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Thanks to old pal Sully - I've been tagged with the "5 Things" meme thang. CLICK the image to see it BIG - or squint along with the rest!

And now the"tag, you're it" goes to 5 others - who hopefully have not yet fulfilled this enlightened task - and also will not hate me for it!
Comedic genius and peepster, Lisa Yee
Adrienne at "What Adrienne Thinks About That"
Gregory K. of "Gotta Book"
Crazed librarians, Carl and Bill of "Boys Read-Boys Rule!"
Illustrator and Montreal-bookmate, Susan Mitchell

Web sites…

may increase sales.
are great places to showcase excerpts.
provide information about worthwhile organizations.
explain a service available (such as proofreading or critiquing).
keep readers informed of future books, upcoming events, etc.
help authors be part of today’s technological world.

Like it or not, they are here to stay!

Jody Feldman puts it this way:
Why do authors need Web sites?
Outside of the fact that readers, today, expect us to have one, and rely on the reality that we will? And we don’t want to disappoint them? And this may be the only place where each of us can control our information? Make sure it’s accurate? And reflects our own voice? Outside of the fact that it’s fun to create your own personal version of the world most interactive business card? There are other reasons, but for now, that enough for me!
~Jody Feldman, Author of The Gollywhopper Games, http://www.jodyfeldman.com


And finally, the class would like to leave you with this tongue-in-cheek comment from Nina Nelson that is sure to make you smile:

Web sites keep people guessing!
A friend I hadn’t seen in awhile immediately called me after my website went up to say, “Okay, be honest, what work have you had done?”

To which I replied in a bemused tone, “What are you talking about?”

“Plastic surgery! I’m obsessed with your Web site photo! What have you had done?”

I replied, laughing (but totally honestly), “Nothing.”

“Nuh-uh!" friend says. "Your nose looks awesome in that picture. My mom and I both think you got your nose done. I’ve been telling everyone you did. Really, you didn’t? It looks great.”

So, if you ask me what’s the best part about having a Web site, I’ll say: my nose, because my nose looks good (and I’ve never been happy with my nose)! And because my nose looks good, friends are gossiping wickedly about me behind my back.
N.A. Nelson, Author of Bringing the Boy Home, http://www.ninanelsonbooks.com/


Be sure to check out all our noses on The Class of 2k8's Web site!

What's up with the cheeseburger? You'll have to go visit this amazingly awesome site to find out:
BOYS RULE! BOY'S READ!

BR-BR (as I refer to it) is run by two whacked out librarians at the Charlotte/Mecklenburg, NC public library. (if you don't believe me check out the photos of Carl and Bill found on their blog page!)

Their mission: "A place for boys to find terrific books and tell other boys about great reading."

And you know - anyone who holds high the task of getting GUYS to read - holds a high spot on my reading list.


Carl and Bill (who I met via JacketFlap - and if you haven't joined yet, why not?) seem dedicated and nutty - a perfect combination when it comes to dealing with any reader-population, but especially boys.

So - check out their site, spread the word, see why I like cheeseburgers better than pizza. I double dare ya!

It's Carl again. Your ever-vigilant bloggers Bill and I are always on the watch for new and exciting books. We are there, night and day, always looking, never sleeping, never eating, never taking a shower----whew, I didn't mean that!! But we do try to keep our eyes open for new books and authors. So I was glad to hook up with Alan Silberberg, who used to write for the Cartoon Network and Disney. (He wrote episodes of Doug for Cartoon network) He's written one book that's really entertaining and has a great title--Pond Scum.

