Cynthia Lord's Blog, page 30

Hamster meets Kyle Larson!

"NASCAR driver Kyle Larson read the book 'Hot Rod Hamster' to wildly cheering students at Oakmont Elementary School."



This school won a reading challenge sponsored by Auto Club Speedway, a racetrack in California. They won a visit from Kyle Larson, a ride in his car for their principal, and a $2,000 check for their library.

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Very cool!

Boston!

Yesterday, I went to Boston to meet up with my daughter, Julia, and my friend, Debbi. We had a wonderful time!  What do two children's authors and a library student do in the city?  Bookstores and cupcakes!

We went to Harvard Square and visited the Havard Coop, their big bookstore. It looked a bit like Hogwarts!



We headed right for the children's department!

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Debbi and Julia

We visited the Make Way for Ducklings statues, which all wore bright green bows for St. Patrick's Day.


Me and Debbi.

We went shopping on Newbury Street.



And went to Georgetown Cupcakes!



Julia and I had Cherry Blossom cupcakes and Debbi tried Chocolate Mint!

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It was a beautiful day!

Home From South Carolina!

I had such a wonderful time in South Carolina. I met so many great kids and teachers and librarians. It was a very special trip.



Thank you to the students in Rock Hill, West Pelzer, Taylors, and Greenville. You all touched my heart in so many ways.




Even though I didn't get home from the airport until 1 am this morning, I immediately set down my suitcase and opened the package that my husband told me had come while I was away. The South Carolina Picture Book medal for Hot Rod Hamster from the children of South Carolina. It was the perfect end to my visit.




Hamster would love this.

Greenville, South Carolina

Yesterday, I had some time off and a friend who lives in the Greenville area picked me up and showed me around. What a beautiful place!

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There are lovely flowers and pathways in the park and beautiful waterfalls.



One of the special things about Greenville are the little mouse statues around town. It was fun to discover them!



In one of the stores downtown, they sell replicas and I bought one.

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Here, my mouse is being introduced to one of the downtown mice.

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Such a pretty downtown!  My friend, Beverly, took me out to supper for southern barbeque.



We had a great time!

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You betcha. :-)

The white stuff

Here's what's happening at my house in Maine today:



My home is in the 12-18" of snow range, but here in South Carolina, this is the white that I see:

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Hello from South Carolina!

I'm in South Carolina for a week of school visits, and what a nice welcome. This week in Maine we're expecting close to a foot of snow. But my winter-weary soul got off the plane in South Carolina and sang, "PANSIES!"

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Cookie says. . . .

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Happy St. Patrick's Day, Everyone!

Heading Home

I'm heading off to the airport in a few mintues to fly home to Maine, but I had such a nice time with everyone at Bailey Elementary School in Dublin, Ohio that I'm sorry to go! Thank you to Amy and Christine and everyone on the PTO for sponsoring my visit and making me feel so welcome as soon as I arrived.

Thank you to the teachers for preparing the students so well and for all your enthusiasm and warmth.

Thank you to the students for your attention and participation and for being so open and thoughtful and fun.

And a big special thank you to Bill Prosser for *everything!* Bill and Yvonne make the Bailey library a joyous, vibrant place.


Me and Bill (the art teacher drew this on their whiteboard wall! I was very impressed with it!)

Xander Meets The Author

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At my school visit, Mrs. Caplin's fifth graders in Dublin, Ohio told me they had read my blog and loved my pets. They also have interesting pets, including Xander, their class lizard. I went up to their room to see him.

"Wow. Can I hold him?" I asked.

Thank you to Xander and everyone at Bailey Elementary School for a fabulous visit!!!
 

Hello from Ohio!

I’m having a wonderful time with the students and teachers at Bailey Elementary School in Dublin, Ohio. The kids have been great and asked thoughtful questions, and some of the first graders even made cards to welcome me. I loved all of them, but here are a few:



Thank you for a fantastic day!



And I get to spend another day here tomorrow!

Hooray!