Natalie Lloyd Visit Was More Than Just a "Snicker" of Awesome!

I love it when I'm in the right place at the right time!  It doesn't happen often, but when it does the pay off is almost always perfect.  Shortly after I posted about A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd, I was at the Dublin Literacy Conference.  Our main book seller at the conference is Fundamentals Book Store in Delaware, OH.  The owner, Tami and I were having a conversation about Snicker and I noticed that Natalie Lloyd would be coming to the public library in Delaware and I commented that I would have to put that on my calendar.  That's when the kiddie lit gods smiled on me!

Tami said, "You know, she would like to visit and elementary school, are you interested?"

WHAT!?  YES! WHERE DO I SIGN UP!?


 So Tuesday, we welcomed author Natalie Lloyd to Bailey.  What a treat!  We crowded, and I mean crowded, all 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders into the library with kids sitting on tables and standing in the aisles.  She presented for 15 or 20 minutes and then opened the floor to questions.  The kids were awesome and their un-coached questions were very well thought out.  It was obvious that they had either read the book closely or their amazing classroom teachers shared it with them.


I was fascinated with how much of the book actually mirrors Natalie's life.  Family and friends were the  inspiration for many of the characters.  She share photos of her grandparent, parents and pet dog, Biscuit.  The musical piece in the story was inspired by her grandfather and the photo of his well loved guitar and banjo was beautiful.  It really drove home the fact that if you write about what you know, you will never lack for ideas or authenticity.   She admitted to me that she was nervous to be in front of such a large group, it was only her fourth presentation, but I told her not to worry, the kids would love her because she wrote a great book that they love.  As expected, she was a natural and warm in front of them, and they loved her.

She signed autographs carrying on smooth conversations with the kids as the stood at the table and many of them commented on how much they liked listening to her Tennessee accent.  I'll admit, I did too!  She finished a whirl wind visit by signing the wall in THE PIT and that was it.

I love that we get these opportunities to host authors sort of last minute and quick, and what a memory for our kids.  Thank you Natalie Lloyd and Tami for making this happen.

Grand Discussion Rules!

Last Thursday evening, Joyce and I gave up one of our favorite things, NCAA March Madness to host the second Grand Discussion of the year.  Since the book Rules by Cynthia Lord was our choice this time, we originally planned to do it before her visit.  However, middle school meetings and snow days got in the way and it had to be postponed to after her visit.

The turnout was good, 41 folks all together, but the thing that really excited us was the fact that there were more boys than girls, a Grand Discussion first!  We have been working to choose books that are appealing to all of our students, trying to get more boys and fathers involved in our little book group and the numbers have grown steadily over the years.  It was very satisfying to look out at 13 boys and 7 girls along with their parents for our final discussion of the school year.

As usual, the conversation was good and insightful.  I am always impressed by what good thinkers our kids are.  They surprise their parents many times and we are all reminded that we need to listen to these kids because I promise you, we, the adults, always learn something.

Since Cynthia visited us recently the kids really had a new take on her book, they knew things about its creation that their parents didn't.  I was very pleased to hear the conversations sprinkled with Cynthia Lord trivia that they learned from her presentations.  Just one more testament to the importance of exposing our children to talented authors and giving them an opportunity to hear the inside stories only the author can share.



At the conclusion, I realized once again that the Grand Discussion and Newbery Club are two of my favorite things about my job, both are fun interactive times with smart people.

Visit with Loren Long

I'm embarrassed to tell you how long ago the visit Loren Long made to our school occurred (ok, it was the beginning of May). Between getting ready for my knee surgery, getting ready for end of year items before the end of the year, and now, after surgery, having the attention span of a gnat, I find it hard to concentrate for any length of time. This doesn't bode well for article writing, preparations for a workshop this summer, knitting projects, or advance planning for next year. And it especially doesn't bode well for blog writing. Besides exercising, icing, and resting, the only thing I seem to be able to sustain for a period of time is reading -- whew!!

But, back to the point, I would like to very belatedly share the wonderful visit our school had with Loren Long.

Loren was actually scheduled to come on a day that became a snow day for us this past winter - tough weather. We were so delighted when he was willing to reschedule from his original date in February to a date in May.

What we all came to realize is that Loren Long is both a talented artist and a talented writer. One of the things he shared that really stuck with me is that he likes to think of his books as films, and he is the director - he gets to decide what will happen and how it will happen. He continued to model smart thinking as a writer/illustrator. He gave an example of how when writing Otis, he first thought about the main character and how to develop him. Then, he brought in secondary characters. After that he likes to develop setting, and his setting allows him to set "mood" for his readers right away. Finally, he thinks about the events that comprise the beginning, middle, and end of the story.

I loved the quote he borrowed from Stephen King: "There is no such thing as writing, but rewriting."

He also shared a little about the honor he felt when he was asked to illustrate Of They I Sing by President Obama. He shared how much he rose in his own sons' estimation when President Obama shared that he knew Loren Long's books. The kids at our school got a kick out of it when he said we could address him as Loren Long, "Illustrator in Chief."

All these thoughts Loren shared are why we're so very fortunate to be able to host authors and illustrators at our school. They help de-mystify the process of writing and creating, and share it at a level that is meaningful for the students. I took so much from Loren Long's session and applied it in both our reading workshop and writing workshop focus lessons.

The other rich piece of having an author visit is the learning and preparation that happens before the author even gets there. We were able to share so many of Loren Long's books, and then students could respond to them in a way they wanted. One of my favorite things that happened before the visit was a class who wrote a book like Of Thee I Sing, with heroes that matched specific parts. This pre-visit thinking and work really helps enrich the visit, and the students feel so connected to the author and/or illustrator.

A huge thanks to Loren Long for being so willing to share of himself and his creative process with our students. Another huge thanks for all the conversations he had with teachers during his "down times" that enriched their creative processes as well.

Kirby Larson Visit HUGE Success

How lucky I am to teach in a building where staff, students and parents all support special events like author visits. I worry sometimes that the every other year schedule might be too much, too overwhelming and too frequent. I worry that the kids will begin to take it for granted and the staff tire of me asking them to read books that may not fit exactly into their curriculum. Then the event comes and I realize I worry too much!

I have spent the last two days in the company of Newbery Honor author Kirby Larson. Just let me say that she is AWESOME! Kirby met my colleague Joyce and I at the airport, a meeting we almost messed up by sitting in the wrong concourse! Fortunately we met on the escalator and things went smoothly from there.
After a quick stop at Starbucks on the first day, we were off to Bailey where Kirby presented first to a group of 11 classes, about 225 kids ages PreK to grade 2. She captured their attention from the get go and they were with her for the entire 40 minute presentation. The presentation featured her book The Two Bobbies and the process she and Mary Nethery went through to create this touching picture book. They finished with some thoughtful questions and I knew we were in for a special two days.

The next two groups were smaller, and included grades 3 - 5. I was proud of our kids and how much they remembered about Kirby from our classes leading up to her visit. Her presentation for the older kids featured her path to becoming an author. I was impressed with some of the photos she shared, especially the school photo with the sweet cat glasses and the family photo of her bossing her siblings. It takes a lot of courage to share those sorts of things, but that's what made our time with Kirby so special and how she connected with the kids at Bailey. Kids are smart and they know when adults are genuine and comfortable talking to them. They had no doubt about Kirby, she was a sincere as they come.

The kids were a bit shocked when she revealed that it took 21 tries to get The Two Bobbies just right, and 31 for Nubs!

The teachers were grateful she shared this fact hoping it will make it easier to convince their students to write that paragraph at least one more time.

The readers of Hattie Big Sky were mesmerized by the photo of the actual Homestead site of Kirby's great grandmother, the inspiration for the story.

We were all taken in by the photos of her dog, WINSTON THE WONDER DOG!
I was thrilled, and so were the kids with her personal conversations as she signed each book.
She became an honorary member of the Bailey Newbery Club over pizza.
Of course she signed the wall in THE PIT making creative use of the letter "I."
There are so many things that made the visit a HUGE success, but the most important reason is that Kirby Larson is so wonderful to be around. The students, staff and parents of Bailey Elementary School are truly fortunate to have had this opportunity.

A Grand Discussion for Kirby Larson

As I posted a while ago, Kirby Larson is coming to our school next week. In order to have a successful author visit, everyone knows the kids have to know about the author's books. Because of this, my friend Joyce and I repeated a Grand Discussion book for the first time. We re-discussed Hattie Big Sky. Of course, we had to publicize, which gave us the chance to bust out what is probably our favorite photo. I wish I had a computer version of this so it would show up better, but we did this "old school," we actually cut and pasted our photos on top of American Gothic, no Photoshop, we used scissors and glue.

The thought bubbles that I cut off have Joyce thinking, "Look at that sky!" and my thought response, "Sure is big!"

We had 20 kids and parents show for the discussion, a good number, very manageable and they all fit in the library. Of course the conversations were excellent, very thoughtful and fun.

As it was the first time we discussed Hattie Big Sky, the book was a hit, most of the group putting it among their favorites.

When asked if they thought they could do what Hattie did, I was surprised at the number of parents and kids who thought they could. Put me among those who have not desire to even try.

Of course a Grand Discussion would not be complete without cookies. We had some parents contribute this time so there were plenty of cookies to go around.

All in all it was a wonderful evening and a fabulous way to wrap up our Grand Discussions for the year and prepare for our visit from Kirby Larson.

A Visit With Louise Borden

During all the Looking for Newbery excitement of the past month here at Literate Lives, and the hoopla surrounding the ALA announcements and awards yesterday, I haven't had a chance to squeeze in a piece about a wonderful author who visited our school last week.

Louise Borden spent two wonderful days at our school, and I was amazed at how much she packed into those two days. She did 2 larger assemblies, one for the primary grades and then one for the intermediate grades. In addition, she did a writing workshop lesson with every single student in our school. Even by combining two classes at a time, that was a lot to accomplish in only two days.

I have been a huge fan of Louise's for years. She is a prolific writer, and someone who writes in a variety of genres. One of my favorite books is Just in Time for Christmas. Whenever I read this book during writing workshop, it evokes other stories from my students. They can always pick out a holiday tradition of their own, or a family get together, a food that is special to their family, or a story about a dog. This story just appeals to kids on so many levels. Recently, I have also become very appreciative of Louise Borden's talent when it comes to historical fiction. She writes about people or times in history and makes it very appealing to read.

Writing narrative nonfiction is actually what Louise did her mini-lesson on with my class and one other 5th grade class. I loved that she used mentor text (her own, of course) to make some points about how she writes nonfiction. Isn't that what we as writing teachers are constantly doing -- looking for great mentor text?

She started by saying how nervous she gets when she starts a new piece. She told our students that it all starts with a blank piece of paper, and how overwhelming that can feel at times. How will she possibly fill that page? As I looked around the classroom, I could see several of my students shaking their heads in agreement. They were loving that even Louise Borden worries about the same things that they do as writers from time to time.

Then she got into the "meat" of what she wanted to say about narrative nonfiction. I've tried to capture a few of her thoughts:

• She doesn't use much dialogue when writing nonfiction.

• She "sets up" her nonfiction stories with some type of introduction.

• She writes some of her nonfiction in verse because she feels it makes it easier for the reader.

• Narrative actually means "telling a story", so when she writes narrative nonfiction, she writes it in such a way as to put the reader there in the scene.

• A lot of hard work has to come before actually starting the writing of nonfiction. She does much research, gathering of information, and interviews about her topic.

• She encouraged the students to choose topics of wonder and amazement, because if they are passionate about a topic, the reader will be also.

These points were reflected in the different books she shared with us.

Louise's final message to the children was perhaps the most important. She told the kids to "Read as Writers." What a powerful concept for the children as readers and writers!

We were very fortunate to have Louise Borden visit us and work with us. A huge thank you to her!

James Preller's Visit -- Day Two (Slice of Life)

How you write a mystery with students (James Preller style):

1) You encourage the process of brainstorming, and you follow through with the concept by respecting and honoring all ideas (no matter how silly they might be).

2) You stand in front of the group with chart paper and a marker to capture the group’s thinking because those thoughts are important for the whole group.

3) You ask the students what every mystery contains, and they tell you a CRIME. You celebrate that answer, write it on the chart, and then seek ideas for what possible crimes might have occurred at this elementary school.

4) You listen (oh so patiently) as students suggest crimes: the principal was kidnapped, a computer was stolen, or a Smartboard was stolen. You explain (oh so patiently) that a crime written for elementary students is not likely to be quite so “large” in nature. Then, someone in the peanut gallery (ok, me) makes a suggestion that a University of Connecticut flag in one of the 5th grade rooms might get stolen. As the author, you take this suggestion and write it on the chart, but at the same time bring it back to the students by saying, “Oh my gosh. I’ve never heard a good idea from a teacher before!” Students think this is hysterical, and we’re back on track.

5) Now that we have a crime, it’s time to figure out who our SUSPECTS are. You immediately make it “safe” by saying we won’t be using anyone’s name that is in the room. Then, you give some of the most valuable advice to them as authors for anything they write. You say we need to “show, not tell” what the character is like. If we say the character is a nerd, show a picture with words why that is so. If the suspect is a custodian who doesn’t like children, SHOW, not tell, how you know that. After we brainstorm information about 3 possible suspects, you chart the ideas, and we need to settle on one. But wait! We need to think about the next step first.

