As long as I'm posting some photos this morning, here's a hint about my next book.

Chuck George, our local weather guy, tells us that it's going to cool off by Friday. Hope so. It has gotten HOT early, and I'm not ready for it--if one can ever be ready for HOT. Still, the nights and mornings are spectacular and coolish and wonderful for walking. This is a shot of the moon setting over my backyard at 5:00 A.M. this morning when I was out with the dog.

Bakersfield was a blast! Five schools, a young authors' conference, a barbecue, and a banquet in six days. The weather was cooperative and spared us the sometimes brutal temperatures that sometime plague the area. Best of all was getting to meet up with long-time, dear friends and newer friends: Debbie and Lloyd Wakelee, Sandra Yoon, Helen Foster James, Susan Goldman Rubin, and others. The children in the schools were all well prepared and eager to ask their questions. At Berkshire Elementary, one young man laughed when I explained that I'd tried BMX freestyle myself. When asked why he laughed, he got wide-eyed and said rather timidly, "Because you're old and grumpy." I'm sure he meant that he just didn't think somebody as old as me could do any tricks on a bicycle without serious injury. But "old and grumpy" is what came out of his mouth. At Stockdale Elementary, a student wrote me a thank you note that began, "Dear Larry Dane Grimner." Angie, from the same school, wrote: "Thank you for coming to are school and waisting your time." She went on to say, "You were great... ." So that made up for the "waisting your time" comment. But "Grimner" and "old and grumpy"? I was beginning to feel like the Rodney Dangerfield of children's literature--gettin' no respect!

Now I have a deadline hanging over my head, and I want to get a query off to my agent.

By now most of you know the new award, which was officially announced Monday: The Jane Addams Book Award. You can read more about it here: http://home.igc.org/~japa/jacba/index_jacba.html

Thanks for all your good wishes.

I leave in about an hour to do a school visit in Phoenix. Then I travel west for a week of school visits in Bakersfield.

Good books to read: Delicious: The Life & Art of Wayne Thiebaud, by Susan Goldman Rubin; Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali, by Charles R. Smith, Jr.; and Dizzy, by Jonah Winter. Not only are they great books to read, the authors are wonderfully nice people, too.

Thursday I received the Norman A. Sugarman Award for Biography at a gala event replete with great food, live jazz, and freedom songs--all beautifully presented. Chrystal Carr Jeter (spelled correctly this time, Chrystal) outdid herself by organizing a multi-day event that included meeting the gracious Joan Sugarman, who made the award possible through a generous endowment to the Cleveland Public Library. Chrystal's staff--Vicki, Cathleen, Jaime, and others whom I can't name only because of the whirlwind of activity the last few days--and her boss, Andrew Venable, all went to great efforts to make me and the other authors feel welcome at their beautiful library and in their historic city. I came away feeling as if I'd made many new and good friends, although I'm still pinching myself and staring at the award (which is now sitting on the bookcase in my office) to convince myself that the last few magical days actually happened. The only thing I forgot to pick up were the lovely Sugarman stickers (hint, hint) which will proudly be displayed on my books in the future. Tomorrow another award will be announced.

One of the benefits of writing books for children is that children sometimes write back. This past week, several such epistles flew into my mailbox. Here's a sampling (as they were written) of some of what they had to say, with my comments in parentheses:

Dear Mr. Larry Dane Brimner (It's always the entire name!):
Calamity Jane is my favorite. You inspired me to be an author when I grow up.
Your Number One Fan,
Naomi

Dear Larry Dane Brimner:
When you came to our school you said there will be no more Corner Kids books. They're everybodies favrite, especially mine. I am so sad there will be no more Corner Kids. Can't you change your mind? (I'd be willing to write more, but Scholastic would have to make me a fair offer.)
From your Fan,
Caroline

Dear Mr. Larry Dane Brimner:
You inspire me with your great books. When you write you are so intelligent, incredible, fablous, and wonderful. (They must have been studying adjectives--I guess this means that when I'm not writing, I'm stuck on stupid and not very wonderful!)
Your friend,
Tatiayna

Keep those letters coming. They really brighten my day.

A librarian, whose school I'll be visiting in August--a first author visit for this librarian--e-mailed to ask what she could do to make the visit successful for her students and for me. Since there might be other librarian's in this situation, I thought I'd post my response for others to read. It follows:

The best thing you can do to prepare for any author visit is to acquaint the children with at least some of the author's work. Have them read (or read to them) several of the author's titles in the weeks prior to the visit. This will build enthusiasm. Mount some displays, not only in the library but also in other parts of the building. Try to involve the teaching staff in the process as well--perhaps they could tie some of the author's books to their curriculum or do an author study. Some schools have hosted an author reception or tea, while others have promoted a writing competition--with a couple winners from each class getting to have a pizza lunch with the author. Others have used the pizza lunch idea as a reward for their most talented writers or top students or best citizens. Offering a booksale will also garner interest and enthusiasm. The more acquainted the children are with the author's work and the more enthusiasm instilled, the more successful the visit will be.

* * *

Some of the schools that I've visited over the years have blown me away with their preparation activities. One (Robertsdale in Alabama) had the stage behind my presentation area set up as a teddy bear's picnic (for Country Bear's Good Neighbor). Another (Tate Elementary in Kern County) had life-size re-creations of the characters from several fiction titles decorating the hallways and raindrops (from the Rookie Reader Raindrops) dangling from the ceiling. The children created artwork panels based on my books and a volunteer parent stitched them together into a king-size quilt. (Yes, I use it!) At another (Smallwood Elementary, Buffalo, New York), every grade level selected a title and tied it to curriculum...with one grade level reading my tall tales and creating their own and another reading my Corner Kids titles (Rookie Choices) and doing projects with each character trait discussed in those books. It never ceases to amaze me at how creative teachers can be at using books in their classrooms when given the chance.