MY BOOKS - tease

Spent the morning playing around as I gear up to revamp my website. With THE AWESOME ALMOST 100% TRUE ADVENTURES of MATT and CRAZ getting closer to pub date (April 2013!) I think it is time to think about changing the look of my website.

I created this little teaser that puts all of my books into one small package. Not sure where to put it - so for now, this is as good a spot as any!

THUBER HOUSE: COVER TO COVER VISIT

While in Columbus doing my Thurber House residency I was invited to do a book signing at the wonderful COVER TO COVER children's book store on N. High St. The store is run by Sally Oddi, and she and I had been corresponding ever since Pond Scum came out and she wrote a review of the book - so it was especially sweet to be able to finally make the personal contact!

The attendance was petite but ENTHUSIASTIC and there was planety of participation and laughter as I shared some of my new book, MILO with them! Bonus of the event was meeting face to face with Mary Lee from A Year Of Reading (in salmon shirt on right) - sadly, co-blogger Franki was out of town at a conference.

Then came the fun ritual of adding my name to their "Author Wall" - which you can see displayed behind everyone (above).

I felt honored to become part of the woodwork of Cover To Cover! And here is the message I left!

Thanks to everyone at COVER TO COVER for making my visit so much fun!

THURBER HOUSE: WEEK ONE

Mr. Thwaits, the gym teacher who stopped exercising 20 years ago...
(from MILO -drawn at the Thurber House July 22nd, 2008)

Arrived last Saturday and by Sunday Morning I was writing and drawing cartoons for MILO sitting at my desk inside James Thurber's house! Let me say that again: I was writing and drawing cartoons inside James Thurber's house. I can't describe the giddy feeling I get each time I do this (and I've been doing it every day since I've been here).

Of course before I did any of that - I got my month-long "office" in shape. The Thurber House apartment has a neat 2nd bedroom that is the "office" with a great long desk, which I quickly made my own with items from home....

(clay MILO my son made me, Japanese water easel, EYE-VY plant

also made by my son for my 1st second book WHIRLED...)

(...and here are the characters from my 2nd second book
SQUIB PIXLEY - yes, made by my son - and wife!)
(..and who could travel without 3-D images of your family to keep you company!)

Let me share what I know - 77 Jefferson Ave (where I now sit in the attic) is just one of Thurber's Columbus homes. Apparently the Thurbers moves around a lot. But this is the home where he lived while attending Ohio State University and it is the house referred to in most of the stories collected in My Life And Hard Times.

The week marched quickly and in between my own writing, a few bike rides and some needed iced coffee runs - I taught two library workshops and two Thurber Writing Camp workshops. I love the energy of brainstorming and creating with kids - and from my POV anyway, we all had a blast!

One of many high-points of the week though was a total surprise event! I read a comment on my first Thurber Blog post - from a librarian here in the Columbus area who just happened to be doing a Pond Scum book discussion for kids and parents. "Could you maybe drop by?" she asked.

(There we are after an hour of fun discussion and many grossed-out Pond Scummy munchies! On the LEFT is amazing Upper Arlington librarian, Kate Hastings, who also writes a wonderful book discussion blog Talkin' Bout Books! Thanks again and it was great meeting everyone!)

There was plenty of time for some exploring which included - The Jazz and Rib Festival (note: when full from taste-testing many different ribs listen to STOMACH! Do not eat more ribs even though the smells of 50 different rib joints from around the country will tell you otherwise!
I also went to one of the last films in the OHIO Theater Summer film series. "The Third Man" is a film noir classic and to see it in the 1920's era restored theater complete with an organist who plays before the show (and rises up on the white organ from the orchestra pit like some sort of musical god!) It was a real treat. Check out the OHIO THEATER here!

I know I hinted about the Thurber Ghost....but that will have to wait until next time when I tell you about hunting for a banjo.... at Bob's Banjo Barn!!!

AND AWAY WE GO!

Bon Voyage! Well, I'm officially off on my Thurber House adventure. This is me (and me) standing by the packed car just before driving off from Montreal towards Columbus. I'm writing this from my clean Travelodge hotel room in a little Ontario town called Chatham, which is about 2 hours west of Toronto.

It's all so exciting - which is what I kept telling myself as I listened to music and drove 8 hours away from the comfort of home and into the absolute unknown of what will be my next 4 weeks!

