Lisa Yee's Blog, page 2

October's Super Fancy Happenings and Happy Things

Whoa. It's been a looooong time since my last blog. I've been busy doing this and that, and this . . .



Yes, that's STET my fascinating and free daily online newspaper!!!! CLICK HERE to read it, or to subscribe. Did I mention that it's fascinating and free?

Okay, so I'm thinking that instead of blogging weekly, like I used to do, or sporadically, like I've been doing, I'm going to try a monthly blog, beginning with this one!



Lisa, what else have you done this month, you ask. Or he/she/they ask. Well, how about this -- I got to spend a Hollywood afternoon with my east coast friend, author/journalist Sarah Darer Littman . . .



Here's what else has been going on . . .


(We were on a Comic-Con panel a couple years ago talking about Warp Speed.)

Over at Vroman's bookstore in Pasadena, I spoke to a group of students from Chandler School . . .



While digging through my old things, I unearthed this memo from ABC, when I used to be a writer/producer at Disney, and this Red Lobster drink menu, when I was a menu writer . . .



Speaking of menus, Greg Pincus and I celebrated his debut novel with a custom-made donut from Donut Friend. Oink* . . .


(*The oink is referring to the donuts, not Greg.)

Later, I attended Greg's uber fun book launch party at Flintridge Bookstore. (It's so wonderful to see the bookstore doing so well, especially after this happened a few years ago.) Here's the party . . .



Um. Because of all the donuts and cookies and pie, Peepy and I had to go to the dentist . . .



Being at the dentist was not nearly as fun as a four-and-one-half-hour opera. Seriously, Einstein On The Beach was a blast! Well, after the first half hour when I was soooo confused and couldn't figure out what was happening. Then, when I just went with it, I LOVED it . . .



This was my favorite part. A women repeating this endlessly . . .


You'll have to trust me. It was mesmerizing. But it's one of those things you have to experience in person.

I will be the first to say, I love this place. It's the Last Bookstore. Beautiful, don't you think? (We've been there before.)



In honor of Halloween, here's a Peep battle . . . Pumpkin vs. Ghost . . .


(To see more Peep explosions, here's a video we made.)

Why, look! My fav Halloween candy . . .



And finally -- La la la la . . . what's that? Huh? Really? YES! It's the TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY of my first novel. (Squeee!!!)


(Pretend the is a cake for the Millicent Min, Girl Genius.)



Since October 2003 when Millicent Min first came out, I've written nine more books . . .



It's been a wonderful decade, not only writing, but traveling all across the United States and overseas, to talk about my favorite subject -- books!



Thank you to everyone at Scholastic, especially Arthur Levine for discovering me, and being my friend and editor. And Cheryl Klein, my other editor, you are amazing . . .


(Here are Arthur and Cheryl discussing one of my books.)

Thank you to Jennifer Hirsch, my American Girl editor, seen here hard at work when we were researching for the Kanani books in Hawaii . . .



Here's a shout out to Jodi Reamer, my agent, seen here hanging around her Writers House office . . .


(Or maybe it was at one of our "annual summits.")

And finally, to my readers -- a heartfelt thank you for all your support. It's been a wonderful ten years, and I look forward to the next ten.



===========================

Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

Want to check out Lisa's website? Simply CLICK HERE.

Interested in having Lisa speak at your school, library or conference? CLICK HERE for more information.

Lisa Yee








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Sneaking a Peek at Kazu Kibuishi's Studio

I love seeing where creative people work, don't you?



This week I had lunch with these bookish folk(s) . . .


That's Kris Vreeland from that glorious children's indie bookstore Once Upon a Time, my lunch buddy Dan Santat (he of the 87,413 books out each year), and Kazu Kibuishi creator of Amulet and the illustrator of the 15th Anniversary HARRY POTTER books.


(Above: During lunch Kazu drew a picture for my daughter).

