I just spent my first day in the middle of Kansas at Peabody-Burns Elementary! I had a great time meeting everyone from Kindergarten all the way to 5th grade. One of the students was proud to show me the library’s collection of Wishbone books. I didn’t write any of those particular titles but I told him to read them anyway. I’ve read a bunch of the Wishbone books so I know for a fact that they were all written by a bunch of talented authors. In fact, their editor, Kevin Ryan, is the same editor for my Night at the Museum: Nick’s Tales series. So I know they were all well-edited, too!
Thanks to Mr. Parry and Mrs. Carter for having me out. Thanks to Mr. Sadowski for helping me set up, Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Parks for the tasty gift basket, Mrs. Hoffman for taking pictures, and Mrs. Holt and the PTO for inviting me. And a big thanks to all the great kids at Peabody-Burns Elementary. Check out those Wishbone books!
After returning from my San Antonio trip, I hit the ground running by attending a special Literacy Night at Como Elementary in Fort Worth, Texas! Unfortunately, I was only able to perform a much shorter version of my usual presentation. Fortunately, however, I met many wonderful students and parents who were all about reading. I chatted with several dedicated teachers and talked to kids who were well on their way to becoming voracious readers. I even met a few who enjoyed writing–students AND teachers!
Thanks to Mrs. Martin for inviting me and for being such a good host. I think she did a great job coordinating her very first author visit! And thanks to all the parents and students who attended Como Elementary’s Literacy night. And like I told many of you that night, don’t forget what Wishbone always said, “there’s nothing better than chewing on a good book!”
After Braun Station I made the grueling 200 meter trip over to Stevenson Middle School. There I presented two shows to a great bunch of kids and performed my first gig where there was plenty of room to walk among the crowd as I spoke–very cool! Both shows were full of enthusiastic students with some insightful questions. I had a great time!
I’d like to thank Ms. Gloria for helping me set up and Pam Gould for inviting me and for an enjoyable lunch. Not only is Ms. Gould a comic geek like me (note the cool Marvel Comics shirt), but she actually has more pets than I do! I would especially like to thank all the Stevenson Wildcats. Keep reading and keep writing those stories!
I began the school year down in San Antonio at Braun Station Elementary. I only performed one show at Braun and even though it was my first full-length presentation of the season, I think it went great. It helped that I had such an enthusiastic audience!
I’d like to thank Mr. Funkhouser for being such a great host (and for having such a great name) and I’d especially like to thank all the students of Braun Station Elementary. Keep reading and don’t forgot what we talked about!
Thanks to everyone who came out to the 7th International Book Fair! We authors had a great time and I was even able to perform a short version of my show! It was great seeing Alejandrina Drew
Be sure to check the International Book Fair website and plan to attend the 8TH International Book Fair in April. There will be more authors, more activities, and you might even see me there!
Thanks to Ronnie Jessie and the Dallas Public Library for inviting me and a big thanks to everyone who came out to visit! Keep coming back and using those library cards!
Today I enjoyed performing two shows at the Ennis Public Library in Ennis, Texas! My first show was at 2:00 and my second was later that evening at 6:00. Both crowds were packed – one of my biggest library turnouts yet! I can’t take the credit, though. The Ennis Public Library has an amazing summer reading program chocked full of entertaining and educational guests, fun activities, and even field trips. Don’t believe me? Check out the pics HERE!
Thanks to everyone at the Ennis Public Library for being such gracious hosts. Thanks to Jessica for inviting me and to Christie and Ray for helping me set up. Most of all, thanks to all the kids who turned out for my show. Many of you had some excellent questions so I know that you’re feeding your brains with some wonderful library books. Keep it up!
I was fortunate enough to be a part of this year’s Dallas Kids Read! where I performed at the Dallas Public Library on Sunday and on Monday, for the summer school students at Marcus Elementary.