Tomorrow I cross the US border and visit one of my oldest friends outside of Ann Arbor, MI - then Saturday - it's down to Ohio and I move into the Thurber House! Wow. It's finally really happening!

To be continued.....

CLOSE TO HOME

"BOOKS will take you ANYWHERE!"

Here's the thing: I travel a lot doing POND SCUM/CREATIVITY workshops and most of the time I am far from home (no complaints - I like hotel beds with TV remotes within easy reach!). What this means though - I hardly ever do local schools or libraries. Sure, I've done a hand-few but it's as if I'm a secret here in Montreal that only gets whispered about now and again.

Recently, however I was part of something AMAZING - the Blue Metropolis Literary Festival, which for the first time this year, decided to have a separate Children's Program. It was a wonderful experience - and I was amazed that my workshop was full to the brim with 360 kids!

(that's just HALF of the huge room filled with eager brains!)

TODAY was another special LOCAL visit - thanks to the lively, efficient and oh-so-thoughtful librarian, Debbie Poirier, I was booked into the amazing Saint John Fisher School just outside Montreal (easy drive = no airplane time!)

Reason ONE why this was nice: (see picture)

(nothing nicer to this author than welcoming treats! Thanks, Deb!)

Reason TWO: Another life-lesson in my ongoing "Go with the flow" experiences.

You see, I've got my presentation down pretty good - and it's filled with humor and interactivity and cartoons and...Me. But sometimes there's a glitch... no projector, or the mic I ordered doesn't work, or the kids think I'm somebody else whose written a book about Alien-Basketball players or something.

My motto: No Worries! I pride myself on staying Zen-like and making anything work....

So today - when we were presented with a small glitch - (no easel for the drawing board I use to do my cartooning)...We went quickly with Plan B: HUMAN EASELS! (if you look closely at the picture you can see I have a kid-volunteer holding the white board while I draw).

It was actually an additional funny thing that added laughs and extra kid-involvement to the morning - and I thank each and every one of you kids who helped me out! (I'll be happy to be an easel for you anytime!)

So winding down I guess it comes down to this: I love to travel...but there's no place like home....and a great librarian who serves snacks!

RED CEDAR AWARDS

Nothing makes a writer feel more like a WRITER than a labeled chair and 700 kids thrilled to be part of something incredible. POND SCUM was one of the nominated books in this year's Red Cedar Awards, which took place this past weekend just outside Vancouver.

The annual event brings kids from all around the area who take part in reading all of the nominated books and then voting for their favorite (both non-fiction and fiction). Now THAT is my kind of event - because the kids who take part are taking part out of total enthusiasm! And as you can imagine when you (well, when I) walk into a gymnasium filled with enthusiastic readers....it takes more than a chair to contain this fiction author!

Apart from the workshops we gave - there were the 2 ceremonies to announce the winners. The cool part was that the nominated authors got to walk into the ceremony in a procession fit for royalty! Each author was accompanied by kids holding a banner for their "author".

my wonderful sign holders

the hysterical Richard Scrimger

But WAIT! That's not all - instead of each nominated book simply being announced - the kids did a SKIT that introduced each book to the other kids in the audience. Some skits enacted something from the book, some read excerpts - but all of them were done by the kids who'd read the books and felt strongly about them.

Here's a picture of my great group - enacting a scene from my book that embraces the whole theme of the story. It was so perfect - and done with the kind of excitement that makes everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING) seem worthwhile.

Just look at them! So amazing!

Okay, so Pond Scum didn't win the fiction award. That honor went to THE CRAZY MAN, a beautiful book written by the amazing Pamela Porter (Congrats again, Pam!). But you don't need awards when you get to have the gift of a weekend filled with kids, other writers and the most lovely organizers you can imagine.

And for a guy who spends most days talking only to his dog and staring at a computer screen - it was great to meet some other authors and hpend time hearing about their own crazy lives living on the edge of sanity and silence!

Nominees Ken Oppel, Vicki Grant, moi

So - thank you to all the kids, teachers, librarians and organizers who took part in making and this year's Red Cedar Awards such a fantastic experience - and thanks to everyone who stopped by to say "hi"! It was a great weekend!

IT'S FOREIGN TO ME

It's been a cool day. The envelope from my agent contained a new book - MY book.
In German.

It's like publication day all over again! Seeing a book jacket is always a buzz. I'm thrilled my book got this foreign sale, and ever since knowing it was being translated - I've been wicked excited to find out how they were going to translate the title, POND SCUM?

