Cynthia Lord's Blog, page 64

Здравствуйте! (Hello!)

My boarding passes are printed. My paperwork is all filled out.  And I managed to cram everything into one suitcase and a laptop bag. 

Yesterday when I was running errands, I saw a beautiful huge bird fly over the highway in front of me. It was the first bald eagle I've seen this year. I'm taking that as a good omen for my trip.



This map shows the three places I'll be visiting.  Most of my time is in Minsk, but I have a day trip to Polatsk (which was founded in 862) in the north and Baranovichy in the south.  I'm delighted that I'll get to see some of the countryside, as well as the city. 

As I got dressed this morning, I put on some funny socks that I bought when I visited Vermont last year.  They're white and black cow-spotted. No one will see them, because they'll be under my winter boots.  But I'll know they're there, and they'll remind me not to take anything too seriously.  When challenges inevitably come in getting from Maine to Minsk, I can think to myself. "Okay, maybe so. But I'm wearing cow socks" and that will make me smile. 



:-) 

Five Things on a Friday

Back Cove, New Harbor, Maine. Photo by my husband, John

1.  Thank you to the librarians of South Carolina for nominating Touch Blue to the South Carolina Children's Book Award list!  I'm so pleased! 

2.  I'll be flying across the Atlantic Ocean while the Super Bowl is happening this year.  But since I'll be flying from JFK on that leg of my trip, I'll probably be sitting with a plane full of Giants fans.  As a New Englander, if I hear my plane-mates cheering or groaning, I'll assume I should do the opposite! 

3.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to access my blog or Facebook or my email server in Belarus. So if you don't hear from me, it simply may be that I can't open those sites.  So don't worry, Mom and Dad. 

4.  Groundhog Day is a strange holiday!  But there's something about a bunch of men in fancy black coats and top hats, hoisting up a huge, sleepy rodent that makes me smile. 

5.  I had a nice visit on Monday with an after-school book group in Farmington, Maine.  After we talked about Touch Blue, Tina Davis, the leader asked, "And what did Tess and Aaron buy at the store for snack?" 

"Whoopie Pies!" the kids yelled. 



She had brought them for our snack.  As an author, I've learned that it's important to put yummy book-group food in your books!  I was very impressed with this group.  A lobsterman is coming next week to talk to the kids. 

Wow!

Foreign editions are always a delight and a surprise. My lovely agent managed to track down the Russian publisher and get me a jpg of the cover so I could replace the American cover in most of my slides for next week.

Here is the Russian version of Rules. Or as they call it in Russian:



Rules. Do not take off your trousers in aquarium.  

February Events

Photo by my husband, John

Sunday, February 5--Saturday, February 11, Minsk International Book Fair and a week of events in Belarus

Friday, February 24, School visit, Crestline Elementary, Mountain Brook, Alabama

Hot Rod Hamster's Coming Through!

I spent a fun day yesterday visiting the students at Cushing School in Maine's western mountains. Cushing is a K-2 school, and I got a big Hot Rod Hamster welcome!



Winding along the main hallway, there was a long parade of awesome new hot rods for Hamster!  Here are a few:













Rhonda, the media specialist, told me Ethan's dad owns a towing company: 



So if those hot rods break down, Hamster's tow service can come to the rescue!  I love when kids add their own worlds into books I've written.

Thank you to the students and staff at Cushing School in Wilton for a great day!!!

Back to School!

Hailey from TN was in the first grade when she drew this picture of me giving a presentation. I love the cool yellow shoes! 

Today, I'm off to do my first school visit and book group talk of 2012. I'm visiting a K-2 school in Wilton, Maine for Hot Rod Hamster and then driving to a school in Farmington for an after school book group for Touch Blue. Then I'm taking my daughter to supper! 

It'll be a busy day, but a lot of fun! 

Deep Breath

Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Photo by my husband, John

I have a lot to do this week, but first, I'm drinking my morning coffee and letting myself just be in the moment with this photo.

Five Things On a Friday

Swift River, North Conway, New Hampshire. Photo by my husband, John

1.  Happy Birthday, Hamster got a wonderful review in the San Francisco Book Review.

2.  I bought electrical adapters so I can charge my laptop in Belarus. If you're traveling overseas, this website  is very helpful. It tells you what adapters you need by country. 

3.  There are some good voices on American Idol so far. I'm excited for Hollywood week!

4.  Lots of people in Maine have broken out their New England Patriots gear.  Every time I go somewhere, I see people wearing their Patriot sweatshirts, hats, jackets, etc.  We're hoping!

5.  I received a lovely letter this week from a girl in high school who has a sister with a physical disability. She told me she read Rules when she was in the sixth grade and felt like it had been written for her, and she still thinks about it four years later.  As a child, I read lots of books that I really enjoyed, but there are a special few that I carry in my heart, even to this day.  What a moment it was to read her letter and see that my book is one of *those* books for her. 

Slippery!

We've had a week of freeze, melt, refreeze. I made a little video for my daughter who is at college, and poor Milo. He needs snowshoes! It's so slippery.

But I've a nice week getting ready for my school visit on Monday and my February events.  I had a conference call between Washington DC and Minsk and me on Tuesday. It was lovely to talk to my hosts!  I'm so excited to meet them!   

Mail Day

I have a big stack of kids' mail to answer today, including this letter that made me grin when I took it out of the mailbox. And a touching letter from a boy whose teacher read Rules to his class.  He's newly here in the US from South Korea, and in his letter, he admitted that he's struggling with English and hadn't understood everything in the book. 

I always get five copies of each foreign language edition from the publisher. I like to have one to bring to my local school visits to show the kids, but I don't need five copies. So with my response to his class, I'm sending this. 



I hope he can share it with his new classmates in a way that brings them together and gives him a nice moment of being the expert. :-)