2012 Best Books of the Year

Yesterday I was thrilled to discover that Joe and Sparky, Superstars! made the Bankstreet College 2012 Best Children's Books of the Year list. Hooray! I'm happy to be in such great company. Congratulations to all!

Talent Shows and Toast

On Monday, I had the pleasure of meeting the amazing students of Guiteras Elementary School in Bristol, Rhode Island. I visited grades K-3 as part of their Reading Week celebration.

During our brainstorming sessions, the students were bursting with imaginative storylines and characters. Then they brilliantly performed the talent show scene from Joe and Sparky, Superstars! We had a pizza party, and we discussed Bigfoot and told knock-knock jokes. And a nice young gentleman named Henry brought me the best gift ever--toast! He gave me TOAST! La! Happiness.

Thanks to Superstar Librarian Nicole Galipeau for all of her help!

Here are some photos of our big day:

Stretching like a giraffe

Brainstorming story ideas. Start with what you love.

Showstopper! The kindergartners perform the talent show scene from Joe and Sparky, Superstars!

Toodle-dee-doo! Our talented band

Thank you, Henry! :)

Happy Reading Week!

April 8 - 14 is National Library Week. Children across the country are turning off their televisions and reading good books.

I'll be celebrating this week by visiting the Super Readers of these schools:

Monday, April 9: Guiteras School, Bristol, RI

Thursday, April 12: Sowams School, Barrington, RI

Friday, April 13: Barbieri Elementary School, Framingham, MA

What are you reading this week?

Barrington Books’ Annual Children’s Books Authors & Illustrators Event

Hope to see you at Barrington Books this Saturday, October 29th for spooky story hour, treats, crafts, and lots of good BOO-ks! I'll be the lady with the giant spider on her head. Check out this year's line-up!

Event Schedule
10 am-12pm

• Jamie Michalak – Joe and Sparky, Superstars! Joe and Sparky Get New Wheels
• Alison Paul – The Crow; Sunday Love

12-2 pm

• Anika & Christopher Denise – Bella and Stella Come Home; Pigs Love Potatoes
• RW & Zoë Alley – There’s A Princess In The Palace; There’s A Wolf At The Door
• Willa Perlman – Goodnight, World; Pocket Kisses

* Spooky Story Hour will begin at 1 pm – costumes encouraged!
2-4 pm

• Pamela Lowell – Returnable Girl; Spotting for Nellie
• Liz McGrath – The Ghouls Come Haunting One by One
• Sarah L. Thomson – Mercy: The Last New England Vampire; Dragon’s Egg; The Dragon’s Son; Pirates, Ho! Three Cups of Tea (Young Reader’s Edition)

Q & A and Book Giveaway!

Award-winning author and one of the nicest people on the planet, Clara Gillow Clark, kindly invited me to be a guest on her blog. Click here for our little chat about crazy families, noses, and early readers.

If you haven't yet read Clara's novels about Hill Hawk Hattie, you must run to your local bookstore right this minute and get them. Grab a box of tissues while you're at it. I've yet to meet anyone who's read Hill Hawk Hattie without being deeply touched by it. You will love these books.

Clara will be announcing the winners of personalized Joe and Sparky Get New Wheels and Joe and Sparky, Superstars! tomorrow morning.

What Joe and Sparky Did on Their Summer Vacation

Oh dear.  I'm a little behind on blogging. Imagine, if you will, that it's late August.

Joe and Sparky had the rare privilege of spending their summer in the Barrington Public Library. They were part of the Children's Department's popular Summer Reading Club.

This year's theme was "One World, Many Stories." Check out the story hour room's eye-catching displays of favorite read-alouds. . . .

Joe and Sparky hang out with Elmer and Rose.

(Believe it or not, I was sitting on that step for five minutes waiting to sign up my sons for the book club before I turned around and noticed the giant Joe. What a surprise! I think there was some squealing and leaping with joy. And perhaps a fist-pumping victory lap around the room . . . Erm, this is getting embarrassing. Let's move on.)

The Greedy Python, Koala Lou, and Tacky the Penguin.

A small Sox fan spins the wheel to see which category he may choose a book from. 

The children return to the library to answer questions about the books they've read. This fellow reads a question from the cap he's chosen off the Caps for Sale tree.

Notice how the camera-shy Sparky is trying to jump off that log before I snap his photo. Too slow, my small green friend!

Thanks to the dynamite children's librarians of the Barrington Public Library for hosting Joe and Sparky this summer!

Congratulations to these Superstar Libraries . . .

Curious City has announced the winners of the Joe and Sparky book giveaway. Copies of Joe and Sparky Get New Wheels and Joe and Sparky, Superstars! are on their way to the stellar libraries below.

If you didn't win, you can still DOWNLOAD the Activity Kit and take the Joe & Sparky Personality Test for a spot of fun.

Hillcrest Elementary School BC
Bristol Public Library CT
Mabry Elementary School FL
Brookdale Elementary GA
Monticello Public Library IA
Plainfield Public Library IL
West Lafayette Public Library IN
Cleveland Elementary School Library MA
Limerick Public Library ME
Norway Memorial Library ME
MCLS: Bedford Branch MI
Dakota County Heritage Library MN
Horace Mann Elementary School NY
Hudson Library & Historical Society OH
Bishop Elementary OK
Lucknow Central P.S. ON
Adrian School Library OR
Stewart Heights Elementary School SC
Richneck Elementary VA
Craft Memorial Library WV