Irene Latham's Blog, page 184

BILLY COLLINS, HOW I LOVE THEE

Wow, what a week! LEAVING GEE'S BEND made the Spring Indie Next Kids List (along with other great books like Hex Hall! The Secret Year! Split!), and a pic of little 'ol me was featured in Publisher's Weekly Children's Bookshelf!! And today I am hosting Poetry Friday Roundup, which is one of my most favorite things to do.

And after much debate, I've selected a Billy Collins poem. Because hubby and I have tickets to see Billy tonight! (Yes, Billy and I are on a first name basis. Or at least...

STITCHING OUR STORIES: CONNIE SPARKS, MEDIA SPECIALIST EXTRAORDINAIRE

Remember at the start of the year when I vowed to include video on ye old blog at least once a week? Well. I sorta missed last week. And not for lack of footage! Because....

Remember also earlier this month after I visited a great little school in Florence, Alabama, how I mentioned their creativity and enthusiasm in hosting "The Quilts of Brooks Elementary?"

Basically, Connie Sparks, Media Specialist Who Sets the Bar for School Visits EXTREMELY High, asked teachers to bring in family quilts...

FAN MAIL AND OTHER FABULOUSNESS

Have I mentioned before that I love February? Yep. And most especially THIS February. Here's why:


1. Fan Mail!! That's right, I have fans. Well, to be more precise, I have a teacher who asked her kids to write me letters after I visited their school. Still counts. Thanks, kids!






2. Snow. All Mario wanted to do was eat it! But aren't his little paw prints SO CUTE?










3. The Bookstore in Huntsville. Had a great signing with so many wonderful folks... and Bonnie and Jennifer even brought...

IT'S RAINING ARCS!!

What a good problem to have -- too many books! I'll keep my reviews Twitter-short. Suffice it to say you don't want to miss any of these!


HEX HALL by Rachel Hawkins: Witches, vamps and one very hot boy! Lots of laughs and "whoa!" moments in this one. (Which is not surprising, because that's exactly what it's like to hang out with LadyHawkins!)


NICE AND MEAN by Jessica Leader: Girls will be girls. And some think in video! Crazy-real dialogue and relationships here. Go, Jess!


THE SECRET YEAR ...

HELLO, I'M A GEORGIA PEACH!

...which made it especially awesome when I visited Wesley Lakes Elementary School yesterday in McDonough, GA, which is just southwest of Atlanta.

Here I am signing a book for a lovely young reader.



This is me laughing at something one of the kids said at the fancy lunch the PTO had set up for me and some Very Special Young Writers.



Here's a group of kids with really excellent taste in reading material. :)



And here I am with the people who made it all possible: Amazing PTO Mom Eboni Manley, Prin...

SEVEN REASONS I LOVE FLORENCE, ALABAMA

1. The kids. This group is from Underwood Elementary School, but they were all FABULOUS. The question each group asked that I wasn't expecting: what is your favorite book that you've written? Me: that's a little like asking your mama who's her favorite kid!



2. Media specialist Jerry Whitten and Principal Kevin Moore. Not only did they give me a big ol' welcome, but they also called in the media! If I'd known, I might have worn something different.... but, Brooke Frankel wrote a fabulo...

2K10 FEEL THE LOVE GIVEAWAY!

I gotta say, after all the loveliness in Florence, I am most definitely feeling the love! And I am dying to tell you all about it.

But first, how would you like to win some great books and other cool stuff??

To enter, head on over to Class of 2k10 and give a shout-out to somebody YOU love.

And if you're driving down I-65 and see these shoes on the side of the road...

... I HAD to toss them because they did such horrible things to my feet! (Lesson learned: get a pair of cute slippers like Amaz...

LIVE FROM FLORENCE

... where there's great art and old buildings and interesting people and food to die for. And no, I'm not talking Italy.

Florence, ALABAMA. Where this week I'm staying with dear friend Pat and visiting these fabulous schools: Underwood Elementary, Riverhill Elementary, Brooks Elementary, and Hibbett Middle School. And that's not all.


I'm also presenting a program at Florence-Lauderdale Library Thursday evening. It's a FABULOUS library with even more fabulous librarians. Jennifer and Jessi...

CELEBRATE NEW VOICES

I love February. Partly because it's my birthday month, partly because it's when spring arrives in Alabama, and partly because it's shorter than all the other months and deserves some extra love.

Which MUST BE the reason they put Valentine's Day in this month.

So yay for February! And yay for the following authors and their books, soon to be on shelves near you:


by Josh Berk. I'm happy to report I've read this one. And it's AWESOME!


by Suzanne Young, who just got a brand spanking new book dea...

PROOF THAT I CAN WRITE THROUGH ANYTHING

...because I can write downstairs while my son Eric is upstairs doing THIS: