booking through bookfairs

Finally catching up with things! I'm hoping to start regularly posting about current topics but here's one more about last month's events.

My last two events were book fairs. One of the fun thing about book fairs is that I get to see and meet other authors. At the Ct Book Fair I saw/met these delightful people:

Allison Paul, me, Susannah Richards, Salley Mavor and Matt Tavares

And I spoke to a room full of  people and signed books for a lot of them, including the lovely ladies of the blog  The Secret  DMS Files of Fairday Morrow who just wrote this nice review of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.

Then a couple days later I headed of to the Miami BookFair where I snuck into the  children's book authors Boy's Club:

Jonathan Auxier, Gene Luen Yang, Dan Santat, me and Matt Phelan

At this point, even though I was trying to keep the surprise under wraps so we could tell the family at Thanksgiving, I felt like I was starting to show. So I let the secret out  (also, it was hard to explain why I couldn't eat sushi)  and Dan dubbed the baby as "Tex Lin." What do you think? Nice ring to it?

At the Miami BookFair, I spoke to a group of 700 kids, each of them receiving a copy of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon!

Many students had already read it. One girl brought in her book project on it:

Isn't it GREAT?

It was a super fun time...but onward I go! For my last event of this year, I'll be in Central Ohio to celebrate the release of the 2012 Red Threads Calendar! Come and get a calendar and some books signed for holiday gifts!* Hope to see you!


*Don't forget, you can order personalized autographed books from Porter Square Books (617-491-2220)

booktalk tuesday

Charlotte's Web, by EB White

IndieBound Description:
This is the story of a little girl named Fern, who loves a little pig named Wilbur--and of Wilbur's dear friend Charlotte, a beautiful large grey spider who lives with Wilbur in the barn. With the help of some friendly farm animals, Charlotte saves the life of Wilbur, who is Some Pig.
A timeless tale of friendship, loyalty, and truth.

My Thoughts:Another amazing classic (for some reason November seems to be the month where I want to pull out the classics) that I was surprised I hadn't featured before. This book Is timeless and wonderful. If you haven't read this, you are truly missing out. If you have read it, take some time to reread it and love it all over again!

on my desk monday

The last piece of the cake we made (don't miss the surprise!). Squatchie ate the gingerbread baby!

Sunday Chinese School

Welcome to Sunday Chinese School, where we learn a Chinese word (or phrase) a week with my mom!

Today's word is:
food
shíwù

the cake we made

For Thanksgiving, my mother asked me if we could bring the dessert. The Sasquatch and I had thought about making pie but I saw a recipe in Martha Stewart's magazine for a gingerbread cake. It looked yummy, so we made that:

We decorated it with gingerbread cookies (that is the Sasquatch's specialty. He makes amazing gingerbread cookies).

And we added a surprise....

Surprise!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

fortune cookie friday

"Let us rise up and be thankful; for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful."
-Buddha

Thanks

As we all rush off to turkey dinners (or in my case, most likely, some sort of sushi or Chinese fried fish), I wanted to take a quick moment to thank all of you for being my readers! I know I haven't been good about blogging lately, but I DO appreciate your interest and support. And most of all, I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving!

feeling welcomed

Still behind on this blog! Earlier this month I did a round of school visits in Arlington, VA and they made me feel so welcome that I had to post about it (if a bit belatedly):

And how could I not feel welcomed? In one school, a Thanking the Moon display greeted me:

I loved the little dishes and the jar top "mooncakes"

Food also welcomed me:

As did a plethora of dragons:

I almost took this one home (2012 is the Year of the Dragon!):

THANKS SO MUCH, Arlington Schools!

booktalk tuesday

Anne of Green Gables, by LM Montgomery

IndieBound Description:
As soon as Anne Shirley arrived at the snug, white farmhouse called Green Gables, she knew she wanted to stay forever... but would the Cuthberts send her back to the orphanage? Anne knows she's not what they expected -- a skinny girl with decidedly red hair and a temper to match. If only she could convince them to let her stay, she'd try very hard not to keep rushing headlong into scrapes or blurt out the very first thing she had to say. Anne was not like anybody else, everyone at Green Gables agreed; she was special -- a girl with an enormous imagination. This orphan girl dreamed of the day when she could call herself Anne of Green Gables.

My thoughts:Maybe my most favorite book in the whole world, I was actually really surprised I hadn't featured it before! It completely has ingrained itself in my life, Anne is one of my best friends. I'm posting the cover that I had, but there are hundreds of different editions to choose from--so no excuses for not reading this book.

on my desk monday

I was thrilled to see that Ling and Ting was listed on the MA Book Award's 2011 Must Read Titles! Even the 2011 is coming to a close, I just got these posters:

Ling & Ting is in pretty good company, don't you think?

Sunday Chinese School

Welcome to Sunday Chinese School, where we learn a Chinese word (or phrase) a week with my mom!

Today's word is:
Thank
xièxie

fortune cookie friday

"In every family's cooking pot is one black spot."
-Chinese Proverb

travels

I've been so behind on this blog! I've been traveling around so much that I haven't had time to  update this as much as I'd like. But the trips have been worth it! I visited Tulsa, OK for the first time ever as part of the Books to Treasure Program:

Featuring my book, Lissy's Friends, the library gave a copy of the book to every child participating in the program (with a bookplate) plus they made a special library card featuring the book. I SO heart the library card!





During the day, I visited schools that welcomed me with large origami animals:

And origami cards:

And at night,  I was special attraction at the Library's auditorium:

With a loooooooong line of people for booksigning. I wish I could give away my books for free more often!

After such hospitality, I didn't want to leave. So, I left a little me behind:

Yes, there's a Pocket Pacy in Tulsa, OK:

Hope someone finds it!

vote!

Remember the Bookie Woogie's video review of "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" (also on my sidebar over there)? School Library Journal has chosen it as a finalist for the 2nd annual Trailee Awards! The winners are selected by public vote. You can see all the finalists and vote for your favorites in 6 categories HERE!

Voting ends December 16th!

booktalk tuesday

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

IndieBound Description:
It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.

"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me sit down for a moment, and then I'll be on my way. Speaking of ways, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract."

A tesseract (in case the reader doesn't know) is a wrinkle in time. To tell more would rob the reader of the enjoyment of Miss L'Engle's unusual book. A Wrinkle in Time, winner of the Newbery Medal in 1963, is the story of the adventures in space and time of Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe (athlete, student, and one of the most popular boys in high school). They are in search of Meg's father, a scientist who disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government on the tesseract problem.

My Thoughts:I thought this would be a good book to bridge October to November. This is a great book--children's book fantasy, science fiction at its very best!

on my desk monday

I've been buying these postcards one by one from my favorite bookstore. I've been completely charmed by these images by Serge Bloch and whenever I see them they make me smile. Simple joy! I only just found out that the artist has also done books:



I placed an order for this one and can't wait to see what it's like!

Sunday Chinese School

Welcome to Sunday Chinese School, where we learn a Chinese word (or phrase) a week with my mom!

Today's word is:
cold
lěng

fortune cookie friday

"The older the ginger, the more it bites."
-Chinese Proverb

full swing

My school visit season is now in full swing! It's quite a dilemma, school visits. I enjoy doing them--nothing is more fun then actually seeing my book in use--but sometimes I find my schedule more dedicated to talking about books than actually making them.

But it's not something I feel like I should really complain about. I know how lucky I am to make books and talk to kids who read them. Plus, seeing what my books inspire is really priceless...like this fortune cookie fortune:

Ha ha!