I was recently interviewed by Katherine Mason for her Winx Club fan site, Fire and Flame! A few years ago I wrote several books for the series and they reside among my list of favorites.
 
If you enjoy the show or are simply a magical fairy fan, I highly recommend visiting her cool fan site and you can check out my interview HERE.
 
To learn even more about the series, visit the official Winx Club site or find my Winx books here!
 

 

 
I had a wonderful welcome at Chambers Elementary in Houston, TX. When I checked in at the school this morning I saw that all of the students recognized me and were very excited that I came. I also noticed something else; most of them (and the teachers, too) wore … hats. Turns out the Chambers Chargers found out about my hat collection and wore hats in my honor. Very cool! Just check out the banner above!
 
My presentations went great and I hope all the hat-wearing Chargers enjoyed themselves as much as I did. I even had some of them wish my chihuahua, Echo, a happy birthday; she’s fourteen today! I also hope all the 4th graders had fun at my writing workshop. Don’t forget the homework I gave you!
 
Thanks to Mrs. Di Felice for inviting me and to Mrs. Renner and Mr. Brown for all the help. And a super big thanks to all the Chambers Chargers for the great day and all the wonderful hats!
 

 

 

 
The beginning of this semester’s round of author visits began back in Houston, TX, at Hearne Elementary! I had a fun time presenting to all the wonderful Hearne students in their humungous library (I think I pulled something in my throat showing them the loud giraffe noise)!
 
The best part of the day was when I got to eat lunch with the top Accelerated Readers! The best readers in the school get rewarded sometimes and the most recent reward was getting to eat with a real, live author (hey, that’s me!) Thanks for the stimulating lunch conversation: Eliud, Alan, Reymon, Jimmy, Nayeli, Nicole, Jamie, Mindalia, Fernando, Oba, Janella, Wendy, Mellissa, Alexander, Juan, and Kenneth! Better yet, thanks for being such good readers!
 
I’d also like to give a shout out to super Wishbone fan, Joanna Baczek (Ms. Baczek, to all you Hearne Elementary 2nd graders). Keep rooting for the little dog with the big imagination!
 
Thanks to Mrs. Arevalo for inviting me and for setting up the lunch. And a big thanks to all the great students at Hearne Elementary! Keep reading and maybe you’ll get an even bigger prize next time!
 

 

 
I was recently interviewed by Mark Ray, fellow freelance writer and author of the wonderful book: The Scoutmaster’s Other Handbook. He wrote an article about me in the current BSA Alumni newsletter: Alumni Alive!
 
You can check out the article on the BSA website or view an archived PDF version HERE.
 
If you’re involved in Scouting, I highly recommend buying a copy of Mark’s book. And if you’re NOT involved in Scouting, I can’t endorse a better organization for your child in terms of learning new skills, experiencing new adventures, and developing leadership skills that will last a lifetime!
 
For more information, or to find local packs and troops in your area, visit the Boy Scouts of America official website.
 

 

 
Announcing the release of my third Penguins of Madagascar book: Elite Strike Force!
 
I seriously enjoy writing these books because they’re action-packed, loaded with laughs, and … I get to watch all the cartoons for research! How cool is that? This marks my third POM book and my first POM comic reader.
 
If you’re a fan of the penguins (and who isn’t), you should also check out my other POM books: Skipper’s Log and King Julien’s Guide to Ruling the Zoo. Both are written from the characters’ points of view and (if I did my job right) you can actually hear their voices in your head as you read!
 

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With the Apple approval process shutting down for the holidays, Issue #8 (Big Red Boot Camp) ended up being a couple days late on its release. But it’s out now so be sure to check it out if you have the Clown Commandos iPhone app. And if don’t have the app (and just so happened to get an iPad or iPod Touch for Christmas, be sure to download the free comic book app HERE.
 
