Free Books! Free Event Kit! Monkeys Everywhere!
Lita Judge, the illustrator of the picture book, created this charming Little Monkey who can take a ride on a reader’s wrist. Thanks, Lita!
Happy Father’s Day! Here’s a perfect treat for a day celebrating dads: a FREE copy of Quick, Little Monkey and a marvelous monkey event kit for bookstores, libraries, and schools. Couldn’t be better!
The fabulously talented and creative firm Curious City has created a story hour event kit for Quick, Little Monkey. Send readers on a quest throughout your bookshelves to find their very own Little Monkey, one they can carry home just like Papa Monkey carries Little Monkey through the rainforest.
And if this is not enough monkey madness, you can enter to win your very own FREE COPY of this sweet and tender picture book about a Little Monkey and her wise and protective Papa.
Read MoreThe Big Blue Marble
The aftermath of our panel on middle grade series at The Big Blue Marble Bookstore in Philadelphia. So cool to hang out wiht the talented and funny Amy Ignatow for an afternoon in Philly!
Boston and Buttonwoods!
Had a delicious time yesterday at the Buttonwoods Book and Toy Store. Don’t skip this place if you’re near Cohasset, MA! Great staff (children’s book buyer Bill Grace really knows his stuff!), beautifully curated collection, lovely store with cozy chairs. I was tempted to move in.
Tell Me Your Author Visit Stories
AASL National Conference
Dear Fellow Authors and Illustrators,
Later this fall, I am going to be speaking at the AAASL (American Association of Awesome School Librarians)–oops, I might have slipped an extra “A” in there. I’ll be telling the cool librarians how they can work with authors, illustrators, teachers, staff, students, and families to get the most out of an author or illustrator visit.
If you’re a veteran of school visits, you probably know that subtle but real feeling of excitement when you walk into a school that’s READY. Maybe there’s a cool display up on a wall; maybe a kid does a double-take and gasps, “Are you the author?” (or as it often comes out, “Are you the Arthur?”). Or maybe there’s just a feeling in the air, and you know it’s going to be a good visit. The kids will be excited and engaged; the teachers will be interested; each presentation will seem too short.
Do you have any stories about schools that have done a great job creating this kind of energy and excitement? What have librarians or teachers done to get their students to the point where they are revved up about what you have to share and ready to put it use in their own creative work? What, to you, makes a GREAT school visit different from a ho-hum one? Please share in the comment section, and let me know if it’s okay to use your story in my talk.
Thank you!
Read MoreSarah L. Thomson
A children’s book author publishing award-winning nonfiction, poetry, picture books and novels including…
“Readers will treasure the blossoming friendship between opposites in this whimsically illustrated tale. Short chapters and plenty of action make for an accessible and appealing reading experience. . . . Touching and inspiring.”
—Kirkus Reviews