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It's hard to believe that this March 30th will be the 5th year for The River's Music Meltdown and Book Bash. Or, as it's known for short—MELTDOWN! When my wife Gina and I moved to the Pioneer Valley, we knew we wanted to get involved with our new community and we wasted no time doing so. We always loved the events that I had attended for Punk Farm, where music was incorporated into readings, and saw a big hole in our author-saturated town of Northampton: NO book festival! We floated the idea for a day where authors and kids' musicians would swap stage time to our new friends Bill Childs and Monte Belmonte, DJs at the local radio station. Next thing you knew, we were teaming up and the first Meltdown was staged in 2009!
Since its inception, we have brought Grace Lin, Jon Scieszka, Jeanne Birdsall, Jeff Mack, Jef Czekaj, Diane deGroat, Mo Willems, Timothy Basil Ering, Anna Alter, Jane Yolen, Heidi Stemple, Scott Fischer, John Bemelmans Marciano, Eric Wight and Lisa Yee to the stage! We love that the kids in our neighborhood have had the opportunity to see all of these authors!
And now that we're in our 5th year, our oldest daughter is four and will truly enjoy this year's Meltdown! She was all of three months during the first staging of this event!
Our girls helped us make a display for our local library!
Much credit needs to go to WRSI The River. They do all of the heavy lifting to make Meltdown something that can happen. There are a lot of finances that go behind an event like this and their hard work allows Gina and I to program the author side without worrying about permits, etc.
So who do we have line up this year? Here's who you will see on Saturday, March 30th!
Please note that Meltdown is moving this year! We've outgrown our previous space and will now be at Smith Vocational High School, located at 80 Locust St!
10:40 AM
This guy.
We really had to pull some strings for this one. But seriously, we kind of did. My publisher will be releasing LL #9 a few weeks early exclusively for Meltdown 2013. So if you want to read LL and the Video Game Villain before the rest of the country, this is your chance!
11:40 am
Angela DiTerlizzi!
Our copy of Ang's Say What? is already dog-eared. We can never read it just once, as the girls insist on repeated readings. Which is fine by us, this book ROCKS!
12:40 pm
Matthew McElligott!
Matthew's books are a huge hit with our girls. (Do you see a theme here? Our daughters seem to be running the show...) Even Aliens Need Snacks is a sequel to Matt's equally hilarious Even Monsters Need Haircuts.
1:40 pm
Judy Schachner!
Skippyjon Jones, everyone's favorite kitty-boy who thinks he's a Chihuahua, will be represented at Meltdown 2013! These books are crazy popular, and crazy fun, as is Judy! Our daughter runs around the house dressed as Skippyjon. Esta un cabeza de loco. My Spanish is rusty. I need to go read more Sippyjon Jones books...
2:40 pm
Tony DiTerlizzi
But wait! There's more DiTerlizzi to be had! Tony's books range from picture books (G is for One Gzonk gets our girls giggling) to chapter books (T's new WandLa series will keep you at the edge of your seats and inspire your imaginations!). We can't wait to see what T will conjure up on the Meltdown stage!
Not only do all of these authors write superlative books, but they also put on fantastic shows. That's a big part of what we look for in Meltdown authors—stage presence! You'll never be disappointed by who we invite to read, they're all stahs!
And of course, Bill Childs has another fantastic line up of musicians. Be sure to check the official Meltdown page for more info! www.rivermeltdown.com
1 Comments on Meltdown ● March 30th ● Who will take the stage in 2013?, last added: 4/7/2013
Thank you for a fun day at the Meltdown. You put on a great event with a fun and interesting lineup. Your books were new to us, and my son already finished the one we bought on the drive home. Now he's asking for more! Good work and thank you. We'll be back.
Jeanne Birdsall reveals her cheerleader past, recounts her first broken heart and shares beautiful insight to finding that inner child. Whether or not you have read The Penderwicks, you will find this talk absolutely intriguing. But if you have read the books, you will only fall deeper in love with them. This TEDx Talk is a must watch! I'm very proud of my surrogate auntie!
