Cynthia Lord's Blog, page 85

Five Things on a Friday

York MIddle School

1.  I had a fun day at York Middle School in York, Maine on Wednesday!  Rules is one of their core books for fifth grade, and this was my fourth year visiting the 5th graders. 

2. Today I'm off to Madison, Maine.  I'm doing some writing workshops at the junior high and then presenting Hot Rod Hamster to the second graders at the elementary school.  

3. Come on, Bruins!

4.  "So You Think You Can Dance" is back!  My daughter and I enjoy watching that show together.

5.  A blue lobster was caught off Prince Edward Island .

Booksigning Tomorrow Night

Tomorrow night at 6 pm, DDG Booksellers, one of my favorite Maine independent bookstores is celebrating their 20th Anniversary. If you're in the Farmington, Maine area, please come say hi!



This photo has a funny story. My daughter and I had supper at a restaurant in Farmington a few weeks ago, and she came back from the ladies' room and said, "Hey Mom, do you know you're in the bathroom?!"

Oh, that poor kid. You probably don't want to see your mother's face when you step into the ladies room. . . !

Wordless Wednesday

Bailey Island, Maine. Photo by my husband, John

June Events

Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Photo by my husband, John

The school year is winding down!  I'm looking forward to these June events and to a summer of writing. 


Wednesday, June 1, School visit. York Middle School, York, Maine. 

Friday, June 3, School visit. Madison Junior High School and Madison Elementary School, Madison, Maine. 

Friday, June 3, Bookstore Signing. DDG Booksellers' 20th Anniversary Party, Farmington, Maine. Open to the public, 6 pm.

Monday, June 6, School visit. Woodbury Elementary School, Woodbury, Vermont. 

Friday, June 10, School visit with Scholastic Book Fairs, Andover, Massachusetts. 

Monday, June 27, ALSC Presidents Program, American Library Association Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana.  

Happy Memorial Day

It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope. ~Robert Kennedy

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Harpswell, Maine. Photo by my husband, John

Best Day, Bake Day, Candles on a Cake Day!

Last week, my editor told me that the first copies of Happy Birthday, Hamster had arrived and her boss's assistant was mailing one to me.  So yesterday, when I came home and saw this propped up against the mailbox. . . .



Oooooooo! I brought it inside and opened it fast!



It's gorgeous--lush with color and so fun!  And Derek Anderson is such a nice person--he put my favorite dog in the book (right down to the one floppy-tipped ear).



Look here, Milo!  It's YOU!



ME?!



I look FABULOUS! 

Back to Where I Started

Milton Elementary School

Yesterday I did a school visit at Milton Elementary School in New Hampshire--where I went to school.  I spoke to all the K-5th graders about my books and about being an author.

With the littlest ones, I started by saying, "Raise your hand if you go to Milton Elementary School!"

What is so sweet about K and 1 is that they all raised their hands with such huge wide-eyed enthusiasm, "Me!" "I DO!" 

After I had them put their hands down, I said, "You know what?  ME, TOO!  I went to Milton Elementary School." 

  It was fun to be back.  I haven't really changed all that much, though.  As I drove there early yesterday morning, I was eating a banana in the car. I can't eat dairy and sugar before I speak, so bananas make a good, easy breakfast. 

BUT. . . .

The banana broke as I was eating it, and it landed on my black pants.  Of course, I was driving so I just wiped at it.  Ever tried to get banana smoosh out of your clothes?  I just spread it around. 

So the school introduced me as "Milton Elementary's Famous Author!"  And all I could think was how I had banana smoosh on my pants! 

It was a lovely day, though.  One of my classmates works at the school, and Betty gave me a tour.  Some things are very different, but others were so recognizable:  the staircases with curving banisters, the old, creaky wooden windows, the painted bricks down to the girl's basement, the nurse's office.

  This was both my third grade and my sixth grade classroom. Randy Pomeroy showed me how to make a spitball one day in third grade, and we practiced launching them out these windows--for which we were caught and made to go clean up.  That story is a good reminder that even good kids make bad choices sometimes. 

  I felt like I should get on the bus and let it take me home :-) 

My daughter said once about my readers, "Mom, you write books for smart rural kids."

I thought about that comment yesterday with the eight young writers who had lunch with me. Every one of them a smart, rural kid--just like I was all those years ago.

One of the students asked me who had been my favorite teacher, and I told them I had many great teachers, but I remember my third grade teacher very fondly, because she read to us every afternoon.  I discovered lots of great books that year. One day she was reading HURRY HOME, CANDY.  It's a story about a dog who gets separated from his owners and has to find his way home. 

I have a vivid memory that I was doodling as Mrs. Keitt read, and suddenly, she stopped mid-sentence.  I looked up to see why.  She was crying.  It was a profound moment for me to see what a book could do. 

Today when teachers write to me and say they cried reading RULES or TOUCH BLUE to their classes, I think of that moment in third grade, and I remember how powerful and important it was for me. 

Growing up, I don't remember ever meeting an author, so it was great to say to the kids yesterday--

"Authors come from here."

More From My Mail

After we finished Touch Blue, we wrote a 27th chapter of our own!  In my chapter, Aaron, Tess, and Libby are playing Monopoly at home. Aaron had Boardwalk with a hotel and Tess landed on it; but Aaron spared her the money by telling her she miscounted. --Gracie

Do you have any horses, because I don't. --Megan

I'm not a reader at all, but Touch Blue is the best book I have read. --Sam

Why do some people have to have autism? --Jahod

Why can't Jason walk and play sports with his friends? Does he need to practice?  --Hung

I am very impressed by such literature. Your book, Touch Blue, was extremely suspenseful and especially unpredictable.  --Samuel

I hope you had a good teacher in school, because I do and I hope it stays like that. --Heaven

The activities my teacher made us do were a pain, but I really liked your book. --Ethan

Did the story just come up inside your mind? --Ne'Raizia

Did you make Catherine like the pond because you liked the lake when you were little? --Arrion

I hope that maybe I'll be able to write books that can make your heart and mind feel the characters and story, like you do. --Kimberly

When me and the class finished it, I was sad because it was so good and we finished it so quick. --Will

Thank you, Marston Elementary School

 

I had a fabulous visit yesterday to Marston Elementary School in Hampton, New Hampshire.  What a nice group of kids and teachers! 



I was there to speak to the 4th and 5th graders. The kids had all read Touch Blue or Rules, but they also greeted me with these great hot rods!

I loved all of them!  But here are two that especially made me grin.

  I love the smiley-face wheels on this one.

And how fun is this!  The student incorporated ALL my books. 

  It's a Touch Blue Hamster with a Rules Rubber Duckie car. :-)

Thanks to Allison Griffin, the media specialist, and to everyone at Marston for a great day!!

Wordless Wednesday

 
From Bailey Island, Maine. Photo by my husband, John