Cypress, Texas Part 1

I had a GREAT week in Cypress, Texas, visiting schools in the Cypress-Fairbanks School District.

All the schools made me feel so welcome and the kids totally rocked.

The first day started with a bit of bad luck: My luggage stayed behind in Boston.

So the uber fabulous librarian, Jennifer Lucas, took me to Target for all the essentials in life, like mascara. (Thanks, Mrs. Lucas!!)

But, wait! We forgot something! 

A comb!

Dang!

But never fear! Mrs. Lucas and I spiffed up my hairdo with forks.

 

So now I was ready to present to the great students of Hamilton.

Me and Mrs. Lucas (right) with our forks

Me with Paige

Me with Jordan

Me with Jackson

Me with Rachel

Next stop?

Fiest School.

The kids were great and welcoming. 

Thanks, y'all.

 

 And later, I got to have a great dinner with their super librarian, Mrs. Sweet.

(l to r) Librarian Claudia Fenske, author Phil Bildner, Kim Sweet

More about my great Cypress visit coming up.

Stay tuned.

Things I Love Thursday

I love this red plate.

The purpose of this plate is to celebrate something special that happened to the person eating from it.

You document the occasion with a marker on the bottom of the plate.

When my son was growing up, we always referred to a special event as "a red-plate dinner."

Alas, some of the events are wearing away with time, but most of them are still visible.

Most of them are my son's. 

(I did, however, get one event on there.)

Here are some:

First day of first grade 9/3/93

Grady lost his first tooth 10/15/93

 

Grady got a perfect grade on his spelling test; second grade; November 1994

No more crib! Grady in a big boy bed 3/19/90 photo

 


Grady caught his first fish 4/4/94
Grady got a job 2011 [a personal favorite]

Grady's first oil change 6/8/03

Grady beat final Bowser in Mario 64 Nintendo

(This one is my favorite. I was a HUGE Mario 64 fan and played endlessly. I was so happy when he beat Bowser.)



Here is mine: Blondie (that's me) Fame and Glory book signing 6/14/03
 
 

Bye, y'all

Headed to Texas for a week of school visits!

 

Things I Love Thursday

I love it when teachers and librarians take the time to write to children's authors with letters like the one below.

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that there are times I doubt myself. 

I'll never write another book.

I'm a pathetic excuse for a human being pretending to write books for children that matter to anyone besides my best friends, who are required to like them.

Every other children's author in the universe is far better than me.

I might as well quit and become a dental hygienist. 

And then....lo and behold.....I receive this email with the subject line:  Love you, love your books.

Wait!

What?

Me?

My books?

So to those of you who do amazing things like write amazing letters....thank you.

And now, without further ado....that letter:

Good Morning,

Allow me to introduce myself. I am possibly one of your biggest adult fans. Your books are so perfectly suited for kids. I am a curriculum specialist at a Title I school in ___. 

We were a school of transformation when I came, meaning we were in the bottom 5% of the state in testing. In one year we grew 20 points in reading and math, and 40 points in science. 

I say all that to say what we are most proud of is that our kids saw themselves are readers for the first time. The Small Adventure of] Popeye and Elvis was a part of that. We used that book with fourth graders as a mentor text for character study. 

This year we actually bought every 4th grader their own copy so that as the teacher reads and models thinking the students will have it with them. (They actually start today….. .)We will also be using it in writer’s workshop to study author’s craft.


I read your blog religiously and have loved your TIPS for writing, especially the ones about SET UP. I have actually incorporated that into the reading lessons. So thank you for that.

Again, I just wanted to thank you for your love of kids, your talent as a writer and the impact that you have made on me but more importantly of the students we server.

Have a great day and keep up the great work!
 

Big Apple Recap

My recent trip to New York was great (despite my Amtrak train nightmare, which will go unmentioned).

I was meeting up with my agent, Barbara Markowitz, for the first time ever!! We've worked together for 18 years.

Yes, I said 18 years.

Never met.

How did that happen?

But.....we finally did it.

I literally ran from Penn Station to The Algonquin Hotel.

What a perfect spot for a writer to stay! The home of the Round Table, a group of amazing writers who met there for lunch every day to exchange ideas (including, ultimately, founding the New Yorker Magazine). I hope I absorbed some writerly vibes.

The Round Table of writers

Then it was off to the Flatiron Building to meet my great Macmillan/FSG team.

Flatiron Building

Barbara Markowitz (left) and me

(l to r) Susan Dobinick, Barbara Markowitz, Margaret Ferguson, Harvey Markowitz

(l to r) Me, Barbara Markowitz, Janine O'Malley (front) Margaret Ferguson

 That night, Barbara, Harvey and I had a lovely dinner and toasted ourselves.

(l to r) Barbara Markowitz, Harvey Markowitz, me

Babs Sr. and Babs Jr

We even had cotton candy for dessert!

