APRIL IS FOR AUTHORS 2012

I'm still recovering from the amazing author/book festival this past Saturday in Palm Beach Gardens. 

Sue Sloan and Helen Zientek, along with a hundred volunteers, knocked it out of the park with their 2nd annual APRIL IS FOR AUTHORS event!

Two dozen authors, from all over the country, came in for the event.  For a full list of authors, click here.

Group Photo of the Authors at the 2012 April is for Authors Event

In my first session, a mother told me her son enjoyed How to Survive Middle School and her daughter loved my new book, Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen, and they drove all the way from Ocala (3-1/2 hours away) for the event. 

Kaycee from Ocala

Tom Angleberger, Mary Monroe and I shared a panel discussion that was moderated by the Palm Beach Gardens mayor, David Levy.  We had a lot of fun with the crowd.

The next panel was comprised of Sharon Draper, Lisa Graff, Claudia Mills and me.  The standing room only crowd had great questions, and it felt like we spent the entire time laughing.  What a blast!  Emily Minor, from the Palm Beach Post, did an excellent job moderating the panel.

My favorite part, as always, was meeting the teachers, librarians, parents and wonderful kids.

Angela

 

 

Haley

 

 

Elizabeth and her dad, Chris

I had time to sneak in a delicious lunch in the author room.  (Yes, there were brownies.)  And I got to chat with some of MY favorite authors.  Also, snuck into Alex Flinn's talk, which I really enjoyed.

Alex Flinn, reading from one of her books

A big thank you to my author escort, Lisa Petroccia, whom I believe I owe a lunch.  (Lisa is such a wonderful media specialist and an ardent supporter that I made her a character in How to Survive Middle School.)  Hint:  Be nice to authors; you never know when we may put you in one of our novels.

I'm already looking forward to April 27, 2013, when the 3rd annual APRIL IS FOR AUTHORS will take place!

FUN at the St. Lucie County Family Reading Festival

When my friend, Sylvia Andrews, picked me up for the St. Lucie County Family Reading Festival, we were prepared for one thing:  RAIN!  Forecast was for thunderstorms and possible tornadoes.

Turns out the forecast should have been for FUN! 

Miss Frizzle, me and Clifford

At the Digital Domain baseball stadium, where the event was held, a line of parents with eager kids stretched farther than I could see, waiting for the gates to open.

Sylvia and I set up our table at Authors Alley and spent the next few hours watching and chatting with an endless stream of families, teachers and librarians.

When there was a break in the crowd, I was able to snap this photo of Authors Alley

Next to our table was a 22-year-old young man who had written three novels.  Across from us were two fourth grade authors and their teacher.  The profits from their book went to help the sea turtles.  (Yes, Sylvia and I each bought autographed copies.)  And there were a bazillion (or maybe fewer) authors/illustrators, including our talented friend, Janeen Mason.  Did you see her lovely picture book,  GIFT OF THE MAGPIE?

Here's Janeen with hand-made magpie pins on her collars

 

 

Our dear friend and talented author, Carole Crowe, showed up.

Author, Carole Crowe

The stream of kids seemed endless, and we loved it!

Here's a young reader checking out Sylvia's FUNTASTIC picture book, RATTLEBONE ROCK.  If you love Halloween and fun rhyme and rhythm, this book is for you!

Checking out Rattlebone Rock by Sylvia Andrews

Nate the Great made an appearance, although I'm so dang old I thought he was Encyclopedia Brown.

Sylvia and Nate the Great

I got to do some serious sleuthing, too.

Donna and Nate the Great

There was so much going on at the festival:  author panels, a full day of entertainment onstage by the dynamic duo of Riley Roam and Kenny Mikey of Page Turner Adventures, puppet theater, Scholastic book fair, a FREE book exchange so every child could leave with free books, author signings, character sightings, student performances, a concession stand, Mother Goose corner, giveaways, goodie bags for each child who entered and so much more!

The children who stopped by to chat and tell me about themselves or the books they loved just humbled me.  One boy held the book I'd just autographed for him and said, "This is my first book I've ever had signed by an author."  The look in his eyes made my day!  A woman told me the saddest story of a young friend of hers who was being bullied in fifth grade.  She asked me to sign How to Survive Middle School for him because it's a story of being bullied and learning to survive.  Coincidentally, her young friend's name was David, just like the main character in my story.  I wrote a message of support and hope for the real David.  I hope the fictional David helps him.

I got to meet Crystal and her mother.  Crystal, looking much more grown up, had posed for this picture during a school visit I did early this year at Manatee Academy.

Crystal, my author escort, rockin' a pair of red sunglasses.

