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In a world that has gone completely off the rails, there remain some simple values we can still enjoy and support.
Books, reading, children.
And, yes, sure, the good folks who create the books and try to eke out a living doing so. There are times we feel like an endangered species.
Please stop by my table and say hello!
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So this happened:
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It’s exciting news, I’ll be participating in yet another Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival. It’s a privilege and a pleasure.
But my hair.
What the actual . . . ?
I may have complained on social media. As a profession curmudgeon, I can’t disappoint my dozens — and DOZENS — of followers.
Obviously, somebody hacked away on Photoshop. A bad trim. I got a tragic haircut while staying at home minding my own business.
Anyway, I’m fortunate. My fabulous niece, Sara, saw this affront to my coiffure and, having skillz, fixed it.
She posted this:
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There. Now I feel so much better.
I have four new (or semi-new) books in 2024:
Blood Mountain in paperback:
A collection of Scary Tales in paperback:
A new easy-to-read story:
And a middle-grade novel:
How’s that for range?
So, please, yes, come by and say hello. You don’t have to buy anything. I’ll be the guy wearing a hat!
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LOCAL LIBRARIANS, TEACHERS: The annual Caldecott & Newbery Tea, where local authors & librarians mingle, laugh, and listen to commentary on the award-winning titles (I’ll be speaking, briefly, on Newbery Honor Book Iveliz Explains It All).
Be brave and come help us build a better, stronger, bigger (and younger!) book community as we look back on the most acclaimed children’s books of 2022.
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I’m lucky in a thousand different ways. I realize that. And one of those ways is that I get invited to participate in children’s book festivals. Rochester, Chappaqua, Hudson, Princeton, Morristown, Thousand Islands, Warwick, all over. Best of all, sometimes I even get invited back.
The continuity becomes part of the experience for organizers, authors, and attendees. I used to think that people would get tired of seeing the same authors and illustrators sitting behind tables — it’s important to bring in fresh faces, diverse talent — but there’s a particular beauty to the familiarity. The kid who you saw last year, or two years ago, coming back for another book, another conversation. But this time reaching for a title that’s a little longer, a little older. Or maybe just completing a series, finding that last book for the autographed collection.
Last time in Chappaqua, a familiar face strode up to the table. A good-looking kid, clear-eyed, sturdy & athletic, still wearing soccer gear, still smiling. He knew me and I knew him. “You’re back!” I said. He grinned. There had been a few meetings over the years, now stretching out across the wide pandemic. I was grayer, he was taller. His mother asked, once again, for a photograph. And in turn I wondered if she had kept any of the old ones.
A week later, she sent these along with a brief note: “Below are the photos from the Chappaqua book fair that you requested. It was amazing to see you again, and I loved talking to you as always.”
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Like I said, I’m a lucky guy.
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P.S. Hey, my friend, if you ever do start that soccer blog, please let me know. I’d love to read your work for a change!
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