Looking for a love story? Try Qwikpick…

 The Qwikpick Adventure Society did not make the Horn Book’s list of Love Stories.
In fact, even people who tell me they liked the book almost never mention the love story.
 But to me, that’s at the heart of the book. It’s Lyle’s love for Marilla that gives the story meaning for me. (It may help that [...]

While we’re on the subject of Qwikpick…

Someone posted a review on GoodReads that had this nifty and nice little line about Qwikpick:
Excellent pick for reluctant readers — the How to Eat Fried Worms for the 21st century.
I’ll be busy needlepointing that onto a pillow…

“Mostly Harmless” Qwikpick is one of Bank Street College’s Best Children’s Books of the Year

Yes, yes, I know I’ve tooted that horn before. But today I got a copy of my section of the book from my editor.
 
I’m not sure, but I think Qwikpick my be listed under “holiday” books. That’s great, because I think it makes a swell holiday story. There’s certainly no treacle in it. but it does [...]

Booksigning & other news

Whew! Cece’s Blog Tour has been amazing fun! Check out a few of the interviews and articles if you haven’t yet at Blog Tour HQ.  If you’d like to see a Mutant Bird read the book, try the Plastic Pumpkins link. And enter the contest to win an actual illustration from the book starting Saturday.
Speaking of Saturday… [...]

Sweet Daisy’s new Nasty Poem

You folks remember Sweet Daisy, right? Well, she’s struck again. With a brand new poem!

At an early Qwikpick Instant Poetry Contest she composed a funny, to the point, stinky poem. (Stinky poems are part of my book, The Qwikpick Adventure Society, and I use that section of the book to get kids to write short, [...]

Meeting a real fan…

It was quite a week! Did I mention I did 7 shows at 3 schools in 2 days? Good times!
At one of those shows I launched into my thing and this kid announces that he was the Penny Basketball Champion at a show I did last year. (In case you’re not hep to the Qwikpick [...]

Unpaid, unhyped school visits: priceless

Today was a freebie visit to a local school for some sort of reading week they were having. On my way there i realized I didn’t have my stuff and had to zoom back home and the back to town and just barely made it. Nobody there seemed to know who I was …  in [...]

Qwikpick’s (second) Cybil Nomination!

As I may have mentioned earlier, Qwikpick got nomination for a Cybil again this year — and this time by someone I didn’t have to pay!
While, Qwikpick won’t actually get to compete again, I was so pleased by the nomination that I wrote to the librarian in question to say thanks. She agreed to let me [...]

Best Gross Poem Ever?

Cece and I had a wild time on our recent Author Visit to Hopewell, Va.
We met some great kids and …. AND … I may have gotten the best gross poem ever.

In case you don’t know… The kids in my book, The Qwikpick Adventure Society, journey across the suburbs in search of the legendary Fountain [...]

Avocado of Death Week: McPinkwater

Some people have trouble understanding why the appearance of, say, a big ugly stripmall with a bunch of big and little box stores is a bad thing. (Yes, really! I know this because I write a newspaper column and people write back. Some people think stripmalls are doing us a big favor!)
To understand the horror [...]