Pond Scum has great characters and a lot of them are animals. There's Willy, the brave dragonfly. There's his best friend Mooch, a salamander who's always hungry and eats anything that crawls, squirms, or flies (Willy finds it hard to be best friends with someone who has eaten your cousin). We also have a one-eyed skunk named Hinky, a spider called Fat Mama who leads the Alliance (a league of all the animals at The Pond), and General Eduardo Ignacio Santo Domingo, a crow with truly nasty plans for the Alliance. Of course, there are human characters, too. Oliver, the main character, seems like a bad kid at first--he has no friends, is rude to his mom and sister, and spends all his time doing nothing but pulling wings off flies and watching TV. He's not really so bad, though--his parents are going through a divorce and he has trouble coping. The animal and human worlds collide when his mom wants to move into the house by The Pond. The Alliance has kept humans away for years by attacking, stinging, and stinking because of what a human did a long time ago, but Olliver's mom is determined to stay. It looks like misery for everyone. Then Oliver finds a magic gem that lets him morph into any animal that he touches with it. What happens then? You've got to read to find out--but I bet you'll enjoy the ride! The story moves right along, there's lots of humor, and the author puts in enough twists and surprises to make you sit up and notice. I hope some movie studio picks up this book because it would make a fantastic movie! Read it and see if it doesn't create a movie in your head!

Mr. Silberberg has also been good enough to give us an interview. He also drew the pictures.

Why do you think it’s cool for boys to read?

It's cool for boys to read because reading makes everyone cooler. Stories that we get to imagine in our brains make us better story-tellers - and story-telling comes in handy when explaining why your homework is late or when you're trying to talk to a girl, who will always be impressed by your brain-power! It's cool to know stuff.

Is it cool for boys to write/draw? Why?

Writing and drawing is probably the coolest thing a boy can do - and when you put those two together and use drawings to tell a story...NOTHING compares to that feeling of showing your comics around to your friends.

Who was your favorite comic character when you were a boy? Do you have a favorite character now?

Who was my favorite comix character as a boy - Hmmm. Truth is I was never really a super-hero kind of comics reader (though that would be the cool answer!). I did love Peanuts and reading the Sunday Comics pages was a ritual for me. These days I really like Pearls Before Swine because the characters are so great... and because my son, who also likes to make cartoons is a big fan.

What is your favorite sport?

Favorite sports team: as a guy who grew up near Boston - the Boston Red Sox! (I feel bad for the Patriots - but am okay they lost)

What do you like to do for fun?

For fun - I like to go the movies with my family and I like to hear live music. But lots of time the most fun I have is when I can just doodle and draw cartoons with no deadlines - just because I like it!

What is the favorite book you have written?

My favorite book is Pond Scum - because that's the only one that's published right now. I have a second book finished and I'll tell you more about that soon...(it's in the editor's hands now!)

Which do you like better—cheeseburgers or pizza? What do you like on them?

Cheeseburgers hands down! Because A) they taste awesome and B) Someone can mess up a pizza by adding fancy-shmancy toppings or a sourdough-olive crust or weirdo cheese....but a cheeseburger is always a cheeseburger (unless they add bleu cheese and then it's just something I throw away!)

Thanks, Mr. Silberberg!! I hope you guys out there pick up on his book. I had a good time with it and it even made me think about some things--Fat Mama says something at one point that I don't think I agree with. What was it? Read the book and then write us and I'll discuss it with you! Only way you'll find out!

BTW, Mr. Silberberg has a great website. Check it out here or look at the Links section on the left-hand side of the page.

Traveling from school to school here in the CyFair school district of Houston I was thrilled to steal a relaxing minute in the cozy reading tub at the Matzke Elementary Library.

The same wonderful room also had a faux front porch complete with comfy chairs and plenty of books casually scattered within a small hand's easy reach.

Because back home I spend way too much time sitting at my desk talking to the monkeys - these last two weeks have been such a fun, eye-opening journey where I've gotten a chance to be inside wonderful school libraries, meet terrific - inspiring librarians and the kids - WOW - such amazing, bright, creative attentive kids.

I've been starting my workshops by illustrating what my brain was like as a kid - and then I use POND SCUM to help me swirl through creative blasts of writing tips using my cartoon-doodles and lots of kid-interactivity!

So here I am - watching Game Two of the Red Sox World series, feeling already wistful that after 18 schools and 36 presentations - I am left with tomorrow, the last day of my wonderful trip (just 4 presentations to go).

Tonight it's baseball and the satisfaction of having reached countless kids and being able to laugh every day while letting creativity run loopy with doodles, reading, and lots of my own Pond Scum. (speaking of which - I have never signed so many books!)



It just doesn't get much better than this!

