Cynthia Lord's Blog, page 93

It's a Book Baby!

 Congratulations! It's a bouncing book-baby!

Name: Exposed

Date of Birth: February 22, 2011

Weight: 272 pages

Proud Parent: Kimberly Marcus ( kmarcus )

Godparents: Random House Books for Young Readers

California or Bust

 
A few months ago, I received an email from the San Francisco area SCBWI saying that their author keynote speaker had to change plans and couldn't come to their annual conference and retreat, and would I like to take his place at Asilomar, right on the ocean in California in February?



I laughed as I read John the email.

"How fast can I say yes to this without looking pathetic?" I asked him.

So on Thursday, I'm off to California for the first time ever. And what a beautiful place to be for that first time.



But my most favorite part of this trip is that I'll get to meet everyone, including online friends Debbi Michiko Florence and Susan Taylor Brown, and say hi again to one of my agents, Josh Adams.

And I won't have to wear snow boots!

From my Mail

 
by Gus

Here are some lines from the mail I answered today that made me smile or touched me.

Just because someone might not act like other people or some people might categorize them as ‘abnormal’ doesn’t mean that you have to go along with it and do the same.--Courtney

Do you have any brothers or sisters? Are you married? If so, do you have kids? --Kaylea

In Hot Rod Hamster, I would chose the rust car, because I like rust. It is red and red is my favorite color. --John

My autistic brother loves to color, run around, build blocks and Legos, watch TV, be tickled, and laugh, but most of all, he likes to eat chicken nuggets and cookies. He is very smart, but he still doesn't talk. --Olivia

I would recommend Rules to my brother, because he often makes fun of me. --Joseph

I liked the scene where Catherine was pushing Jason around the parking lot. It shows that even little things you do can make a difference. --Madeline

I know where it matters, we’re all the same. --Sara

I cried more than once reading Touch Blue and was so anxious to learn more and more about each and every character. On my second read, I noticed how figuratively you write. I'm avidly awaiting another adventure. --Jessica

I really enjoy reading Realistic Fiction and I play as much baseball as I possibly can. --Gus

You don't have to answer this question, but has fame and fortune given you anything? --Shoshana

:-)

I'm holding her down, Mom!  Quick! Lock the doors so she can't leave us again!

My daughter's home from college for a week's break. Every time she sits down, Milo jumps into her lap. He misses her while she's at school, and I think he's trying to keep her home.

Five Things on a Friday

   1.  Last night, I was the guest author at Family Literacy Night at the George Mitchell School, a K-3 school in Waterville, Maine. 

They do such a nice program.  There were craft stations and activities and readings by the author, and it all ends with a parade!  Every family that came was given a paperback copy of Hot Rod Hamster, and I signed them all. 

Since whole families come to this event, I had lots of very little children. When I give a reading, Q&A works with older kids, but not as well with little ones. And with a large mixed group, it's especially challenging, because you're stretching over so many developmental levels.  

So after I read Hot Rod Hamster, I had about 10 minutes before I could send my groups to their next sessions. "Sometimes kids like to tell me their ideas for NEW Hamster books," I said. "Would you like to do that? Let me give you a couple of examples. . . Haunted Hamster where he goes trick or treating and ends up in a haunted house!  Hip-hop Hamster where there's a dance contest and . . . ." 

That's all it took. All those hands were in the air.  Here are a few of their great ideas:

Thunderstorm Hamster!    ("Oh!" I said. "How does he feel about that? Is he scared?" The child nodded solemnly. "Very scared.")

Hamster's First Kiss.  ("He's kissing?!" I asked, shocked. "Who is he going to kiss?!" The child grinned. "A girl hamster.")   

Hamster's St. Patrick's Day ("Maybe he could mistaken for a leprechaun?" I asked. "He is very small." The child added, "And people think his trophies are his GOLD")

Make room on your schedule, Derek Anderson!  We've got work ahead of us! 


The parade!  Everyone made banners and it was led by one of the local policemen

2.  My voice held out with the help of a microphone last night, though I still sound froggy this morning.  Now, I'm glad to have almost a week off before my next talk.  At the end of next week, I'm off to California--which I'm really excited about!  So I'm going to do my best to get back to sounding like myself before that trip.  