Later, we visited Kazu's studio. His workspace is so much less, er, dense than mine. Let's compare, shall we?

His space . . .



My space . . .


(Disclaimer: It looks different now. Um, less creatively cluttered.)

Disclaimer: Kazu has a real staff and I have an imaginary one. Hence the discrepancy of size between our work environs. Here's more of his studio . . .



Why, look! It's Kazu with HARRY POTTER editor Arthur Levine (He, that would be Arthur, not Kazu, is my editor, too!)



Put all seven of the books together and the spines look like this . . .



Psst. Wanna know a secret? Kazu has drawn people who worked on the series and hidden them on the book covers. I won't reveal who/where everyone is. However, I will point out Ms. Rowling's cameo . . .



Look! It's J.K. Rowling's workspace . . . well, it was at one time . . .



To see more photos of where J.K. Rowling worked on Harry Potter, and to witness me defacing the bathroom there, and to behold an autographed J.K. Rowling novel that is all mine, CLICK HERE .


(Above: This is a cow I met in Scotland. It has nothing to do with creative spaces, though it might argue otherwise.)

Okay! Back to the United States. Before we left Kazu's studio, he signed books for Once Upon A Time customers . . .



Speaking of signing books, my pal Sonya Sones has been touring and touting the release of her latest, greatest YA, To Be Perfectly Honest . . .



Did you know that Sonya is also a fabulous photographer? If you don't believe me, just look HERE! And to see my collection of famous author and illustrators with my Peep, click HERE!!



Do you want to be smarter and more informed than the next person you see? Then read STET, my daily books and bad dogs and bodacious stuff newspaper! (And, if you opt for a free subscription, your IQ will automatically be raised by 10 points. Offer good will supplies last. Not available in some locations.)


===========================

Oh, look! If you'd like an autographed book, order from Vroman's, tell them who you'd like me to sign it to, and they will mail it to you!"





Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

Want to check out Lisa's NEW AND IMPROVED website? Simply CLICK HERE.

Interested in having Lisa speak at your school, library or conference? CLICK HERE for more information.

Lisa Yee








Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!



Email:




Or you can click this for a RSS feed...

James Thurber and Me, and (Maybe) You, Too

Lisa. Lisa, where have you been everyone’s asking. (Okay, no one asked that, but pretend they have.)



Well, I’ve been creating STET, my totally free and mucho interesting daily online kidlit/bookish/outer space/bad dogs newspaper . . .



(To see STET or subscribe, CLICK HERE.)

Plus, I have been thinking, One Day I will . . . post a new blog . . .


(This cool art installation was leaning up against Vroman’s, the closest indie bookstore to my house.)

Speaking of indies, this week I went to a new one. (It’s not actually new, it’s been around for 1-1/2 years, but it was new to me). It’s called The Pop-Hop . . .



Look what I bought, James Thurber’s Alarms and Diversions . . .



I am a HUGE James Thurber fan. Here are some of my books. Er, some of his books, that are mine . . .



So a few years ago when I was selected to be the Thurber House Children’s Writer-in-Residence, I was beyond thrilled.



One month of living in James Thurber’s childhood home in Columbus, OH, writing and reading, and writing and teaching, and writing and writing and writing.

And now . . . in honor of Thurber and writers everywhere, I am revisiting past blogs about me and James (Thurber would want me to call him that) and posting it here. (The links will take you to the blogs and photos that I wrote/took while living at Thurber House.)

Ready? Set . . . Thurber!!!

I remember when I got the call. It was sooooo exciting! (Squeee.)

The historic house, though haunted, was (and still is) TOTALLY cool . . .


(That's me and my friend Julia deVillers. If you have a friend visit you, Thurber House rules are that you must wear matching outfits at all times.)

I had my own swell two-bedroom apartment in the attic where the bed fell on James's father--AND the run of rest of the house at night! (Thurber House is a museum and literary center during the day.)