I loved chatting with the kids who wanted to be writers and the adults who did, too.  It was heartening to see so much community support and so much enthusiasm for books and reading.  This festival gave a powerful message to the young people who attended:  READING MATTERS TO US!

Geronimo Stilton surprises a young reader.

Debbie Remington, President of the St. Lucie County Reading Council, is a wonder.  She's the powerhouse behind this amazing festival.  I can't thank her enough for inviting me into the fold of this vibrant community! 

Donna and Debbie Remington, Media Specialist at Manatee Academy and Pres. St. Lucie County Reading Council

And a big thank you to the teachers, librarians and students who volunteered and worked so hard to make this an absolutely FANTABULOUS event!

Turns out the weather was perfect, after all.

See you all next year!

Make Something Amazing Happen Right Now . . .

Talented author/illustrator Marissa Moss has a dream:  She wants to produce picture books the way they used to be made -- great attention to detail, extensive author illustrator support, etc. -- by creating a brand new publishing company.

She's written about her vision for CRESTON BOOKS on Kickstarter. 

I'm so excited about Marissa's idea that I immediately donated to help fund the project.  So have a lot of other people.  But she needs a few more people to step up to the plate TODAY!

As I write this, Marissa is only a little over $6,000 away from her goal of $50,000.  Only $6,000 people!

But here's the kicker with Kickstarter:  Her project has to be fully funded by THIS THURSDAY or she gets none of the money and her dream fizzles. 

Won't you donate RIGHT NOW?  Even five bucks will help, and you'll get entered to win a great prize.  In fact, each donation comes with a gift.

Check it out HERE.

Thank you for helping make this dream a reality . . . before time runs out!

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ADDENDUM:  YAY!  WE DID IT!  THANK YOU!!!

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Four Things on a Friday . . .

1.  A million bazillion years ago, I worked as an editor at a greeting card company near Philadelphia, so I had my eye on several cartoonists.  (It was a very painful condition for my eye.)

My favorite cartoonist then and now is Mark Parisi of Off the Mark.  He has over 7,000 cartoons.  If you don't want to look at all 7,000, this one is my favorite.

2.  The president.  Now, I know the president is usually doing serious stuff, like running the country and dealing with other people running other countries, but sometimes he takes a break to do something really nice, like read Where the Wild Things Are to a bunch of kids.  He makes the best faces, hand gestures and roaring/gnashing sounds.  (Even his dog seemed interested.)

  

3.  Katie Davis is the Queen of Awesome.  As if creating a weekly podcast about children's books (Brain Burps About Books) were not enough, she's celebrating National Poetry Month by hosting a different poet each day on her bloggity blog. 

There's a mecca of poets over on Katie's blog:  Jane Yolen, Lee Wardlaw, Bobbi Katz, Marilyn Singer, Laura Purdie Salas, Gail Carson Levine and many more.  You'll find advice, samples, tips, a podcast, video and much more.

Check out Alan Katz's super fun video:

4.  Finally, if Corey Booker, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, wasn't your hero before, he's everyone's hero now.  He rescued a woman from her home, which was engulfed in flames.  (By the way, he was my hero before!)

Have a most wonderful weekend!

When You Give an Author a Thank You Letter . . .

She's going to get all weepy when she opens the big yellow envelope and sees this . . .

Then she's going to read each and every letter about our recent Skype visit, like one by Logan, who said I encouraged him to write, so he wrote 3 stories and 27 poems.  Yowza, Logan!

And this one by Hannah, who says that when she grows up, she wants to be an awseome writer just like me.  It seems like Hannah's pretty awesome.  Right?

Then the author is clearly going to need a tissue to wipe away her happy tears.  And a cookie and a glass of milk because an envelope full of these . . .

clearly makes an author a little verklempt, but not so verklempt that she can't write a thank you note in response.

So, Ms. Keane's wonderfully thoughtful kids, this Dr. Seuss "Thank You" card is coming your way soon!

WONDER

Did you ever read a book that was so good, you slowed it down, you put it down because you didn't want it to end?

The last book I remember making me feel that way was Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.  Before that, I think Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust swept me away like that.

I've had that experience again.  I've read a book that not only delved deeply into the characters and their relationships, but transcended them and touched on our larger humanity, our inner-connectedness.  This book told the truth in a universal way.  It let us in on sweet bravery and the power of kindness.  It was filled with hope and love.

That book is WONDER by P.J. Palacio.

WONDER's ripples will spread beyond the realm of children's literature to the larger world.  I hope it wins the Newbery Medal.  (Read more at this NPR interview.)

NERDS (and Elvis) IN NEW YORK!