0 Comments on Watch Jeanne Birdsall's TEDx Talk as of 1/23/2013 5:14:00 PM
Tune in to SiriusXM channel 78 and listen for a new episode of The Book Report with JJK on Kids Place Live! My old buddy, Peter Brown, will be the guest! Pete is the very talented author/illustrator of picture books like The Curious Garden, You Will Be My Friend and so many more!
0 Comments on Peter Brown on The Book Report with JJK today at 5:40 pm EST as of 11/7/2012 7:58:00 AM
I do believe I failed to blog about this earlier in the year. But my dear friends and neighbors Jeanne Birdsall and Jane Dyer teamed up on an amazing book called Lucky and Squash.
During the making of the book, Jane called Jeanne. She needed photo reference of a man holding a dog. As luck would have it, Jeanne had a drawer full of just that! Huh? You see, Jeanne took a series of author photos of me holding Ralph. She passed them on to Jane. So if you are reading Lucky and Squash to your kids, and you think you see me, you're not going crazy. That is indeed me in the book playing the part of Mr. Bernard!
Here is a photo of the talented duo reading from the book at last spring's launch at nearby Broadside Bookshop!
0 Comments on lucky me in Lucky and Squash! as of 1/1/1900
It seems like ages ago, but I can't let such a monumental evening go unblogged. I was honored to return as host for the 5th annual Children's Choice Book Awards. It was a fantastic evening, filled with literati, heartfelt acceptance speeches and for me—some full-circle moments.
I arrived early to rehearse a few bits.
The show opened with a video I cooked up with Scieszka and some other kid lit pals:
Check out more photos and video below.
In my opening monologue, I got to poke fun of myself for not being nominated and Jeff Kinney, for being nominated every year, but never winning. Jeff ended up taking home the prize of Author of the Year. It' was nice to see things finally go his way. Good kid, that Jeff Kinney.
Aside from getting to introduce Marc Brown (who I wrote a fan letter to back when I was 19), I also had the great opportunity of introducing Jack Gantos. Jack visited my elementary school when I was in 3rd grade to discuss his new (at the time) picture book series, Rotten Ralph. Check out the clip below to hear my recounting of the encounter.
Mary Pope Osborne (or MPO as I like to call her), Jeff Kinney and I before the show.
Brian Selznick took home the prize for Illustrator of the Year.
Welcoming Mr. Gantos to the stage.
Jeff with his Susan Lucci book.
Welcoming Mr. Brown to the stage.
I was relieved that my jokes didn't fall flat. And as I planned, nobody understood the football jokes.
The fact that nobody in the room understood football pleased NY Giants' Justin Tuck to no end. I can now say I made a two-time Super Bowl Champion crack up.
Robin Adeleson, director of the CBC and Every Child a Reader, who is the engine that makes it all happen! (I would have smiled with my teeth, but my mouth was full of cupcakes, brownies and chocolate-covered fruit.)
Walter Dean Myers breaking the news that I was not nominated.
Gina and I backstage. (For the record, Mrs. Krosoczka is standing by her dislike for my bow-tie.)
One of the greatest perks of hosting was hanging out backstage with such literary greats.
Chris Raschka
Jack Gantos
Marc Brown
S.E. Hinton (And yes, I did ask about Ralph Machio. The actor, not the pug.)
MPO
Andrew Clements
WDM
And not all of the footage of aircraft crashing and bombs exploding made it into the final entry video. So here are some deleted scenes:
In short, a magical evening that gets me giddy with excitement all these months later as I review these photos. Next year, you should totally go. Even though I plan on stepping out of the role of host, I plan on being a part of the festivities! It's an evening not to be missed!
This Sunday at 4:30 p.m., hordes of children's book illustrators will descend upon the R. Michelson Galleries for the annual Children's Illustration Exhibit . Hopefully nobody will be gored. See you there!
0 Comments on The Annual Running of the Illustrators as of 1/1/1900
I'm honored to have been featured in a special book-themed issue of RISD's alumni magazine along with Brian Selznick and David Wiesner. You can read the article below! You can also flip through the entire issue to read about RISD alum doing great work on the printed page. (Just a head's up, not all of the subject matter in the other articles is kid-friendly.)