6) MOTIVE – what exactly is the motive for each of these possible suspects? You encourage us to do some rethinking about our suspects. Let’s look a little deeper and see what might make one of them take the UConn flag. Was it signed by a team that won the NCAA tournament, and therefore worth some money? Does the suspect possibly have a sick relative or pet, and they can’t pay the medical bills? You, as the author, help the students realize that things aren’t as black and white as they might seem on the surface. Did the suspect feel like he/she was slighted at some point by the owner of the flag? Is this some sort of retribution? With your encouragement, these are the types of motives the students are able to brainstorm as a group.

7) So many great motives. So you have the students look at another mystery element – OPPORTUNITY. We know our list of suspects, we have talked about some motives, but who had the opportunity to get to the flag? We discuss some possibilities together.

8) Time is running out, but you’ve taught the students yet another wonderful writer’s technique. You have modeled the way you think in bits and pieces all over the chart, circling and returning to certain sections over and over. You’ve shown them that brainstorming doesn’t have to be linear – line after line of possible supports for a topic – it can be cyclical. A writer can pick up a thread of thought or an idea at any time. Ideas can be messy, written all over a page, and revisited at the appropriate time.

9) Show the kids that you care about them and the writing piece you are creating together. Have that certain quality that lets students know you like them, and you’re happy to share this opportunity with them.


Both of us at Literate Lives are so grateful to James Preller (he will always be Jimmy to us) for how he enriched both students’ and teachers’ lives in the two days he spent at our school. We are so blessed to have met him, spent time with him, and learned from him!!

James Preller Visit Day One

From recent posts, you know that author James Preller was here last week. Karen and I have been blogging about author visits and time spent with Jimmy for the last several days and we realized we haven't even written about his time with the kids which was fabulous. So for the next two posts we'll be sharing what happened.

Day one was set up like a typical author visit, however, it turned out to be anything but a typical author visit. Each grade level visited the library for a 30 minute time with James Preller. He shared about his books, family, inspirations and life in general. I was amazed at the comfort level Jimmy exhibited in front of our students. It is clear that he is very comfortable with kids, and in fact enjoys spending time with them.

At one point early in the day, I caught myself SHUSHING the younger students. That's right, the LOUD librarian was SHUSHING the kids!! They were excited about something Jimmy had just said and were reacting. He looked at me and said, "It's all right." and the next thing I knew he had complete control over the room once again. It was at that point, with the first group of kids that I knew this was going to be a great two days.

Throughout the day, Jimmy changed his presentation tailoring it to the age of the students listening. The most difficult group was the last one of the day that was made up pre-schoolers, kindergartners and fifth graders. He also changed it so he didn't get bored with a canned speech. I'm thankful for this since I got to hear something different in each of the five sessions.

The younger kids heard Wake Me in Spring, an easy picture book he wrote. Some of the kids got to act out the hiccups as he read Hiccups for Elephant, both experiences kept their interest, and entertained the audience. I was impressed with how well he went with the flow, and adjusted to his audience.

One of my favorite stories was the inspiration for chapter 2 of Jigsaw Jones and the Case of the Million Dollar Mystery. The chapter title is "Green Milk" and involves Jigsaw hiding his broccoli in his milk. In the end, he is busted by his dad and has to drink the obnoxious concoction, but I was fascinated by the fact that the whole chapter was based on something Jimmy heard on the radio, one of the Car Talk guys saying, "You can't hide broccoli in a glass of milk." I later told the kids that this is the big difference between a successful author and most of the rest of us. He heard that line as a great story starter, and I just thought it was funny.

The day ended in THE PIT. Jimmy paid me the ultimate compliment and asked me to show him how a "pro" would read his brand spankin' new book, Mighty Casey. I chose a fifth grade class that had not heard the book so the reaction would be genuine and fun. We were loud and even broke into a wave as the Delmar Dogs came back to tie the game. It was a perfect way to end the incredible first day of James Preller's visit to Bailey Elementary.

Author Visit Advice

So I'm not the resident expert on author visits, but having survived my first one, I think I learned a few things that might help another rookie out there. The first thing I would do is invite James Preller! He was so easy to work with and related to the kids so well, that my job was easy once he arrived. I wonder why I was so tired at the end of the two days? Beyond that advice, here's a list of things that I recommend to anyone arranging an author visit.

