Feb 27

 
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Today I enjoyed a fun morning with the Fort Elementary Bulldogs in Royse City, TX! I was lucky enough to be their guest as they geared up for their Family Reading Night where there will be mystery readers, prizes, and the Half Price Books Bookworm! Be sure to attend, if not for the five Kindles they’re giving away but for the many literary characters you might bump into. I saw four of them today and just had to get a pic with them!
 
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Thanks to Mrs. Moore for inviting me and thanks to Mrs. Gill for the great introductions! Thanks to Mrs. O’Conner and Mrs. Seay for the technical expertise. And a big thanks to all the Fort Elementary Bulldogs. Best of luck at your Family Reading Night. For those of you who win those Kindles, be sure to download plenty of great books!
 
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Feb 21

 
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Another welcome sign greeted me today when I drove up to Tanglewood Elementary in Fort Worth, TX–home of the Tigers! Today I got to meet the Kindergarden, 1st, and 2nd Graders. Don’t worry, the rest of the school wasn’t left out. I heard they had a great time with visiting author, Melissa Williams!
 
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I thoroughly enjoyed my day and we had a great time singing, posing for pictures, and learning that we can be anything we want when we remember those four powerful words! You guys remember them, don’t you? I signed bunches of books and answered many insightful questions. Except … even though I’ve written many LEGO books, no, I didn’t write the LEGO movie (I’ve been getting that one quite often lately).
 
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Thanks to Mr. Williams for helping me set up. Thanks to Mrs. Catalano and the Tanglewood PTA for having me out. Thanks to Mrs. Catalano and Mrs. Cook for the lunch company (sorry neither Mrs. Smith nor Mrs. McKenzie could make it). And a big thanks to the Kinder, 1st, and 2nd Grade Tanglewood Tigers. I hope those of you who got some of my books enjoy reading them and I hope the rest of you write some stories of your own!
 
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Me and Mrs. Wellman’s 2nd grade class!
 
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Feb 19

 
Today I was greeted with a warm welcome on the sign at Bell Manor Elementary in Bedford, TX! I had a fun time meeting all the Bell Manor Bobcats and gave two jam-packed shows in the school gym. After each show, I signed a bunch of books and special bookmarks for many of the Bobcats and got to answer more questions; these kids were overflowing with great questions!
 
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Mrs. Fisher’s 3rd grade class won the prize of having a lunch-with-the-author pizza party and I got to attend, too because … I was the author. I enjoyed spending time with everyone and I hope each of you enjoy your signed bookmarks. Great to meet you: Cabrina, Chas, Hamnah, Yousu, Silao, Lauren, Jeremiah, Demetrius, Ja’vaya, Destiny, Laela, Ayden, Oman, Geniveve, Daylin, Jessica, Junior, Aymann, Kyla, Lamya, Kevin, Taylor, and Dakota.
 
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After lunch I gave a writing workshop to the entire 4th grade. More great questions all around! And afterward, Mrs. Boyd’s class stuck around to sneak a group picture.
 
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Here’s a welcome sign made by every one of the 1st graders. Thanks, guys!
 
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Thanks to Mr. Huber for all the technical help setting up. Thanks to Mrs. George for the use of her library for the writing workshop. Thanks to Mrs. Rush, Mrs. Skjolsvik, Mrs. Love, and the rest of the Bell Manor PTA for inviting me and for the great gift bag. And a big thanks to all the Bell Manor Bobcats. As you can see, when I got home, I wasn’t about to let Norman the donkey wear my new Bobcats T-shirt.
 
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Feb 13

 
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When I arrived at Gilmer Elementary in Gilmer, TX, I received one of my biggest welcomes ever! Not only were there cool welcome banners everywhere but also student versions of all my book covers all over the school! I couldn’t get pictures of all of them but I’ve added a few at the end of this post to show what I’m talking about!
 
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After my first presentation, I signed some books in the library, checked out more of my book cover-inspired art, and ate lunch with nine GES talented young writers. I enjoyed answering their questions and listening to some excerpts of their work. I had a fun time: Parker, Allison, Sophia, Angel, Sarah, Chloe, Kaitlyn, Emma, and Lela!
 
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Thanks to Mr. Wink for the great introductions. Thanks to Mrs. Broadwell and Mrs. Meza’s 3rd grade classes for all the kind letters they wrote BEFORE I arrived. Thanks to Mrs. Curry and Mrs. High for the cool book cover art project. A big thanks to Mrs. Reneau for inviting me, the tasty lunch, and the great gift bag! And a super-big thanks to ALL the Gilmer Elemenatry Buckeyes for the great day and warmest welcome I’ve received in a long time!
 
