Just a reminder for those of you in the area . . .
Special thanks to the Hudson City School District Arts & Humanities Fund and the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation for making this debut performance possible. I’m honored, surprised, and eager to see it — and wondering where this endeavor might take us before we’re through. Maybe to a school near you?
“Tell me and I will forget.
Show me and I will remember.
Involve me and I will understand.”
And on that note, look at this amazing, full-page newspaper ad . . .
Pretty cool, don’t you think?
The group that’s putting on the play, Concrete Temple Theatre, has even started their own website about it, called “The Bystander Project.”
Check it out by clicking insanely . . . here. The idea, from what I can gather, is for this adaptation to travel to other schools, other districts, where students will put on their own versions of the play. Which I think is absolutely brilliant, in terms of using drama to explore these issues in a safe but powerful way. What better way to learn empathy than to stand in the shoes of another character?
Don’t forget to SAVE THAT DATE: November 4, 2011. Maybe I’ll see you there.
Just stay home. Please.
Find something else to do.
Each year I do this event, which features more than 60 amazing children’s book authors and illustrators, and it’s always such a disappointment. For starters, check out some of the people who’ll be there, and you’ll understand why I’m so bummed:
Tony Abbott, Nora Raleigh Baskin, Nick Bruel, Bryan Collier, Katie Davis, Bruce Degen, Jean Craighead George, Charise Mericle Harper, Susan Jeffers, Peter Lerangis, Gail Carson Levine, Carolyn MacCullough, Rafe Martin, Wendy Mass, Matthew McElligott, Helen Perelman, Wendell Minor, Gloria Pinkney, Lizzy Rockwell, Todd Strasser, Mark Teague, Jean Van Leeuwen, Eric Velasquez, Sarah Weeks, Ed Young, and more.
Why so down-in-the-dumps you ask? Because I never get to talk to any of them. I never get a chance to meet the new (to me!) people, like Will Moses (Mary and Her Little Lamb), Lena Roy (Edges), Daniel Kirk (Library Mouse), Peter Brown (You Will Be My Friend!) . . .
. . . and Jerry Davis (Little Chicken’s Big Day). Who are these people? Might they become my new best pals? Um, not likely! Because they are sitting at tables forty feet away, surrounded by happy children, shopping grandparents, and strong-armed educators, hauling bags of books like Sherpa guides.
Best I can do is throw rocks at ’em.
And, oh, hey, look over there, it’s Jean Craighead George. She’s only a freakin’ legend. I can’t throw rocks at Jean Craighead George. She’ll throw them back — and her arm is a bazooka.
Oh, wait. Here’s old friends like Mark Teague and Helen Perelman and Peter Lerangis. Can I talk to any of them? Can we hang out? Maybe shoot the breeze? Commiserate?
Nooooooo. I’m too busy signing books, meeting young readers, gabbing with families, prostrating myself before the cheerful & smiling hordes.
Writing is a solitary business, folks. And it’s frustrating for me to sit there at gorgeous Sunnyside . . .
. . . just feet away from my peerless peers, and never have a free minute to chat with them.
So my dream is for just one year, nobody comes. No book sales, no signings, no musicians, no storytellers, no-bah-dee. Just us authors, finally (finally!) enjoying a few moments when we can hang out and complain about the crappy jobs our publishers do with publicity and marketing. It’s how we bond. We bitch and moan about Kindles.
So this coming Sunday, clean the garage, watch football, wax the car. But if you insist on coming . . . click here for full details.
As always, blue skies are personally guaranteed. It never rains on my parade.
Last week, when announcing an upcoming Summer Reading Event, I made a couple of quizzical comments about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
As usual with this blog, the reaction was immediate. Very quickly, nothing happened. I waited a while longer, and nothing happened all over again.
Obviously, it was time for a retraction. I’m sorry, Dolly. Sometimes my inner wiseguy gets the better of me. And yes, that sound you hear is my wife nodding in agreement.
After a comment from a friend-in-reading, I spent a few minutes researching the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. In short, it’s a wonderful charitable work, first launched in 1996, dedicated to bringing books and children together.
Read here for more information on Dolly’s great efforts on behalf of children’s literacy.
Lastly, a confession: I own a few Dolly Parton CDs. I admire when she gets serious about her bluegrass roots, and can easily recommend “Little Sparrow” and “The Grass Is Blue.” Underneath the manufactured pop image, there’s a genuine musician and, I’m sure, a good woman working to make the world a better place. Here’s Dolly singing “Mountain Angel.”
All that said: See you Thursday, June 30th! Click for details.
This is a warning, folks. On June 30th at 7:00 PM a rugged band of children’s and YA authors will be gathering at the Barnes & Noble bookstore at Colonie Center in Colonie, NY.
That’s right, it’s time for the Summer Reading Kickoff Bookfair Spectacular . . . celebrating (wait for it) the Dolly Parton Imagination Library! Because when it comes to Dolly, the first two things anyone thinks of are reading and, erm, I forget the second thing.
So, hey, let’s put the focus on reading this summer. Bring your young readers to pick up their free Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Journal to earn a FREE BOOK and the chance to WIN A NOOK COLOR. Authors will be standing by — sitting, hopefully, on cushy chairs, under a tasteful arrangement of palm fronds — happy to autograph books. Any books.
Check out this list of authors I think will be there . . .
–
Julia DeVillers * Aimee Ferris * Rose Kent * Jackie Morse Kessler
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Sarah Darer Littman * Eric Luper * James Preller * Jennifer Roy
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Neva Ren Suma * Shari Maurer * Kristen Darbyshire
Honestly, this is an awesome gathering of new voices, talented people. And, um, me, dragging along hoary old Jigsaw Jones, first published 13 years ago and still in second grade. I don’t know many real YA authors — they scare me a little — what? no fuzzy ducks? at all? — and yet I’ll be joining their ranks soon, come Spring 2012, when we crush the world with Before You Go, my first book that includes the word “beer.” Anyway, please join us at Barnes & Noble. Should be a real good time together.
The event kicks off the annual national Summer Reading Program which rewards children, grades K-6, who read any eight books, record them in their free Summer Reading Journal, and bring the completed Journal to any Barnes & Noble store until September 6, 2011 for a FREE BOOK. The evening program is sponsored by the Junior League of Albany, with a portion of sales benefiting the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Why Dolly Parton? Don’t ask; I just work here.
Details: Thursday, June 30, 7:00 PM –> who knows! Where: Colonie Centre, Albany, NY. 518-438-1728.
Click here for driving directions.