(Above: James Thurber's room where James and I wrote, though not at the same time)

The rumors about the house being haunted are true. In fact, when I was interviewed, I was asked, “Are you afraid of ghosts.” (I am not.)

Here’s the (friendly) ghost, or at lease the one who visited me. (Actually, I did have a real ghost experience. But I’m not ready to talk about that.)



I’m not saying that the ghost pushed me, but when I went running there was an incident. Yes, I stopped a bad fall using my face and end up in the hospital looking like a delightful fall color palatte . . .


(The last time I told my kids I was going to go running, they told me to wear a helmet.)

Back at Thurber House, I was missing my dog, but I felt better when I sat in the garden among Thurber’s dogs . . .



The the hospitality was incredible. There are lots of friendly people in Columbus, OH.

The young Thurber writing camp authors were uber enthusiastic . . .

(Ummm . . . it took us a while to figure out the screen, but once that was up, we really got going!)

At the Dowd Center. the kids will amazed me with their creativity. Later, Scholastic donated 500 books to their library . . .


I loved walking around town (not running) and taking in the sights. There's art everywhere! . . .


The Columbus Main Branch was only a couple blocks away . . .


And the award-winning Worthington Libraries are a book-lovers dream . . .



I had to watch Peepy at all times, so she wouldn’t get in dangerous situations . . .


These amazing women ran Thurber House during my tenure . . .



The men weren’t so bad either . . .



Look! It’s the stairs to the private writer's apartment . . .


And the official plaque . . .


If you are a children’s book author, or know one, tell them about THIS. (It’s how you/they can apply for the 2014 residency.)

I envy the next Thurber House Children’s Writer-in-Residence. You are in for a wonderful adventure!


===========================

Oh, look! If you'd like an autographed book, order from Vroman's, tell them who you'd like me to sign it to, and they will mail it to you!"





Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

Want to check out Lisa's NEW AND IMPROVED website? Simply CLICK HERE.

Interested in having Lisa speak at your school, library or conference? CLICK HERE for more information.

Lisa Yee








Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!



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Or you can click this for a RSS feed...

Little Lost Peep

For our next Sporadic Summer Blog, we board our time machine and head back to visit a blog that ran in November 2008.

Why? Because zillions (or four) of people have been asking me, "Where's Peepy? We haven't seen her in a while." And the answer is, she is at the spa. However, millions (or three) people have also asked, "Have you ever lost Peepy?"



Well. Yes. Here's what happened, way back then . . .

Here is the last know photo of Peepy before she went missing at the New York Public Library last week . . .


I didn't discover her gone until after I met up with author Eric Luper and Betsy Bird, Ultimate Blogger and Effervescent Children's Librarian. Betsy had kindly offered to let us see the BRAND NEW Children's Center before it was open to the public. Peepy was most pleased to be invited, too.

Here's Betsy . . .


But when I went into my bag to bring Peepy out . . . SHE WAS GONE. MISSING. VANISHED!!!!

I was so sad. I wanted to cry. Really.

Still, I went ahead and saw the most marvelous children's library, but honestly, I was missing my Peep the entire time knowing how much she would have loved this . . .


I had to stop and reflect at the display case that housed the Original Winnie-the-Pooh, since I myself have the second largest collection of Poohs in America. (Mine are housed in the White River Pooh Museum in Canada.)

Pooh was not there. And Peepy was not with me. I was depressed.

After our tour, I told Eric that even though it was raining and dark, I JUST HAD TO FIND MY PEEP. She could be ANYWHERE, but I HAD TO TRY.

So we raced back out to the lions who stand guard outside the library . . . but no Peep.

Recently, when I read Eric Luper's blog, author Greg Neri posted this . . .


It was a false lead.

Anyway, Eric and I ran up the stairs into the Main Entrance of the Library and LO and BEHOLD and OMG!!!!

There, in the grip of a Security Guard was some bright YELLOW THING. He was squeezing it over and over and over again . . . like it was a HAND EXERCISER!!!