You have to know one thing: I love my title. In fact, the title POND SCUM was the first thing I had before even knowing what my story was. The title dictated to me what kind of story I had to write. It was a gift from the sky (more to the point, a gift from my friend's pond where leeches started sucking on my legs and he said, "Watch out for the pond scum.")

Up until this morning I had no idea what the title would be. I didn't want to know. I love surprises...as long as I can control them!

And you know what? I'm fine that the 2 word simplicity of "POND" and "SCUM" have now become the multi-syllabic "Oliver und die Verschworung im Schilf". A bit less easy on the tongue - but hey, so is wiener-schnitzel!

After much speculation by my family and I over what exactly the title meant, my trusty translator spelled it out for me (or so I think): "Oliver and the Conspiracy in the Weeds", which certainly gives a plot-descriptive heads up to the reader, without conveying the "Eoww, gross" I so love.

But I'm not complaining. I'm thrilled. So break out the black forest cake and raise a glass.

Oliver und die Verschworung im Schilf has arrived....in Germany.

WRITE WHEN YOU GET WORK....

I realized a long time ago that aside from licking mailing labels and washing dishes at several of New England's finer eateries - my manual labor skill set could not compete with the sizzle of my brain, which was light years away from anything that involved soapy water and burned popover pans.

Being "creative" is a label we writers wear on our sleeves, or if it's summer, someplace that hopefully shows more skin. We creatives are branded and in today's marketplace we all know a brand is a good thing so perhaps we should work harder to exploit this Writer Brand and all get permanent WRITER TATTOOS to set us apart from the normal world. It would be like the scarlet "A", only it would be a "W" which would clearly mean to everyone we meet: "Watch out while I say something clever."

I have had many non-creative jobs and many more creative ones - and I guess the point is, I can't NOT be a writer because there really is nothing else my brain lets me be...except lazy, which I'm actually trying to perfect as my next "brand".

I write because I have to...Because I want to...Because I can't wash dishes very well or drive a school bus. Of course I can write about that school bus driver, who is also writer...who might just be a guy like me with a monster in his brain who devours any thoughts of mundane employment!

And on that note: Time to go write!

THURBER HOUSE PICKS ME!

I've been sitting on this news for a month now - keeping my promise not to blab until it was time to tell... Well my friends - that time is NOW!

(FANFARE) Alan Silberberg (that would be me) has been selected as this year's James Thurber House Children's Author in Residence. YAY!!!!!

You can read about the residency program and see the nice things the Thurber House folks say about me on their site, which now means I'll be showering them all with chocolate-type gifts when I arrive in Columbus, Ohio this summer.

I look forward to sharing all of the great details with you - but for anyone who has ever planned a bar mitzvah (insert wedding, anniversary dinner, huge party) - I am swamped in my own lovely chaos of prepping for this wonderful event (Saturday -eek!).

So for now - to see how I really feel - just CLICK ON THE HOUSE that I get to call home for four weeks this summer!

And now that the you know the news stay tuned for lots more about what it means to receive this incredible honor...and live in a house with ghosts!!

FIVE THINGS re. "ME"

Thanks to old pal Sully - I've been tagged with the "5 Things" meme thang. CLICK the image to see it BIG - or squint along with the rest!

And now the"tag, you're it" goes to 5 others - who hopefully have not yet fulfilled this enlightened task - and also will not hate me for it!
Comedic genius and peepster, Lisa Yee
Adrienne at "What Adrienne Thinks About That"
Gregory K. of "Gotta Book"
Crazed librarians, Carl and Bill of "Boys Read-Boys Rule!"
Illustrator and Montreal-bookmate, Susan Mitchell

BOYS READING POND SCUM

What's up with the cheeseburger? You'll have to go visit this amazingly awesome site to find out:
BOYS RULE! BOY'S READ!

BR-BR (as I refer to it) is run by two whacked out librarians at the Charlotte/Mecklenburg, NC public library. (if you don't believe me check out the photos of Carl and Bill found on their blog page!)

Their mission: "A place for boys to find terrific books and tell other boys about great reading."

And you know - anyone who holds high the task of getting GUYS to read - holds a high spot on my reading list.


Carl and Bill (who I met via JacketFlap - and if you haven't joined yet, why not?) seem dedicated and nutty - a perfect combination when it comes to dealing with any reader-population, but especially boys.

So - check out their site, spread the word, see why I like cheeseburgers better than pizza. I double dare ya!