When I arrived in Houston on Sunday - Paula Morgan knew exactly how to make sure she picked up the right person at the airport. (I can only imagine what the other travelers at baggage claim were thinking!) Paula is the librarian at Sampson Elementary School and the woman who coordinated my 10 day/20 school Pond Scum blitz.

Starting Monday (bright and early) I immediately learned that the CyFair Independent School District is a unique fantastic system of schools with librarians filled with joy and excitement, which makes an author-type feel like a million bucks. I also learned that not only was I being hosted by amazing educators - but I was mingling with Librarian Royalty because these CyFairians are none other than the BOOK DIVAS of TLA and ALA synchronized book cart fame! (I know many of you have had the pleasure of seeing them in book cart action)

I am sure the video below does not do them justice - but I have seen the official Book Divas Calendar in one or two offices - and maybe I can get one as a parting gift of my author visit! Check them out - then imagine these fantastic folks are my hosts!!!



I visit 2 schools a day and do 2 presentations at each. After 4 full days I can tell you that these kids are fantastic (mostly 4th and 5th) and so full of energy and eagerness. I'm trying some new ideas and it's all been going very well (so far) and I'm having a great time integrating my cartooning and Pond Scum in a fun, interactive talk about writing and creativity.


I've got lots more to talk about - but I have to gear up for the Red Sox's last hurrah (oh, how I've been here before).

I'll post more over the weekend and report on the great food I've been eating, some more about the Horned Toad Tales list and my dinner with my Rhinestone Reader pen-pal (tomorrow night).

When someone who reads your book reaches out to say "hi" it's always a wonderful feeling. When that person writes to tell you that she and her friends are part of a summer reading contest called "Name That Book" and that she wants POND SCUM to be the first book that her club is going to read - well, then you go crazy and want to know exactly how the meeting was, etc.

Kendall asked my permission to hand out a "biography" of me at the meeting and she worked hard to write a wonderful piece. Not only did I hear that the first meeting was great (and apparently included quality pool time) But Kendall's mom served dirt cake and gummy worms to go with the book - and they sent me this picture of the whole bunch reading the book. And as a writer - these little connections matter so much and I'll tell you - it doesn't get better than this!

The Rhinestone Readers (pictured above!) have made my summer! Thanks girls!

A bonus to the whole thing: when I found out in what part of the country the girls lived I realized I am already visiting the Rhinestone Reader's school district this fall - and you know what? Whether their school is on my tour or not - I told Kendall I want to meet her - and I've been in touch with her mom and guess who's coming to dinner? Me!

And thanks to this wonderful photo - I have absolute proof that Pond Scum isn't just a "boy's book" and that it's waterproof!

Do you ever feel like you'll never be able to write a cohesive creative sentence again? Or that it was a fluke - a HUGE mistake that some editor or agent actually liked your work (and maybe even published it!)

Been having a few of those days this week - ready to toss in the towel and see about going into something safe and stable - as soon as my application at Dunkin' Donuts goes through.

So - I'm away from Montreal - in Boston, visiting my wife, who has a summer job here. My son is with me and we enrolled him in a cool cybercamp thing where he's learning FLASH animation and me, I drive him there then sit in Starbucks, or in the wonderful Wellesly town library and fret about being a hack!

This morning I was in Starbucks, actually making a little progress - headphones on, listening to the Garden State soundtrack (again). But two women are talking at a table next to me and the spiteful beast in me wishes they would go away! Go talk somewhere appropriate - not in a coffee shop!

But as soon as the soundtrack ends - I eavesdrop (duh!) - and they are talking children's books. And then I see it - a paperback copy of POND SCUM is on the table. Now, this is too weird, I think. I must say hello to these two perfect people.

Hello, I say. That book there. Pond Scum...I wrote that.

The woman to my right jumps up and says, "I'm Kit Blundo!" (Kit Blundo is the Manager of Individual Giving of REACH OUT AND READ - the organization I donated 300 books to last spring and a person I have never met, but corresponded with. )

A delightful conversation ensued - reminding me that some higher power out there (or up there or in there) wants me to write. I signed the copy of my book to the other woman's son and hugs were shared all around.

If ever I needed a boost - today was that day - and it came so simply and with such humor that I have been smiling all day long.

Note to Higher Power: Thanks for the lift - next time I see you, iced lattes are on me.