I shouted (in the library), "THAT'S MY PEEP! YOU HAVE PEEPY!!! THAT'S MY PEEPY!!!"

I think I scared him. But I didn't care. It was PEEPS!!!!


The guard, the nice one holding her, not the mean one who was using her for exercise equipment, said that someone found her leaning against a wall. (Thank you kind stranger for rescuing Peepy.)

I was soooooo relieved. I always knew that the library was full of happy endings. And for Peep and Moi, it was just that.


(Peeps is refusing to say what happened. Whether I lost her, she ran away, was kidnapped, or whatnot. But I know I'll get it out of her eventually. Also, I must note that I now have a very humbled Peep.)


===========================

Oh, look! If you'd like an autographed book, order from Vroman's, tell them who you'd like me to sign it to, and they will mail it to you!"





Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

Want to check out Lisa's NEW AND IMPROVED website? Simply CLICK HERE.

Interested in having Lisa speak at your school, library or conference? CLICK HERE for more information.

Lisa Yee








Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!



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Where Authors and Agents and Editors and Illustrators Collide . . .

Yoo hoo! Over here! Yes, it's Lisa's Sporadic Summer Blog. And if you don't believe me, here's the really expensive official logo . . .



So then, this event happens only once a year. Can you guess what it is? (Think. Think. Think. Think.) You are so smart! Yes, it's the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrator's Summer Conference. Hence to be known at the SCBWISC. (SCBWI is the largest group of children's authors and illustrators in the world. Over 23,000 members. Although, the summer conference is limited to about 1200.)



I have been going to the SCBWISC for 12 or 13 or 14 years. I can't recall, but what I do recall is this. The conference jump started my career. Prior to going, I had NO CLUE about the publishing industry. I had been pulled out of the slush pile by Arthur Levine, but was such a dope and didn't know that the odds of that were pretty slim.

At my first conference everyone was talking about Arthur and HARRY POTTER, which he edited. (Here's a J.K. Rowling quest we went on last winter.) I also learned that when an editor says they would like to see your book, you don't tell them, ". . . but I'm really busy."



And now, here we are, working on novel number eight!



Okay, we were actually having lunch, but we did talk about the novel.

Later we ran into Asian American authors!!!


(From left: Jo Whittemore, Lucy Liu, Emily Jiang and Cindy Pon.)

We also caught up with old friends like Jay Asher (he is is not Asian) . . .


(His book, 13 Reasons Why, is now in 14 trillion different languages. As opposed to 14 trillion of the same language.)

Squeee! It's talented Simon & Schuster art director Laurent Linn . . .



Hello, Richard Peck. Yes, that Richard Peck. The fabulous Newbery-winning Richard Peck . . .



We went to workshops like industry insider Emma Dryden's amazing Reinvention and Reimagination . . .



And one on sorting out the confusion of Royalty statements . . .


(I thought the statements were going to be things like, "Does this tiara make me look fat?")

The closing keynote was INCREDIBLE. It was given by my pal Jarrett Krosoczka, author/illustrator/radio host/cool dude. Not to brag, but I can spell his name without having to look it up. THAT'S how close we are.



Soon it was time to run around and get the keynote speakers and faculty autographs . . .



Jarrett is always happy to be near me . . .



And here is he, happy again at party a couple of years ago at the Washington Post that is now owned by Jeff Bezos -- like he doesn't have enough to to already . . .


(That's author/illustrator Loren Long looking sad with us. Why? Because)

Nice shoes! Caldecott-ian Marla Frazee wearing fancy clothes at the autograph party . . .



Lookit! It's Caldecott winner Paul O. Zelinsky (He has nice shoes, too. You'll have to trust me on that.)



Every year since authors were invented, agent Steve Malk has hosted his annual bash. Here's the invite. Behind it is CAA Headquarters a.k.a. the Death Star building . . .



We weren't supposed to take photos inside, so these aren't photos. Instead, they are highly realistic drawings . . .




