And a Very Happy Smekday to You!

 

Meet David and Janae, two of my creative writing students, posing with their brand spanking new autographed copies of Adam Rex's THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY (Thanks, Adam!).

I teach at two schools, and this week I was at The Other school (which David and Janae do not attend). At The Other school, I received several incredibly creative works of fiction. At least, I hope they're fiction, since they featured Swamp Monsters, Evil Penguins, Warring Indian Film Moguls and Rocking Potatoes.

So, David and Janae (and Tashinee and all my other students who will see me next week), the pressure is on! Turn in something great this week, something only you can dream up.

Otherwise, the Gorg win.*

* = If this makes no sense, get yourself a copy of THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY. Heck, get two. It's that good.

In Defense of the Newbery Medal

Here’s what I have to say (on Slate.com) about recent criticisms of the Newbery Medal, the prestigious children’s books award.

Just to be clear, I *heart* Dav Pilkey.

Madeleine Albright and CHICKEN BUTT!

 

Today, I did two book events and got my first opportunity to break out my, er, new book and shake it.

My BUTT! had a LOT of fans, young and not-so-young. One grown-up even tried to walk off with my only BUTT! (to be fair, he didn't know it was my only BUTT!... he quickly preordered his own).

Several other authors were signing, including my pals Laura Krauss Melmed, Jennifer O'Connell, and Susan Stockdale, and some grown-up authors too, such as the esteemed Madame Secretary of State, Madeleine Abright, herself. Mrs. Albright bought a copy of NINETY-THREE IN MY FAMILY, just to show she didn't only have eyes for my BUTT!

I've Been MommyCast!

I recently did a bunch of segments with MommyCast, the parenting podcast. Here's the first episode, devoted to Holiday Books:

Get CLUCK-y!

As I mentioned a looooooong time ago, I wrote a book called CHICKEN BUTT! (not to be confused with my other chicken book, CHICKEN BEDTIME IS REALLY EARLY, which is butt-free, linguistically speaking) and the good folks at Abrams worked their tails off to publish it in style.

Well, you know what? CHICKEN BUTT! is NOW available for pre-order on Amazon! Henry Cole’s illustrations are a huge treat. Here’s a sneak peek at the cover:

Meanwhile, if your appetite for chicken-themed children’s books has been whetted, have I got a book for you.

It is TILLIE LAYS AN EGG, by Terry Golson (photography by Ben Fink) and it is brand new from Scholastic Press. It just got a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly, which means that it really doesn’t need my help BUT I’m going to offer it anyway.

This is a sweet and funny book about a chicken (one of seven owned by the author, who is also the author of The Farmstead Egg Cookbook among other culinary titles) who bucks the trend of waiting for a turn in the nesting box and sets off daily for greener pastures to lay her egg. In photographs, we see her all over the farm, exploring as only a chicken would (mistaking shoelaces for worms in one spread) and leaving her mark, egg-wise, on the landscape.

TILLIE has an appealingly cozy, retro feel. In part, this is because of the vintage decor - several of the bright, sunny scenes are reminiscent of “I Spy” books because in addition to hunting for Tillie’s eggs, readers can spot antique toys, chicken-themed tschotchkes, and fabulous fifties fabrics. It is also because photographs are so rarely used to illustrate modern children’s books, especially fictional ones (if you like them, visit your local library for a trip down memory lane… The Lonely Doll, anyone?). Golson and Fink have collaborated on a book that children and adults will enjoy reading and rereading (my kids sure did). The chicken’s-eye-view perspective adds to its considerable charm. All in all, TILLIE is a good egg.

Hope everyone had a good Turkey Day. Keep on clucking!