lots and lots of books

Last Friday I had the most unique opportunity. I traveled to Crawfordsville, IN to visit the Random House Children's Books warehouse. This is where all of the distribution happens, all of the stock is stored. It was completely mind boggling. And it was no surprise to see how efficiently everything ran, as librarians and book dealers constantly tell me how easy it is to order stock from Random House. After touring the facility, I had the chance to speak to all of the employees, in both the day and night shifts. And if you are one of those aforementioned librarians or book dealers, I thanked them all for you. They are a terrific group of individuals.

When we found where copies of Punk Farm were stored, I couldn't help but notice the book that was stored on the shelf just below it. It was The Salamander Room, one of the two books that I saw as a senior in high school that made me want to get into picture books in the first place. Who knew that I'd someday end up with the same publishing company as that book's, let alone have my book be its neighbor at the warehouse...

The day was definitely one of the highlights of my publishing career and a big thanks to everyone in Crawfordsville for helping make it possible.