3.  I was sorry to miss American Idol last night.  I'm really enjoying this season.  Steven Tyler is both magnetic and surprisingly kind.

4.  My daughter comes home for a week's break today.  I can't wait to pick her up this afternoon! 

"Today's going to be a fun day for you," I told Milo. I love to watch that moment when he first sees her. He freezes, like he can't believe what he's seeing. And then he turns into seven pounds of tail-wagging joy.

5.  It was blissfully warm yesterday. Which for Maine in February means high 40s!

Thank you, Swasey School!

  On Tuesday, I had a lovely visit with the fourth and fifth graders at Swasey School in Brentwood, New Hampshire.  I was hoping that when I woke up Tuesday, my laryngitis would be gone, but no such luck.  I tried everything I could, including one of the most popular online suggestions. . .gargling with water mixed with these!


See how much I love you, kids of New Hampshire?!

Nothing really worked. But other than sounding like Macy Gray, I felt fine. So I went and simply started each session with an apology that I sounded funny. 

But I think the kids forgot about my voice within a few minutes each time.  We had great sessions, and Cindy (the media specialist) told me that some of the teachers have since stopped in to thank her and say how much they liked the writing advice and suggestions I gave the kids. 

The fourth grade read Rules and the fifth grade read Touch Blue, so it was a fun mix of books for me.  And I loved the rules that graced the hallways. Here are a few:







I know this photo makes the list hard to read, so here are a few:

Don't put your hands on raw meat.
Don't lie, it makes getting caught much more painful.
If someone said they would do something, but didn't, they didn't want to do it in the first place.
Don't bug grown-ups. It's not worth it.
Don't slurp water.
Be nice to new kids. 
Ask before you take.
Say the Pledge of Allegiance
Keep your promises.
Try again, if you fail.

Happy Valentine's Day!

You can make your own hearts here!

Best Use of a Post-It Note :-)

When Life Gives You Limes. . . .

At my event on Thursday, a mom who has a child with autism gave me a gift: three bags of key limes.  It was such a fun and spontaneous surprise!  An unexpected abundance of tiny limes.

Certainly, that calls for something special. After getting some great suggestions, I decided to try making key lime pie.  I copied a recipe off the Internet and juiced most of those little limes (I bet they sell a little tool in Florida that makes it easer, but I did it all with a spoon).  It took about 40 of these limes to get the required 3/4 cup of juice.

Even though I washed my hands over and over, they still smelled like lime all day--which was like carrying around a little bit of Southern warmth and sunshine. 

I've only had key lime pie once (when I spoke at a conference in  Florida) and John had never had it. So it was fun to have something new!  He had two pieces, so I think it was a hit. :-)    

Here's a piece for you, too.

Five Things on a Frozen Friday

1. I spoke to a gym full of kids and their families from Sherwood Heights School in Auburn, Maine last night. At the end, several mothers who have children with autism came up to talk to me, and one gave me three bags of limes as a present. The limes are tiny, about the size of a chestnut, but there are 50 of them. What are some possibilities for 50 little limes?

2. Milo is going to the groomer today. I haven't told him yet.

3. I was touched by this newspaper article.    A teacher at East Irondequoit Middle School in the Rochester, New York area  invited her husband, an assemblyman, to come in and talk about a bill he has sponsored about autism and insurance. All 200 seventh graders had just finished reading Rules.

Early intervention is expensive and insurance companies would like to look at it as educational, so it isn't covered. But when you're a parent, that puts you in a terrible position--go into debt or don't get your child the services you're told that he needs. I'm glad states are addressing this. And I'm glad that students are being shown these hard questions--they will be the decision-makers for the next generation of children with autism.

I emailed the school and told them how impressed and honored I was by this.

 
Some of the kids from East Irondequoit Middle School with Assemblyman Joe Morelle

4. My yard is a skating rink. The conditions have been perfect to put a glossy layer of ice over the snow.

5. Hot Rod Hamster made the South Carolina Picture Book Award list, Touch Blue made the Pennsylvania Young Reader Award list, and Rules made the Illinois Bluestem list. I love the kids' choice awards, so this was a great surprise.