GREAT SCHOOLS - GREAT KIDS

Traveling from school to school here in the CyFair school district of Houston I was thrilled to steal a relaxing minute in the cozy reading tub at the Matzke Elementary Library.

The same wonderful room also had a faux front porch complete with comfy chairs and plenty of books casually scattered within a small hand's easy reach.

Because back home I spend way too much time sitting at my desk talking to the monkeys - these last two weeks have been such a fun, eye-opening journey where I've gotten a chance to be inside wonderful school libraries, meet terrific - inspiring librarians and the kids - WOW - such amazing, bright, creative attentive kids.

I've been starting my workshops by illustrating what my brain was like as a kid - and then I use POND SCUM to help me swirl through creative blasts of writing tips using my cartoon-doodles and lots of kid-interactivity!

So here I am - watching Game Two of the Red Sox World series, feeling already wistful that after 18 schools and 36 presentations - I am left with tomorrow, the last day of my wonderful trip (just 4 presentations to go).

Tonight it's baseball and the satisfaction of having reached countless kids and being able to laugh every day while letting creativity run loopy with doodles, reading, and lots of my own Pond Scum. (speaking of which - I have never signed so many books!)



It just doesn't get much better than this!

POND SCUM AND THE BOOK DIVAS

When I arrived in Houston on Sunday - Paula Morgan knew exactly how to make sure she picked up the right person at the airport. (I can only imagine what the other travelers at baggage claim were thinking!) Paula is the librarian at Sampson Elementary School and the woman who coordinated my 10 day/20 school Pond Scum blitz.

Starting Monday (bright and early) I immediately learned that the CyFair Independent School District is a unique fantastic system of schools with librarians filled with joy and excitement, which makes an author-type feel like a million bucks. I also learned that not only was I being hosted by amazing educators - but I was mingling with Librarian Royalty because these CyFairians are none other than the BOOK DIVAS of TLA and ALA synchronized book cart fame! (I know many of you have had the pleasure of seeing them in book cart action)

I am sure the video below does not do them justice - but I have seen the official Book Divas Calendar in one or two offices - and maybe I can get one as a parting gift of my author visit! Check them out - then imagine these fantastic folks are my hosts!!!



I visit 2 schools a day and do 2 presentations at each. After 4 full days I can tell you that these kids are fantastic (mostly 4th and 5th) and so full of energy and eagerness. I'm trying some new ideas and it's all been going very well (so far) and I'm having a great time integrating my cartooning and Pond Scum in a fun, interactive talk about writing and creativity.


I've got lots more to talk about - but I have to gear up for the Red Sox's last hurrah (oh, how I've been here before).

I'll post more over the weekend and report on the great food I've been eating, some more about the Horned Toad Tales list and my dinner with my Rhinestone Reader pen-pal (tomorrow night).

RHINESTONE READERS ROCK

When someone who reads your book reaches out to say "hi" it's always a wonderful feeling. When that person writes to tell you that she and her friends are part of a summer reading contest called "Name That Book" and that she wants POND SCUM to be the first book that her club is going to read - well, then you go crazy and want to know exactly how the meeting was, etc.

Kendall asked my permission to hand out a "biography" of me at the meeting and she worked hard to write a wonderful piece. Not only did I hear that the first meeting was great (and apparently included quality pool time) But Kendall's mom served dirt cake and gummy worms to go with the book - and they sent me this picture of the whole bunch reading the book. And as a writer - these little connections matter so much and I'll tell you - it doesn't get better than this!

The Rhinestone Readers (pictured above!) have made my summer! Thanks girls!

A bonus to the whole thing: when I found out in what part of the country the girls lived I realized I am already visiting the Rhinestone Reader's school district this fall - and you know what? Whether their school is on my tour or not - I told Kendall I want to meet her - and I've been in touch with her mom and guess who's coming to dinner? Me!

And thanks to this wonderful photo - I have absolute proof that Pond Scum isn't just a "boy's book" and that it's waterproof!

NEVER GIVE UP - NEVER SURRENDER

Do you ever feel like you'll never be able to write a cohesive creative sentence again? Or that it was a fluke - a HUGE mistake that some editor or agent actually liked your work (and maybe even published it!)

Been having a few of those days this week - ready to toss in the towel and see about going into something safe and stable - as soon as my application at Dunkin' Donuts goes through.