First, do some research. I was fortunate to have this blog that helped me reach out to authors, but that doesn't mean others can't find out information and get a sense of an author. Most of the current authors have a blog or website of their own. Start reading them on a regular basis, and you will soon get a feel for their personality. Try commenting on their blog and see if you can strike up an internet conversation. That's really where this visit started. Jimmy commented on a review that Karen did, and pretty soon the three of us are having conversations over email. Not only that, but other teachers in our building were leaving comments on his blog starting conversations of their own. By the time we were ready to approach him, I felt pretty sure that he would be easy to work with and fun to be around. Talk with other teachers and librarians to hear their experiences with authors. In fact, if you've had a great author visit post the name in the comments here at Literate Lives with a brief description of your experience.

Next, find a couple of hard working parent volunteers to help out. Fortunately for me, the PTO has an author visit committee and the chairs, Amy and Keyburn, were already in place. I invited them in to talk over the visit and pitched some names to them. The first decision we had to make was whether we should stay local, and save money or go for a big national name. In true Bailey fashion, and since we hadn't had an author in 3 years or so, they wanted to go big. I had a list of about five authors that had commented on our blog more than once and some sample of their books. Amy and Keyburn were almost immediately drawn to James Preller, and the invitation was issued. These two incredible ladies then took care of all of the travel and entertainment logistics which is a huge piece of this that I could never have handled as well as they did.

The cool thing about working with Jimmy was that I dealt directly with him, no middle person, publicist, agent, etc. It certainly made communication quick and easy. Since I've not worked with an author who has these people, I have nothing to compare it to, but I have to believe it's easier dealing directly with the author. We began an email conversation that took us right up to the day he was flying out of Albany, NY since a big snowstorm threatened his arrival. I learned more about him and how he worked through these notes.

Form a teacher advisory committee. I had a group of teachers representing each grade or area in our building. The purpose of this committee was to help me figure out schedules and logistics. I really tried to limit the actual work that these people were responsible for since their plates are already full. Also, I only called meetings if there was something new, or I needed an answer. Teachers are swamped and they don't need one more meeting. Their expertise and help was invaluable.

Prepare the kids before the author comes. I've been through enough of these visits from the classroom teacher's position to know that time is valuable and needs to be used wisely. I didn't want the kids taking time with James Preller with a lot of biography type questions so I had every class reading his bio on his web site before he got here. The students already knew about his family, pets, writing history, interests, hobbies, etc. By doing this, I think the kids were able to think of better questions about his books, or the life an author. I also read several samples of his writing as they passed through the library. Many of the teachers took the books their students purchased ahead of time and did classroom activities like book clubs so the students were very familiar with the author's work. I will say this did cause some confusion when distributing the books, but it was minor, and I think the benefits far outweighed the glitches.

Don't ask your teachers to do one more thing. From the classroom teacher's standpoint, sometimes these visits turn into more work. It's not that teachers, especially in my building, mind working, it's just that sometimes these visits turn into real dog and pony shows. I didn't ask my staff to make elaborate displays and cover the hallways floor to ceiling with things from the Preller books. Many of the teachers had small, authentic displays that I was sure to show Jimmy and he appreciated them, but honestly, there weren't very many spare minutes for him to look at a lot of hall displays.

If possible, pick the author up at the airport if they are coming in from out of town. The parents considered having a limo pick Jimmy up, but I really wanted to do it, and my friend Karen joined me which made it perfect. This gave us a chance to get to know Jimmy a little more before he came to the school. Be sure to read Karen's Slice of Life about this experience.

On the day of the visit, help your author get to the school early. This gave me a chance to give Jimmy a tour, introduce him to a few people and take care of any last minute set up things. It also gave him a chance to get a feel for his surroundings for the next two days and to sign a few books before the students arrived.

Parent volunteer Amy suggested a dinner at her house rather than a restaurant. This would allow more people to mingle and meet Jimmy in a more relaxed atmosphere. If your author is visiting for more than one day, which I recommend, and you have a parent who is willing and able, this is definitely the way to go. We invited the teacher committee and the PTO executive board and had an incredible evening. Fortunately Jimmy was able to work the crowd comfortably and the PR I gained with the PTO for the next author visit was invaluable.

This post is already too long, but just to wrap it up, my biggest piece of advice is to relax and enjoy your time with the author. The conversations I had with Jimmy during the down times were so enjoyable and rewarding. We talked about everything from our kids, to books, to other authors, to teaching. It was time spent that I will long remember fondly.