(That's my lunch buddy Dan Santat with Marla Frazee.)

When it was time to go, the lights went out . . .


After the party, I headed to Canter's Deli with NY TIMES bestselling authors Ransom Riggs and Tahereh Mafi.

Right after Ransom's first novel was released, I interviewed him and watched him eat a sandwich. And now that novel is being made into a movie by Tim Burton -- how cool is that?).


(Above: Tahereh and Ransom marvel over the wonders of the iPhone, as Dan Santat hides under the table.)

We have one of these things in common:
1) All four of us can make a seven layer cake using three ingredients
2) All four of us have competed in Iron Man competitions and won
3) All four of us are represented by Jodi Reamer, from Writers House

To figure out the answer, add 127 + 4, then subtract 111, multiply by zero, and add 3.

Speaking of Jodi Reamer, from Writers House, I ventured into Beverly Hills for a meeting/candyfest . . .



During the conference I was slipped this note from a mom. (Her daughter was too shy to give it to me herself.) It made me sooooo happy!



For more about the conference, check out the official SCBWI Conference Blog.

After the conference, there was a SCBWI Board of Advisors meeting. I blurred out the faces of these board members because I forgot to ask them if I could take their picture. However, you can guess who they are . . .



Thank you SCBWI for all you do!
===========================
Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

If you'd like an autographed book, order from Vroman's, tell them who you'd like me to sign it to, and they will mail it to you!"



Want to check out Lisa's NEW AND IMPROVED website? Simply CLICK HERE.

Interested in having Lisa speak at your school, library or conference? CLICK HERE for more information.

Lisa Yee








Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!



Email:




Or you can click this for a RSS feed...

Warp Speed Ahead, and Back Then!!!!

Guess what book is in paperback on July 30, 2013?



Here's a hint . . .


(Full disclosure: That is not the paperback version. That is the hard cover version.)

Yes! WARP SPEED!!!!

So, in the spirit of my Sporadic Summer Blog, let's Warp Speed backward and pretend that this 2011 launch party happened tomorrow. Ready, set, blog back . . .


So, the night before the WARP SPEED + BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) Launch Party, I made one of my lists. (I'm a compulsive list-maker. Otherwise, POOF! It's outta my head forever.)

The next day, I set my grapefruit half down on -- you guessed it! My list.



I'm sure I forgot to bring something important, like bags of money for all the guests. Oh well, luckily I had my super secret launch party team watching my back. Yes, that's right. My mom and dad. They provided all the food!!!



Vroman's in Pasadena provided the books . . .


(See the small trees? Those are bonsai and my dad created those.)

Soon, the guest started arriving. I always freak out before book parties because I'm afraid no one will show up.

I was wrong. Hooray!!!


First I talked about WARP SPEED and how the book came to be. I also read from the novel . . .



Of course, since Marley, the protagonist, is a Star Trek fan, everyone did the Vulcan sign -- you could tell that some people did this all the time, and others, er, not so much . . .



Because Marley loves Star Trek, and his best friend, Ramen, loves Star Wars, and their mutual friend Max loves Batman . . . I asked . . .



I'd say it was a tie between Batman and Star Wars, with Star Trek coming in a semi-distant third. (This surprised me.)

Speaking of surprises, as I showed slides of the guys who helped me with some of the book's research ("Hi, Ed!" "Hi, Curtis!"), I mentioned that my Star Wars/Batman expert was in the room, and asked if anyone could figure out who it was . . .



Not to brag, but I have the smartest book launch guests. They figured out that Matt "DM" Cunningham was standing in the back! (Yes, that's him in the Bat-shirt.) I'll be blogging about the other dudes soon, too.

Next up was a reading from BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES). I read the part of Bobby Ellis-Chan, a boy who questions his bravery, and amazing illustrator of the Bobby series (and pal), Dan Santat, played the cat with 27-toes who scares Bobby . . .



