A friend visiting me here in Lisbon told me everyone needs to know his or her spirit animal. What's yours? I saw mine yesterday.
 So fun (not to mention really intriguing) to see what kids put on their bucket lists after reading about the Eli's bucket list in our latest book STAY: A GIRL, A DOG, A BUCKET LIST.
We love that having a cat made Mohammad's list in Worth, Illinois! Thanks for sharing, W.E. Library friends. Happy summer reading -- and bucket list making -- to all!  Thanks to the magnificent librarians in Maine for naming STAY: A Girl, a Dog, a Bucket List to their 2018-2019 Chickadee List!
I need to do a little research to find out why it's called the Chickadee List, but I'm too busy right now reading sweet reviews like this from my new friends in Maine. Thanks, pals! (Back with my research results: The chickadee is the state bird of Maine. Now I know!)  That's Kate on the left and Sarah on the right. When we were growing up, hundreds and hundreds of years ago, May 1st meant running around the neighborhood at dawn and hanging paper baskets on all the neighbors' front doors. The baskets were decorated (thanks, Sarah!) and filled with candy (my job!) and flowers. Does anyone still do this? It was such a fun tradition!
 Kate and Casey after the successful battery transplant What do you do when you wake up in Warrensburg, Missouri, ready and eager and *excited* to deliver the keynote address at the 35th Annual Young Authors Conference . . . only to discover your car battery is dead as a doornail? Well, of course, you call fifth grade teacher extraordinaire and conference organizer Mr. Casey Laws, who not only comes and chauffeurs you to the conference but also escorts you to AutoZone after the event and installs for you a brand-new battery. Good grief, how nice is this guy? I knew he was an excellent teacher. I had no idea he was such a handy guy, or that he'd become such a good friend. Thanks, man! I owe you one. Or maybe two!
 We received the nicest letter today from our pen pal Jane in Michigan. Years ago, Jane was inspired by our book Shall I Knit You a Hat? to--you guessed it--knit hats, which she gave to University of Michigan's Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor.
Well, it turns out Jane has now made almost two HUNDRED hats for the youngest patients. Isn't that amazing? Hats off to JANE! We want to visit Jane and her young friends sometime in Ann Arbor. (I was a knitting demon as a kid, but as an adult, I've forgotten how to cast on. I bet Jane can teach me.) I'm going to hire my sister Sarah and nephew Milo to paint a wall of bunnies for me, like this wall in the Terrace Cafe at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Isn't it fabulous?   Thanks to the Illinois School Library and Media Association for naming STAY: A Girl, a Dog, A Bucket List to your 2019 Monarch Award Master List!
I wrote that book while staying at Queset House in North Easton, Massachusetts, as writer-in-residence for the Ames Free Public Library. So thanks to my friends there, too! |