Slice of Life

The other day, my partner here (Bill) and I were standing at the Port Columbus airport, looking for James Preller (of Jigsaw Jones, Six Innings, and Along Came Spider fame). That's not as crazy as it sounds. James (we now call him Jimmy!) was coming to our school for an author visit.

As Bill and I stood in the deserted terminal, wondering if Jimmy's flight was delayed because of the powerhouse storm in the east last week, we had to keep pinching ourselves. We couldn't believe our good fortune. Two teachers from Dublin, Ohio, had originally met James Preller via reviews that we had both written. It started as a fun correspondence back and forth on our blogs. Then, Jimmy actually interviewed US at one point -- again, US being just two teachers from Dublin who happen to love books and write about them on a blog. Then, Bill was able to secure James Preller for a 2 day author visit, one day where he would do writing workshops with the intermediate students.

Well, life just continued to get better. Jimmy managed to make his connection in Detroit, and pretty soon I'm hugging and kissing a man I've never met in person before that night. It quickly became clear to both Bill and me that Jimmy was just as excited about meeting us as we were about meeting him. How fun is that?!

We drove him to his hotel, and then the three of us decided to spend some time chatting over drinks. We talked about a wide variety of topics, including our children (all three of us have children, and we each have one in high school). We shared titles of books and talked about the Newbery winners. We talked about the potential uses of blogs, Facebook, and Twitter.

But, the main thing that struck me throughout this experience was how our blogs had connected us in the beginning, and our inter-connectedness (is that even a word?) has continued. How fortunate we are in this blogging community to get to know people we might not otherwise have an opportunity to do so.

I know Bill and I (and many of our colleagues!) feel very fortunate to have gotten to know the man who is the author. I'm so glad Jimmy was able to make his connection, and Bill and I were there to greet him!!

James Preller (Part II)

I just have to tag on to what Bill said yesterday about James Preller.

On a professional note, I am delighted that James Preller will be coming to our school, and I'm especially looking forward to watching him do some writing workshop-style seminars with our older students. As I read his blog, I love his writing tips, and I will be using them for revision mini-lessons in my classroom to enhance our writing workshop before he even comes for his visit. I trust that the students will love meeting an author whose blog we will be following.

On a personal note, when I opened my email Tuesday, and saw an email for me from James Preller, I have to tell you --that was way too cool!!! How often does an author, whose work you enjoy, email you? For me, not many, which makes it all the more exciting! His email had a link back to his blog, sharing that his editor just called him to let him know Six Innings had been named to the New York Public Library's "100 Titles for Reading and Sharing." Congratulations to James for the well-deserved recognition his Six Innings received!

We look forward to our visit with James Preller at Bailey! Kudos to Bill for orchestrating all of this.

James Preller's Coming!

As part of my job in the library, I'm responsible for hosting an author at our school, every other year. We haven't done it in at least two, and probably three years, since I played the "rookie" card last year. I knew I wasn't getting out of it this year, so I met with the PTO chairmoms for the author visit and threw some things out for them to consider.

The first, and probably biggest, was to decide how big we wanted to go. We had a choice of going with a local person which would make the communication, travel and expenses easier, or we could try to get a big national name in, although I was a bit afraid we might be too late for this. Not surprisingly, they opted for the big national name and I wasn't totally disappointed, why not go big. I had prepared a list of authors that I thought we could still get based on visits to their websites and showed them some of the books for each that we had on hand in the library.

Almost immediately, they went for James Preller, author of the Jigsaw Jones Mystery series for our younger readers, Along Came Spider(Karen's review) and Six Innings for our older readers. I was more than excited about their choice, since my partner, Karen, had communicated with James on numerous occasions through our blog. In addition to Karen, my friends Maria and Joyce have had electronic conversations with him, so there was a natural tie-in to our building.

And so the wheels were in motion. The only real snag we hit was that he wanted to come for 2 days to make the travel worth while, understandable. I was unable to find another interested building, so I threw out the idea of having a two day visit. The first, a typical author visit day, the second a more intimate writer's workshop, if you will, with smaller groups. James has been more than accommodating and my library committee is excited about the possibilities, too.

Today I got two pieces of good news that make me even more excited for March. The first is that the flight is booked, so James Preller is coming, and the second is that his book, Six Innings, that I reviewed here was recently chosen as a New York Public Library Top 100 book! Read more about it here. Congratulations, James! Bailey is looking forward to your visit.