We had so much fun, it was hard not to crack up!!!



Dan's also the person who shot the launch party video. You can hear him during the blooper reel making me laugh . . .


While Dan was setting up to talk about how he lost 25 pounds with the help of his iTouch app, plus how he illustrated BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES), I had a contest to give away one of my dad's bonsai trees. Can you say . . .


(That's Hawaiian for their state fish, the trigger fish, and is in ALOHA, KANANI.)

These brave people gave it a try . . .


It was soooo close that the winner was decided by who had the closest birthday coming up! (Jason Sperber, who blogs at RiceDaddies, also won a bonsai since he spent his birthday at the launch party.)

After Dan spoke it was time to sign books . . .



There was more fun to come, here's a hint . . .



===========================

Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

Want to check out Lisa's NEW AND IMPROVED website? Simply CLICK HERE.



Interested in having Lisa speak at your school, library or conference? CLICK HERE for more information.

Lisa Yee








Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!



Email:




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A Mac Classic Prank, Revisited

Tonight I saw a TV promo for one of those practical joke shows. You know, where an innocent person gets duped. And I thought, "Geez, what kind of dolt could fall for a prank so easily?"

Then I realized, it would be this sort of person . . .


(The person on the left would fall for a prank. The person on the right is -- squeeee -- Judy Blume, who would not panic the way I would.)

Yes, that's right. I fell hard for a prank that my friend and fellow author pulled on me. And now, in the spirit of my SPORADIC SUMMER BLOG . . .



. . . we are taking laziness to a new level and running a blog that first appeared five years ago. Ready? Here we go . . .


Um. As some of you may know, I have an unhealthy love/hate relationship with Apple. I love Apple. Apple hates me.

Apple probably hates me because of this . . .

(Above: Michael, my Mac fixer, is not happy with me or my desk computer.)

and this and and this . . .

(Above: Michael, my Mac fixer, is not happy with me or my laptop. He bites the Apple.)

Then there was this incident that occurred on my Mac . . .


And the time I did this to this . . .


. . and repaired it with this . . .


Well, last week I received this and TOTALLY FREAKED OUT . . .


OMG.

Then I read the last sentence again. Do what it says and you'll see. It wasn't from Apple. It was sent by this person. And I totally fell for it.

Classic.
Mac Classic.

-----------------

Tweet. Tweet. What was that? Tweet . . .



It's your chance to Tweet and be Tweeted by New York Times Bestselling Illustrator Dan Santat and Me over at The July Sharp-Shu Book Club Meeting on July 31st at 7 pm CDT. Hope to see/read you there!!!



===========================

Oh, look! If you'd like an autographed book, order from Vroman's, tell them who you'd like me to sign it to, and they will mail it to you!"





Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

Want to check out Lisa's NEW AND IMPROVED website? Simply CLICK HERE.

Interested in having Lisa speak at your school, library or conference? CLICK HERE for more information.

Lisa Yee








Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!



Email:




Or you can click this for a RSS feed...

The Sporadic Summer Blog Debuts!!!!!

Lisa, you ask, or I ask, why haven't we read your blog in a couple of weeks? Wasn't your blog weekly?

Well . . . yes. It was. However, this summer we will be blogging here and there, now and then, hither and fro, and when the mood hits. Why? Cause it's summer and we are lazy! Therefore, introducing, for a limited time only, THE SPORADIC SUMMER BLOG!!!

Look, there's even an official logo-ish-specialty-font . . .



Wait! Who's that? It's a super reader from Australia . . .



It's Amy!!! I met her grandmother when we were both on this nighttime dessert safari in Dubai . . .



Okay, so then where was I last week? Not Dubai. Here's a hint . . .



Still not sure? Here's another hint -- I was at the American Girl Store at The Grove in Los Angeles to sign these books . . .



Of course, Peepy ran around and greeted new friends and old. Her first stop, of course, was to see Julie and Ivy . . .