When hubby had a business trip to New York, I tagged along.  We spent our first day enjoying Central Park.    

Nerds in Central Park!

Everything was in bloom.

Then we geeked out Times Square, taking in the lights and sights.  Had the best vegetarian burgers at Ted's Montana Grill.  The next morning, our friend Elysa drove from Connecticut to spend the morning with us.  She helped us get half-priced tickets for Memphis.

Our lovely friend, Elysa.

After Elysa left, an hour before the show, the lens popped out of my glasses.  We ran to the nearest Lens Crafters, where the person repaired my glasses, then we grabbed a bite and hustled to the theater.  Made it there in plenty of time to stand in the longest women's bathroom line ever.  And still was on time for the show!

After the fun musical, we strolled around Rockefeller Center and watched the ice skaters.  (Last time I was there with Elysa, they cleared the ice, and a man skated onto the ice to a woman and proposed to her.)  

Hubby and I saw many landmarks, including this one . . .

That evening found us in Rizolli Bookstore. This is what an independent bookstore used to be . . . and should be still.  What a joy!  I stood in the children's section and got all weepy, feeling so grateful to be part of this wonderful field. 

Monday found me in the lobby of our hotel, meeting a teacher (with whom I've only corresponded) and her daughter.

Tracy Smith and her lovely daughter, Victoria.

They treated me to breakfast at Carnegie Deli.  We had a lovely time getting to know each other.  I found out that Victoria plays drums, and they have a great shelter dog . . . just like we do.

When they headed to the American Museum of Natural History, I walked in the opposite direction to a meeting at Scholastic.  I knew I was in the right place when my name badge had Clifford, the Big Red Dog on it.

So happy to finally meet my Storyworks Magazine editor, Lauren Tarshis.  She's worked at Scholastic for over two decades, but we connected when I read and fell in love with her book, Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree.  Lauren has written several books.  And she also contributed a wonderful blog post about how to write a good short story.

Lauren Tarshis, editor of Storyworks and Scope magazines, author and mother of four.  Aka:  Superwoman!

Lauren introduced me to the magazine group and the people who choose the books for Scholastic's book fairs and clubs.  Then she treated me to a lovely lunch at the Scholastic cafe.

On the way out, I said so-long to Clifford the Big Red Dog, who stands guard near the front desk.  

Then I began the looooong trek back from SoHo to Mid-town.  Despite the cold weather, I vastly prefer walking to taking a cab.

Of course, along the way, I stopped in The Strand Bookstore.  And Books of Wonder, where I had the impossible decision of buying one of their amazing cupcakes or browsing the books.  I choose the books.  And I'm glad I did because manager, Scott, ended up chatting with me for half an hour about our shared love for children's literature and the amazing events they are prepping for this weekend.  Then, of course, I bought a book!

To continue my nerd love for New York City, I stopped in the New York Public Library.   In the main reading room, I sat and gazed up at the paintings of clouds on the ornate ceiling, grateful to be in that hallowed space.

Hubby and I enjoyed a lovely dinner with my agent and her family.

The next morning, I met the talented woman who edited all three of my novels -- Stephanie Elliott.  She has left Random House, so I was happy to reconnect with her and her adorable daughter and stroll through Central Park and catch up. 

Stephanie Elliott

Then off to lunch at Cognac, a great French restaurant, with my agent and wonderful new editor, Michelle Poploff, who took over the torch of Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen and worked hard to give it the best start she could.  I look forward to working on future books with Michelle.

Michelle Poploff, Vice President, Executive Editor at Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers (Random House)

Tina Wexler, Senior Agent with International Creative Management

My last meeting was with my publicist, Paul Samuelson.  Besides sharing great ideas, Paul and I discovered we spent our childhoods at different branches of the same library system -- The Free Library of Philadelphia.  Who knows how many enthusiastic book nerds that library system helped create?!

Donna, Elvis and publicist, Paul Samuelson.

One of the may things I learned during this trip is that children's book publishing companies retain a sense of fun in the workplace and are filled with dedicated professionals, who are passionate about producing and promoting children's literature.

Hubby and I spent our last night in New York revisiting Rizolli Bookstore and buying several books and EATING!  After a big dinner, we treated ourselves to dessert of crepes, hot chocolate, etc.  And headed home, full of sights, sounds, nerdy book love and FOOD!

We love New York!

Dog vs. Cat . . .

Sometimes you just need a funny dog video . . .

Isn't that right, fellas?

"You think she'll give us food?"  "Sure.  Just keep smiling."

"Puh-lease!  Dogs are so immature!  Back to my beauty rest."