It was great seeing Toni Simmons again on Sunday (whom I met at the 2010 Dallas Kids Read) and I shared Marcus Elementary with author Alejandrina Drew. I caught part of their presentations could see why the kids were so energized by the time I took the stage.
Thanks to Jo Giudice, Ronnie Jessie, the Dallas Public Library and Big Thought for letting me be a part of this year’s events. Thanks to Target for donating all the books for the kids. Thanks to Nora Nagel, Jasmine Africawala, and Victor Kralisz for all the help during the event. And a super-big thanks to all the kids who saw our shows. I hope you keep cool this summer and keep reading!
During this summer break, I thought I’d take the time to address a question I constantly receive during my school and library visits…
Okay, for those of you who’ve seen my show, you know that I include two clips of me on TV: one showing my Chihuahuas and me on an episode of Barney & Friends while the other has me playing a very small part on one of the episodes of Wishbone that I co-wrote.
Many kids ask where they can watch and/or buy these episodes. Well, to answer those questions … I just discovered that my “big” Barney scene is included on the DVD, Barney: Furry Friends.
Now, my Wishbone episode is not yet available for sale. But you can still watch it thanks to whoever posted it to Youtube!
I’ve embedded the entire episode below. The quality isn’t the best but you can check out my very brief scene in Part 3. Don’t blink or you might miss it!
Enjoy!
I spent my last day in Florida visiting the fantastic students of Embassy Creek Elementary in Cooper City, Florida. When I arrived I felt right at home not only because everyone was so welcoming but also because the school was almost identical to the one I had visited the day before. I took the near-identical big stage and put on my first show to some crazy characters in the 5th grade. It turns out that my visit coincided with their “twin day.” You see, during the last week of school, the 5th graders get to dress up differently each day. It’s too bad I didn’t show up on “tourist day” (another one of their themes) or I would’ve blended right in.
After all of my performances, I enjoyed a pizza party with the special winners of the writing contest. Out of more than 80 entries, the winners were: Abigail, Ariel, Arman, Guy, Ian, Jessica, Julia, Kamdyn, Kayla, Maha, Michelle, Mikaela, Robin, Ryan, Shea, Tal, Tegan, Walter, and Yadin. Great job, everyone!
I’d like to thank Mrs. Nollin for all of her hard work setting up my visit and the PTA for having me out. I’d also like to thank Mrs. Leone and Mrs. Elias for all their wonderful help. Thanks to Sasheen for being my guide in the morning and a super-big thanks to all the great kids at Embassy Creek Elementary! Keep writing those wonderful stories!
This week finds me in sunny Florida where I spent the morning at Eagle Ridge Elementary in Coral Springs, Florida! I took to their big stage and gave two presentations to all their 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. Everyone seemed to enjoy the show and they had tons of questions about my time in special effects and my friend Bob Trevino (whom I mention in the show). When I got back to the hotel, I called Bob and told him about the warm reception I had received in Florida and he reminded me that he worked on a couple of movies in the area. In fact, we still have some friends working in Coral Springs on the TV show, Burn Notice! I hope some of you Eagle Ridge kids read this since I didn’t get a chance to mention it at the show.
Thanks to Mr. Cooper and Mrs. Rardin for all the help setting up. And thanks to Mrs. Makovsky and the PTA for inviting me (you Eagle Ridge guys should thank them, too.) I even got my picture taken with Mrs. Makovsky’s son, Devin. And, most of all, a big thanks to bright the young students at Eagle Ridge Elementary!
Since I was only there for the morning, I spent the afternoon hiking. I hiked all the way to Markham Park and beyond. I would have gone further but I was halted the Everglades. Okay, not THE Everglades but SOME everglades—The Everglades Wildlife Management Area Conservation Area Number 2B, to be annoyingly precise. I didn’t see any alligators (unfortunately) but I did see a manatee natural habitat—well, just a sign saying there was a habitat right there—and I didn’t see any manatees either. Oh, well… maybe next time!
