A tisket, a tasket, a visit and a basket
It's been a busy month here in Julie Bowe land. The usual mom stuff -- cookin' and cleanin' and drivin' the boy around -- and some book stuff too. I've started putting together a blog book tour for May, when My Best Frenemy debuts. I'm so thrilled with the response I've been getting from children's lit bloggers. What a wonderfully generous bunch. I'm so looking forward to bopping around the blogosphere with all of them and, hopefully, all of you!
I had a blast doing a 2-day school visit in Amery, Wisconsin last week. The kids were awesome, the teachers and staff were wonderfully well prepared, and the popcorn chicken was pretty okay too!
This wall of friendship greeted me as I entered the school. The photos feature students and staff, huddled up in friendly pairs and groups.
The hallways were decorated with friendly posters created by the 3rd-5th grade students I visited.
Thank you, Amery Intermediate, for making me feel right at home! And an extra-special thank you to Ms. Hansen's fourth grade class for mailing me all these lovely thank you notes and cards:
Thank you, Mya, Luke, Brett, Chris, Ashley, Dylan, Ryan, Ally, Duane, Max, James, Krista, Mason, Sylvie, Kennedy, Lydia, and Alli! :)
I've also been getting ready for the Children's Literature Network's Books & Breakfast event on February 6. The guest list includes teachers, librarians, media specialists, booksellers, booktalkers, and around thirty children's authors and illustrators from the Twin Cities area. I participated in the event last year for the first time and was dazzled to be nibbling French toast and sipping coffee with folks like David LaRochelle, Derek Anderson, Lauren Stringer, Heather Bouwman, Pat Schmatz, Susan Marie Swanson and Debra Frasier, just to mention a few of the nibblers and sippers in attendance. This year, I'm putting together a friendship-themed book basket for one of the door prizes. I love fussing with stuff like this so it's been a real pleasure to play with the contents:
I made the little sock monkey -- my fifth since Christmas!
Very soon I'll be receiving my editorial letter for my fourth book, My Forever Friends, which is slated to release in 2011. I'm looking forward to diving back into Ida's world. :)