The School Leadership Summit was outstanding! It's always nice to be at a conference where attendees don't need to decide which session to attend—every event happened in the same room with the same audience. Librarians came in from all over the country and it was wonderful to meet many educators I've only known through social networks.
As the title of the conference suggests, it was a bit like the Justice League of educators.
I was there to talk about graphic novels with two very talented colleagues, George O'Connor (Olympians) and Eric Wight (Frankie Pickle).
Here we are in a top-secret conference room devising a plan ahead of our slotted stage time.
OK, really we were just posing for pictures sent out via Twitter. But don't we look busy?
We had a blast! I've worked with both Eric and George, but they had never met.
It went off without a hitch. You can see for yourself below. Perhaps we should take our show on the road?
I am so thrilled to announce that Guys Read: Thriller is now available. It was fun to dive into a non-Lunch Lady comic and push the style and tone in a different direction. Pudding is a reboot of sorts of a comic that I drew for my college newspaper during my freshman year. I recast the characters in junior high and removed the cafeteria setting.
I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed creating it!
Many thanks to Jon Scieszka for including me and to the fabulous editor Jordan Brown for helping shape this story. And to Brett Helquist who illustrated a stellar rendition of my character.
0 Comments on Guys Read: Thriller - now available! as of 1/1/1900
I arrived early to the 57th St Book Fair in Chicago and ate a great sandwich at nearby Z&H Cafe. I broke out the ol' sketchpad.
And as I watched folks pass by the cafe, I saw Chris "Elio" Eliopoulos of OKIE DOKIE DONUTS fame.
I recognized him from the prerequisite black-rim glasses and grey sweater that allow one to be a cartoonist. It was nice to sit and chat about drawing and the book biz.
Then we made it to the fair where Lunch Lady was waiting!
That is actually the fabulous Angela Sherrill who made my visit to this awesome book Fest possible!
Thanks to all who came by!
0 Comments on Sketchbook Saturday on Sunday / Chicago visit as of 9/18/2011 5:37:00 PM
My author/illustrator pal Dan Santat posted this to his Facebook today. You can almost hear me saying "WHOA!" from wherever you are. (That would be a Bill and Ted "WHOA!", not a Joey Lawrence "WHOA!")
Weren't at the Javits Center in NYC for BEA? Don't worry, the Internet is here. BookExpo just uploaded a video of the whole shebang. Hang with Jon Scieszka, Jack Gantos, Mac Barnett, Matt de la Peña, Eoin Colfer and some weirdo in a red pleather Thriller costume as they talk about Guys Read and the Guys Read Library anthologies.
Well, a bobblehead, naturally. To thank Snookieszka for his..er...her willingness to goof around at the 2011 Children's Choice Book Awards, I sent this:
Jon Scieszka called and asked me to be on a panel about THRILLER at BookExpo America. I'm pretty psyched, this is one of my favorite albums of all time!
I'll be signing with Jon and the very talented Matt de la Peña on Tuesday, May 24th at 9:30 AM at Table 15. (Please note this event is free, but requires a ticket.)
And then at 11 AM that same day, I'll be on the Midtown Stage yucking it up with Jon and Matt, along with authors Eoin Colfer, Mac Barnett and Jack Gantos.
I arrived at JFK Middle School thirty minutes before the scheduled start time and the parking lot was already half full. Parents and kids eagerly waited in their cars for the first band to take the stage at 10AM. The 3rd annual Meltdown was, by all measures, a huge success! An estimated two-gazillion people turned up to listen to hip kindie (kid-indie) music and visit with some fantastic authors.
I kicked the author track off with some goofing off on the drawing pad. Here I am with The River's morning show host, Monte Belmonte. Scott Fischer also made an appearance—we had a "squiggle-doodle-off".
Kevin Markey, the author of the awesome SUPER SLUGGER series, entranced the kids with baseball gum and this incredible photo of Babe Ruth in a Red Sox uniform, which is autographed by Ruth's granddaughter!