So - I'm away from Montreal - in Boston, visiting my wife, who has a summer job here. My son is with me and we enrolled him in a cool cybercamp thing where he's learning FLASH animation and me, I drive him there then sit in Starbucks, or in the wonderful Wellesly town library and fret about being a hack!

This morning I was in Starbucks, actually making a little progress - headphones on, listening to the Garden State soundtrack (again). But two women are talking at a table next to me and the spiteful beast in me wishes they would go away! Go talk somewhere appropriate - not in a coffee shop!

But as soon as the soundtrack ends - I eavesdrop (duh!) - and they are talking children's books. And then I see it - a paperback copy of POND SCUM is on the table. Now, this is too weird, I think. I must say hello to these two perfect people.

Hello, I say. That book there. Pond Scum...I wrote that.

The woman to my right jumps up and says, "I'm Kit Blundo!" (Kit Blundo is the Manager of Individual Giving of REACH OUT AND READ - the organization I donated 300 books to last spring and a person I have never met, but corresponded with. )

A delightful conversation ensued - reminding me that some higher power out there (or up there or in there) wants me to write. I signed the copy of my book to the other woman's son and hugs were shared all around.

If ever I needed a boost - today was that day - and it came so simply and with such humor that I have been smiling all day long.

Note to Higher Power: Thanks for the lift - next time I see you, iced lattes are on me.

LOOK WHAT HAPPENED...

I wrote the book ...but a bunch of kids did the rest!

All I can say is, "It's a honor to be an Honour. Thanks you guys!"

HORNED TOAD TALES

This Saturday if you're in the Houston area, specifically the Cypress-Fairbanks burb - then you just have to drop in at this Barnes and Nobles.

The Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School System is celebrating their second annual Horned Toad Tales list by having their school librarians and media specialists read excerpts from the selected books every hour.

And what books are on this list of recommended reads for kids in 3rd - 5th grade?
Take a look!

And yes....(blush-blush) Pond Scum is hopping around with the toads (much better than sleeping with the fishes)!

Thanks Horned Toad Tales committee - and have a blast this weekend!

IF YOU LIKE IT - LINK IT!

It's no news that being an author means having to "BE" so many other things. "Researcher", "Actor", even "Guy-Who-Naps-Often" are all roles that can sometimes add bolts of electricity to the creative process (well - mine anyway).

There's one role however that just saps my juice - that's the dreaded "Publicist" role. I know, until any of us achieve the pinnacle of publishing success where books just fly off shelves while we toil at our keyboards - this is a job for us. It's Author 101 that to sell our books - we have to use the ol' DIY approach to get the word out there.

Don't get me wrong - though all-consuming, I don't mind doing this stuff (tho I write a lousy press release). I'm thrilled to bits-of-chocolate that in promoting Pond Scum I've made wonderful connections with terrific people, places and bookshelves. It's just a lot of work...time that might be devoted to actually finishing a follow-up book!

All that to say I just spent the last week having a BLAST making a BOOK TRAILER to celebrate the PAPERBACK release of my book. Yeah, BIG FUN making it....way too much wasted time trying to get a decent-looking copy onto one of the sharing sites...(YouTube, GoogleVideo, et al) they convert my tiny crisp file into mud...so at the risk of spending even more time solving this one...please view the above Quicktime movie or for an even bigger image, my WEBSITE.

And remember: IF YOU LIKE IT - LINK IT!

That's my publicist pitch anyway - and thanks in advance!

NOT JUST A FLOOR WAX...

So it was in a moment of pure brain-cell-meltdown that I took a break from Book #2 and wandered to the GOOGLE button to see what's what with that thing that we shall call Book #1.

Obviously, to me - POND SCUM is a book, a fabulous book, a book now out in paperback!

But imagine my surprise to see what else is going on with the gooey stuff:

Pond Scum a possible cure for Alzheimers!

Pond Scum the next big thing in biofuel? (note to self: order that hybrid car now...)

Pond Scum as art??? (I was surprised to see this creative force comes from Montreal!)

Pond Scum and a connection to John Water's new Court TV television series. Wow - if any director could bring my book to life...it probably wouldn't be Mr. "Hairspray" Waters - but lucky for us all the script for this episode of his new show is here to peruse!

There were plenty of other uses: many "lawyers are pond scum", "boyfriends are pond scum", and apparently to the St. Louis Cardinal fans - the NY Mets are pond scum too.

With so many useful (and abusive) applications of my title I ask YOU - if "POND SCUM" has new meaning in your life?