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Feb 6

 
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The last day of my Colorado tour had me driving in -8º weather once more, where I appeared at Coronado Elementary in Littleton! I performed three shows that each packed the school library from 000 to 900! See what I did there? A little Dewey Decimal reference. Anyway … after my first show, I met a group of girls who were Doctor Who fans like me (we all agree that fezzes are cool). I got to pose for a photo with Mrs. Dowell’s class and … after a lunch in the teacher’s lounge (that’s right, kids; I know what it’s like in the teacher’s lounge), I enjoyed a yummy donut from my new friend, Phyre. Thanks, dude!
 
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Thanks to Mrs. Reseigh and the Coronado PTA for having me out. Also, thanks to Mrs. Homan for all your help when Mrs. Reseigh took some kids to the Tech Challenge (I hoped you guys won!). And a big thanks to all the great students at Coronado Elementary. Be sure to keep warm and keep your noses in some great books!
 
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Thanks to all the JEFFCO students, teachers, and librarians! It was a pleasure meeting everyone!
 

Feb 5

 
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This morning, I enjoyed a brisk -8º drive to Lakewood, Colorado to visit Rooney Ranch Elementary — home of the mountain lions! After three back-to-back presentations, I enjoyed a pizza party with the winners of a read-a-thon drawing. Thanks for the great lunch company: Elliot, Kyle, Austin, Liberty, Gavin, Katie, Kaitee, Sadie, and Lindsey. I truly enjoyed dining with you!
 
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Thanks to Mrs. Schiele and the Rooney Ranch PTA for having me out. Thanks to Mrs. Scott’s class and Mrs. Garrett’s Class for all the wonderful thank you cards. Again, there were too many to post but here are a couple of my favorites. And a big thanks to all the Rooney Ranch Mountain Lions. And guess what, Mountain Lions? When I asked how many of you enjoyed writing just for fun, your school raised the most hands so far. Way to go!
 
Hey, look! A fez monkey from Hunter!
 
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I don’t remember this part of my show but this unsigned card included the joke on the back: How do you take a pig to the hospital? In a HAMbulance!
 
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Feb 4

 
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This morning I drove through the snow, up a winding mountain road, edged past massive snowplows (and equally massive mule deer) to reach Parmalee Elementary in Indian Hills–home of the panthers. Once there, I had two fun sessions with the students and received all kinds of wonderful questions from the Kinder, 1st, and 2nd graders. Meanwhile, many of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders told me all about their own book ideas. One pair of girls (I didn’t get their names) told me about their upcoming project, written specifically for Kindergardeners. Keep up the good work, girls. I can’t wait to hear about it on the best sellers list!
 
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Thanks to Mrs. Stylianou and the Parmalee PTA for having me out to their lovely school. Thanks to Mr. Fiore for technical wizardry. And a big thanks to all the Parmalee Elementary students for a fun morning, superb questions, and a great way to warm up on such a chilly morning. Keep writing those books, gang!
 
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And check this out! After I got back to Texas, I received a very cool digital thank you from a bunch of Parmalee students. View it yourself: HERE!
 
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Feb 4

 
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After a tasty lunch at Parmalee (thanks again, Mrs. Stylianou), I drove back down the mountain and made my way to Peiffer Elementary in Littleton. I had a great time with all the energized students (and young writers) and even signed some books for some of the kids. I even signed one of my old Yu-Gi-Oh books. The book was pretty beat up because its owner had read it over 45 times! He even had his strongest card deck on him–talk about a fan! And if the afternoon wasn’t good enough, just before I left, I was given a tasty cupcake from Maggie–it was her birthday today! I thanked her and let her know that it was my birthday on Sunday and I finally got my own birthday cake while I was in Colorado!
 
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Thanks to Mrs. Shellhart and the Peiffer PTA for having me out. Thanks to Mr. Strott for the last minute tech support. Thanks again to Maggie for the birthday cupcake. And a big thanks to all the Peiffer Elementary students. Stay warm, keep reading, and keep writing!
 
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Feb 3

 
After a fun Colorado weekend, today I visited Kendallvue Elementary in Morrison. I enjoyed giving three presentations in the library (one show was cozy but we made it work, didn’t we?). I met several students including Niqua, who told me that today was his birthday. I let him know that not only had I had a birthday the day before but also it was my nephew, Jack’s birthday. So, again, happy birthday, Niqua. I also met Kacie who gave me a spot on horse whinny. I could tell by her outfit that she was a cowgirl (a little Streets of Laredo nod) and, it turns out, she indeed loves horseback riding–just like me!
 
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Thanks to Mrs. Cox and the Kendallvue PTA for having me out. Thanks to Karyssa for bringing lunch and our fun French talk (not speaking French, mind you, just discussing our visits to France). And a special thanks to all the great students at Kendallvue Elementary. Like I told your wonderful librarian, Mrs. Cox, if you’d like to check out what I did over the weekend, be sure to check out my Facebook Author Page.
 
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