Jef Czekaj didn't read, but rapped Hip and Hop Don't Stop. It tore the roof of the place. Here's a tiny glimpse:
Listen to Mizz Birdsall talk all things Penderwicks, The National Book Award, and her appearance at this Saturday's Meltdown. Want a sneak-peak at Penderwicks #3, which doesn't come out until May? She'll be reading from the book at Meltdown at 1:40PM!
Okay, probably not cool to gush over Jeanne Birdsall the first time I comment on your blog. So I'll gush over you AND Jeanne Birdsall. Much love to be had for the Penderwick and Krosoczka books in my home.
Comic Con has come and gone! What a whirlwind. Being that I traveled so much this year, I wanted to minimize my time on the road, while maximizing my time. So here's how it all went down:
Friday 5:20AM Eastern Time. Leave the house, head to the airport. On the flight, I re-read Scott Pilgrim vol. 5 (I had been re-reading all the previous volumes that week in anticipation for vol. 6's release.) Then I read Scott Pilgrim vol. 6. And then it was over. Tear. But what a fantastic conclusion to a great group of books. I slept some, drew some, wrote some. It was a good flight.
12 PM Pacific Time. I land. Head to the hotel, check in and run into my old pal from the Target festivals, DJ Lance Rock of Yo Gabba Gabba! I head up to my room, freshen up and head out to an industry party. (Sounds important, right?)
This is the hotel I was staying at. Beyond the fact that I'm excited for the film adaptation, I am beyond happy for Bryan Lee O'Malley, the creator of the series. There were lots of amazing Scott Pilgrim events throughout the weekend. I imagine it was all pretty surreal for O'Malley.
1-4 PM Pacific Time. Great party where I run into lots of great pals. Danny Santat, Bob Boyle, Tony and Ang DiTerlizzi. The list goes on and on.
4-6 PM Pacific Time. I walk the convention floor with aforementioned pals. My tired mind fails to properly process the insanity that is the Comic Con floor.
6:30-7 PM Pacific Time. Disco nap.
7:30 PM on - the Eisner Awards. I had no expectations of taking home the top prize in the category I was nominated in. And I didn't and that is OK—because it is an honor to be nominated!
More Scott Pilgrimness. The entire cast presented the first few awards. I barely paid attention when they were calling my category.
Jenni Holm (Babymouse series) and I will be chatting with Katie Davis on her Internet radio show -- Brain Burps about Books. We'll be talking about our graphic novels and the upcoming Comic Con convention. Want to be a part of the conversation? Call in to 1 (347) 857-4428. The program starts at 4 PM EST today.
Dr. Joan Kindig organized quite the graphic novel party at the NCTE conference back in November. Matt and Jenni talked Babymouse and I talked Lunch Lady.
Afterward, Matt and I swapped identities (maybe falling down stairs in an 80's movie?) and drew each other's characters. We took suggestions from the audience for the subject matter.
Here are the results:
0 Comments on NCTE with the Holm siblings as of 12/9/2009 7:24:00 AM
You know Maxwell Eaton III, right? No, you're thinking of Maxwell Eaton II. Maxwell Eaton III is the guy who wrote and illustrated the mega-awesome Max and Pinky books.
Betsy Bird, of Fuse #8 fame, recently hosted a panel on graphic novels at the NYC Public Library. Here I am with Matt Phelan, author/illustrator of the beautiful Storm in the Barn.
Below is the library's lobby. Imagine walking into this everytime you wanted to borrow a book?
0 Comments on At NYC Public Library w/ Matt Phelan as of 1/1/1900
I had a blast hanging out with Judy Schachner of Skippyjon Jones fame in Decatur. Her audence was massive--what a rock star! And she did something that I have never seen before. She drew Skippyjon from BEHIND the easel! Color me impressed!
Judy is a hoot. Just like her work. If you ever see her name on an event near you, don't walk, run! She's awesome.
0 Comments on Judy Schachner at the Decatur Book Festival as of 10/14/2009 7:59:00 AM
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3 Comments on The Comic Con that was, last added: 7/27/2010
Thank you for a fun day at the Meltdown. You put on a great event with a fun and interesting lineup. Your books were new to us, and my son already finished the one we bought on the drive home. Now he's asking for more! Good work and thank you. We'll be back.