Cynthia Lord's Blog, page 83

Five Things on a Friday

Lupine at Two Lights State Park, Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Photo by my husband, John

1.  I hated seeing four dancers go home last night on "So You Think You Can Dance?"  They're all so good this year--it's sad to see any of them leave.

2.  I bought a new used car yesterday.  My silver Camry had 160,000 miles on it.  Now I have a newer, gold one. It looks so much like my old car that Milo didn't even bark at it in the driveway.

My silver one was still running pretty well, but I do so much traveling--I was starting  to worry it would break down a long way from home.  It was bittersweet to give up my old car, though.  We've been lots of cool places together.


Clyde, my car's rear window bobblehead

3.  Clyde approves of his new ride.

4  Julia has been choosing some fun things for us to do on our day off in New Orleans next Tuesday.  Starting with beignets.  I've never had those, but anything with powdered sugar will be delicious!

5. Thank you to Jen Robinson over at PBS Parents for including Touch Blue in her summer reading list, Tips for Encouraging Summer Reading.  

On Tuesday

I spent a perfect day here:





With these good friends!

 
Jo Knowles, Peter Carini, me, and Mona Pease

My ALA Schedule

On Sunday, my daughter, Julia, and I will head off to the American Library Association Conference in New Orleans. Here's where I'll be:
 

Sunday, June 26th
The Newbery/Caldecott Banquet. I bought Julia a ticket, too. It'll be fun to see it through her eyes. 


Monday, June 27th
8-10 am Charlemae Rollins President’s Program: How Libraries Can Best Serve Special Needs Patrons, Especially those with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

Location: Convention Center
Rm 278-282

Description: Recognizing the increasing number of children with ASD, this program will help librarians create innovative programming to positively integrate all patrons. Featured speaker, Dr. Ricki Robinson, a leader in developing multidisciplinary treatment plans for children with ASD and author of “Autism Solutions” (in press), will join authors Cynthia Lord and Francisco X. Stork, whose writings have humanized these disorders, and Patricia Twarogowski, a librarian recognized for her effective programming for special needs children, in a panel discussion.

10:15-11:00 Signing at the Scholastic Booth

11:00-12:00 Signing at the Follett Booth

Then Julia and I will have lunch with my panel-mates, and the 2007 Newbery Committee (RULES' year) is having a reunion supper and they invited me to come. I'm so excited to see to see them again!


Tuesday, June 28
Since Julia is coming with me, we arranged to stay in New Orleans an extra day on our own.  We're going to start off with a Swamp Tour!  Yes, it's touristy, but we'll love it!  And then we'll take a cab into the French Quarter and take it from there.


Wednesday, June 29th
Fly home!

Happy Birthday, Hamster!

Derek Anderson and Scholastic made this adorable video trailer for Happy Birthday, Hamster. How cute is this?

And I got my first fan letters for the book.   I surprised the kids and read Happy Birthday, Hamster at my last few school visits, and Addie goes to one of those schools. 



Addie says, "I love Happy Birthday, Hamster. And I love your dog."   She drew Hamster (wearing a party hat and holding a present) saying, "It is my birthday!" 
It's starting to feel real now--which is good, because it comes out in little over a month!

Ahhhh.

It was a perfect summer day yesterday.  I sat outside and read the first third of Moon Over Manifest for the American Library Association conference this coming weekend and watched Milo goofing around, rolling in the grass. 

Then as Milo snoozed,  

   

Someone else came out to say hello and clean up under the bird feeder!



(Cue music from "Mission Impossible" here)


Making sure Milo is asleep. 

Chipmunks are great thieves.  They have the whole "run and then stop completely still" thing down.  Then they just fill up their cheeks with loot! 


What?  Did I miss something?

Make Way for the Bruins

from Boston.com

Happy Father's Day!

It is admirable for a man to take his son fishing, but there is a special place in heaven for the father who takes his daughter shopping. -- John Sinor
 



This quote reminds me of all those times my dad drove my mom, sister, and me to the mall when I was growing up. He would give us a time to meet (then we would bargain with him until he gave in, adding an hour to it). He'd go to Radio Shack and then sit in the car and wait for us--for hours.

Thank you, Daddy. For showing us how much we mattered to you through a lifetime of little and big moments at home, in the world, and even at the mall.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.

From my Mail

I spent yesterday answering fan mail.  Here are some lines that made me smile or touched me. 

After reading Rules, I realized something big. I should be thankful for what I have and not complain about the littlest things like "Mom, where are my high socks?" or "I don't want to go to Jacqueline's friend's house. There's no one there my age!"  Thank you for making me realize things I should've before.  --Emily

The emotions were fantastically sprinkled into the characters. --Katherine

The only thing I woud change is the bad word on Page 58.  --Helen

How is Milo doing?  --Sophie

Our teacher assigned us to be disabled for a whole day, and I could not use my left arm. I'm right-handed, so I thought it would be no big deal.  But I was wrong. My left hand does more than I give it credit for. --Alicia

I know someone who has a mental illness, and people that don't know him always make fun of him.  --Katie

I had to use a communication book for the whole day. The cool thing about that was I got to miss music class.  --Andrew



I read Touch Blue in two days, and I never do that because I'm not a big fan of reading. --Fiona

The book educated me on the fragility of friendship and how it can be corroded if you don't notify someone about a problem. --Michael

I like puppies. I am going to get one. --Tionne

If you want to make a second book of Rules, I will help you. --Jada

I was sort of scared of kids with autism, because you don't know what they're thinking or what they're doing at some points.  After Rules, I try to look at them for who they are on the inside, not what they're doing on the outside. --Elijah

My favorite part is when David runs out of the clinic door saying, "Sorry, gotta go!" -- Mitchell

I wish I had some pets, but my dad's allergic to cats and my mom doesn't like dogs and our fish don't last long. --Ciara

We have a boy at our school that has autism and every time a teacher blows a whistle, he covers his ears. When I finished Rules, I told my teacher they should find a new way to tell us to be quiet. --Alondra

Five Things on a Friday

Lupine off Route 295
 
1.  The roadsides in Maine are so pretty right now. 

2.  Thank you to the New York Reading Association for putting Touch Blue on the Charlotte Award list!  Congratulations to Kate Messner, Barbara O'Connor, Jacqueline Houtman, and everyone else on the lists, too! 

3.  Here's what they'll be serving at the Newbery/Caldecott Banquet:  Osso bucco style short rib served over smoked gourda grits with asparagus and root vegetables.  Cool! 

4.  My daughter is coming with me to ALA, and we're staying an extra day in New Orleans on our own.  I'm so glad we're doing that.  It allows me to go to my 2007 Newbery Committee's reunion, and for Julia and I to take a Swamp Tour! 

5.  For all the interesting and beautiful places that I am lucky to see, there's no place like home.  It's been a joy to rediscover my own little piece of the world the past week.

Walden Backyard

This is my first week of summer, and I spent a lot of time digging in the dirt.  Every summer since my shed first arrived, I've had a hard deadline. But this year, I decided I needed a week off.  During the springtime, I'm often working seven days a week--getting ready for events, travelling, doing events, etc. 

So it was peaceful and fun to plant flowers, play with Milo, watch my chipmunks chase each other through the yard and the seagulls flying overhead, and just enjoy June.  Summer is short in Maine.  It's nice to take a deep breath, sit on the bench and think, "We made it!" 

  

  

  

  


Ahhhh.  Sometimes you just want to roll in the grass (and maybe eat a little of it, too). :-)

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