! What a great book! You should definitely check it out. Here are some pictures of Loren doing his thing on stage:

And here is a picture of Loren and myself with Peter McCarty. I hadn't known Peter would be at the festival. Peter is a great guy, too. Have you seen his new book, Jeremy Draws a Monster? I love the book. It's great fun and a bit of a departure in style for Peter. I guess it had been a while since I've seen Peter because he was not only shocked to see me there with a baby, but also a wife.

Finally, here is a video of Loren talking about Otis. After you watch it, you'll want to be Loren's friend too!

Sketchbook Saturday

Little Shop of Stories

Little Shop of Stories orchestrates quite the show on the children's stage at the Decatur Book Festival. I'm just getting around to organizing some of the photos we took while there. I'll be posting some in the next few weeks.

Here are a few pics of the store itself. What a great space! And check out that wall behind the register. (Click to make the picture bigger.) There are so many illustrators who have come through, it's astonishing.

If you are ever in Decatur, make sure you stop in and say hello to Dianne, Dave and the whole crew for me!