By the end of day two, Harvey and I were tired.

A grand old time!!

And the winners are....

The drawing for the audiobooks was done in a highly scientific and technologically advanced method.

And the winners are:

Thanks to everyone who entered!!

(Note to Portia: I don't have an email address for you. Will you contact me barbaraoconnor at mac dot com?)

I hate you, Kate DiCamillo

Ha! I knew that subject line would get your attention!

But, seriously, Kate, listen up.

First you go and write that Winn Dixie book that we all love. So now we think, okay, this newcomer Kate gal is gonna deliver some dang good realistic fiction with some funny stuff and some sad stuff and a preacher man and all. Can't wait for the next one, blah blah blah. (And, yeah, yeah....there was that sticker thing and that movie thing.)

But THEN you go and write that Despereaux book! I mean, what the heck, Kate? That's not realistic fiction! That's a rip-roaring good mouse adventure. (And yeah, yeah, there was another sticker thing and another movie thing and all.)

Do you stop there? Oh, no. You whip out that toy rabbit Tulane book with all those great stories woven together and stuff.

Then you toss in a few Mercy Watsons just to really keep us on our toes. (I mean, easy readers or middle grade, which is it gonna be, Katie?)

And I'm not even going to say the words Bink and Gollie. 

But, now, dear Katie, you have really gone and done it.

You wrote Flora and Ulysses.

A book so hilarious, so fresh, so whacko, crazy cuckoo wonderful.

So different.....

I mean, you're giving me literary whiplash here, Kate.

How am I ever supposed to predict what you're going to write for us next?

The only thing I can probably put my money on is that it will be great.

Cause that seems to be how you roll.

P.S. I don't really hate you. Writers never hate one another. (We might hate a copyeditor once in a while, but never a writer.) But in my next book, there might be a poor unfortunate cockroach named Kate who makes an ill-timed dash across the kitchen floor just as a heavy, steel-toed boot is coming down (hard). 

Just sayin'.

Things I Love Thursday

I love these Yoo-hoo boats made by Mrs. Terlecky and Mrs. Harper's fifth grade class in Dublin, OH!

 They made them as an activity related to their reading of The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis.

Thanks, y'all! I love them!!

Big Apple

I'm off for two whirlwind days in the Big Apple.

I'm meeting my agent, Barbara Markowitz, for the first time in EIGHTEEN years!! Yes, I said 18. I know, I know.....hard to believe. But she lives on the West Coast and I live on the East Coast and it just hasn't happened - until now!

I'll be visiting with my great team at FSG.

I'll be visiting my dear friend and editor, Frances Foster.

I'll have a lovely dinner with my lovely son.

Yay!

A Pathetic Excuse for a Blog Post

Advice from an old farmer:

A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor. 

Auditobook Giveaway - On the Road to Mr. Mineo's

Reminder: I'm giving away TWO audiobooks of ON THE ROAD TO MR. MINEO'S.

Just leave your name and email in blog comments or email to me barbaraoconnor at mac dot com.

Drawing is October 1.

 

Things I Love Thursday

A million trillion years ago, before my husband and I were even friends, we attended a "Yankee swap" kind of thing at an office Christmas party.

I ended up with his "gift" - an unfinished argyle sock.

I love it.

(But, um, where do you even find something like that?)

 

The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech

Readers: 

I loved this book so much. Here's why: It is...

• Sweet
• Kind
• Warm
• Interesting
• Heartfelt
• Unique
• Lovely
• Sad
• Happy

Writers: 

Here's what you should notice when you read it - because Creech is a master and we can all learn from a master, right?

• Third-person omniscient point of view (seamlessly done)
• Somebody made a rule that children's books shouldn't have adults as main characters. Somebody (aka Sharon Creech) proves that brilliant writers can break rules any ole dang time they want to. So there. (*fist bump, Sharon*)
• The setting is timeless. Other than a truck, there is nothing to ground us in time. Could be 1940. Could be 2013. Who cares? Nobody.
• Every word counts.
• The main characters of John and Marta are brilliantly developed. Notice their lovely dialogue.
• Ms. Creech has proven, once again, that she is the master of setting up a story QUICKLY. (Like, um, first paragraph.)
• Creech is not afraid to make a young reader worry, fret and feel sad. And, come on, who doesn't love a good bout of worrying, fretting, and feeling sad every now and then? What can we learn from this? Don't be a wimpy writer. (At least, that's what I learned.)

A pathetic excuse for a blog post

Advice from an old farmer:

Don't judge folks by their relatives.

Audiobook Giveaway: On the Road to Mr. Mineo's

Hey, y'all!

I'm giving away two, not ONE but TWO, audiobooks of On the Road to Mr. Mineo's

Just leave your name and email address in the comments section or send to me at barbaraoconnor at mac dot com.

 

I'll be drawing the winners on October 1.

Give it a shot.

What have you got to lose?