We had a great time writing and voicing this issue so please give it a go if you get a chance. And keep up to date on all Clown Commandos activity by checking out the official Facebook page, Twitter account, and Clownblog.
 ikoni

 

 
Released this week is another one of my LEGO City books—Catch That Crook! These have been great fun to write, especially since LEGO insists on including plenty of jokes, gags, and slapstick. No problem! I’m happy to comply.
 
And if you’ve been keeping up with Clownblog at all, you’ll know that we’ve enjoyed seeing all of our Clown Commandos characters come to life in true LEGO minifig fashion. In fact, I’m growing into a LEGO fan all over again!
 
If you’re a LEGO or LEGO City fan (or know of a young one who needs a new early reader) you can order a copy of Catch That Crook! below.
 

 

 
Just like last year, I had the privilege of performing for Young Authors Day at The Montessori Academy of Arlington! I even came up with a new show all about reading where I read a couple of passages from one of my latest books Night of the Dragons. One student brought his own copy of the book for me to sign so he knows how the book ends (I kinda left everyone hanging at the end of my reading). Glad you like the book, Evan!
 
After lunch (just like last year), I joined Mrs. Proctor’s E5 class for ice cream! I enjoyed meeting everyone and talking about their favorite books and authors. I even showed some of the students the books I’d signed for Mrs. Proctor the year before!
 
Thanks again to Mrs. Hryekewicz for inviting me back. Thanks to Mrs. Proctor for inviting me to ice cream again (and the killer doughnut). And a big thanks to all the young authors I met today! Keep writing and keep reading!
 

 

 
I just spent two lovely days at Walnut Grove Elementary in Southlake, Texas — home of the Dragons! This was my second year presenting to the Dragons even though they were in a different building last year and under a different name — Durham Elementary.
 
I had a little scare on the way there when I began warming up my voice and quickly realized that I was loosing part of it! I had been talking to schools the week before in Kansas City and now my voice didn’t make any noise in higher registers. Luckily, I was very careful how I spoke the first day and Cheryl from the front office fixed me up with some hot tea that really helped. Thanks, Cheryl! I made it through both days just fine.
 
I enjoyed meeting all the 3rd graders and seeing all the 4th graders again (I met them last year when they were in 3rd grade). We had a great two days and I even showed a couple of 4th graders how they could teach themselves to juggle. It’s easy, really. Ask me at my next show and I’ll show you, too!
 
Thanks to Stacy Kristynik and the Walnut Grove PTO for inviting me back. Thanks to Mrs. Fangue for the use of her classroom. Thanks to Mrs. Cooper and Mrs. Cobb for helping me set up. And an extra-special thanks to the 3rd & 4th grade students at Walnut Grove Elementary! Keep roaring, Dragons!
 

 

 

 
The last day of my Fall Kansas City tour found me at Gracemor Elementary — home of the Crusaders! I was greeted with the cool banner above and after my first show, assistant principal Julie Badders was kind enough to take me on a quarter mile tour of their huge school. And with a mascot like the Crusaders, how cool is it that they have suits of armor in the hallways?!!
 

 
I was lucky enough to have lunch with a second grader named Robert who traded in his good behavior tickets to have lunch with the principal. The principal wasn’t available but he had lunch with me, Mrs. Badders and Mrs. Ziehm the library media specialist instead! We had a nice time and talked about my fun trip to Kansas City (my fourth so far).
 
For the rest of my shows, all of the students were very energetic and ready to learn about new things. Mrs. Boehmer’s fourth grade class even had questions written out before they got to the show. I tried to answer as many as I could while they were there!
 
Thanks to all the Gracemor Elementary Crusaders for being such a wonderful audience and thanks to Mrs. Badders for the fun tour. I’d also like to thank Mrs. Ziehm for inviting me and making my last stop in Kansas City such an enjoyable one. And an extra special thanks to all of Second Grade who made me a nice thank you card and wrote me the huge letter below. Click it so you can see how all the students even signed it. Very cool!