I can't believe it's been six years since I wrote GOOD LUCK, IVY.



Oh, look! And there's Kanani!



When I wrote those books, I had to go to Hawaii to research . . .



Oops. Back to the present. Peepy made it a point to spend time with her other friends . . .



What will I be doing this summer? That's right. I will be hanging out with my friends . . .



I'll also be reading and writing and writing, and reading, and writing! With lots of visits to Indie Bookstores and libraries. Recently, I stopped by the Monrovia Public Library . . .





And finally, let's hear it for Kristen Kittscher and THE WIG IN THE WINDOW. She had a fabulous launch party at Vroman's . . .



(Yes, that's me as a blond, along with Lilliam Rivera, Cylin Busby and Cecil Castellucci.)

Pssst . . . like books? Then you're going to like THIS.



It's your chance to Tweet and be Tweeted by New York Times Bestselling Illustrator Dan Santat and Me over at The July Sharp-Shu Book Club Meeting on July 31st at 7 pm CDT. Hope to see/read you there!!!


Stay tuned for the next SPORADIC SUMMER BLOG coming sometime!!!!

===========================

Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

Want to check out Lisa's NEW AND IMPROVED website? Simply CLICK HERE.

Interested in having Lisa speak at your school, library or conference? CLICK HERE for more information.

Lisa Yee








Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!



Email:




Or you can click this for a RSS feed...

Visiting Mark Twain, Quizzing Pittsburgh, and Big Hair

As many of you know, I meet with lots and lots of readers. Not long ago when I was in New York, I got to visit with this one . . .



Oops. I'd better clarify that. I didn't meet with Mark Twain (above), but I did visit this school in Brooklyn . . .





Speaking of Mark Twain, one of these people won the most recent Mark Twain Prize for American Humor -- and the other person is me!


(Yes! That's Carol Burnett.)

And still speaking of Mark Twain, there's this terrific bio of him written by the amazing Sid Fleischman . . .



Here's Sid balancing one of my books on his head . . .


(Disclosure: I won the first Sid Fleischman Humor Award!)

After leaving Mark Twain, the school, not the man, We visited Pittsburgh (we were just there weeks earlier), and took part in the WPCTE English Festival, where I was the featured author . . .


(The professional-looking sign says, "Featured Author.")

There was some panic (on my part), because my MacAir wasn't syncing to the projector whatsit. As you may have heard, I am cursed when it somes to Mac products.





So we borrowed a P.C. and exhaled when that worked . . .



Here are some of the kids!



Later, the students took part in literary competitions such as Super Trivia . . .



BOBBY VS. GIRLS (ACCIDENTALLY) was on of the books they were quizzed on . . .





There were lots of our books for sale. When they ran out, we signed notebooks!



Speaking of the "Bobby" books, not long ago we had lunch with Bobby's illustrator, Dan Santat, and Caldecott Honoree, John Rocco . . .



John's latest book is about wild hair . . .



We are familiar with that too!!!



(Here's why everyone is pink.)

Hey! Any American Girl fans out there? You may know that I've written THREE American Girl books! And soon, I'll be at the American Girl Place at The Grove in Los Angeles -- June 25th from 1:30 - 3:30 pm. Come and say "hi" (or "aloha")!!!

===========================

Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

Want to check out Lisa's NEW AND IMPROVED website? Simply CLICK HERE.



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NY, NY, Fun, Fun . . . Lotta Libraries, Flushing Food, Agents and Editors and Authors and More!!!

I spent my Memorial Day weekend visiting the Sequoia National Park . . .





While there, I visited with General Sherman!



Oops. Wrong General. I meant, General Sherman, the biggest tree in the world. Also, here's a totally candid shot of me doing boulder push-ups . . .



However, prior to communing with nature, we were in NYC to host the Children's Choice Book Awards (as seen Here and Here), where we admired other people's shoes and hobnobbed with the likes of Henry Winkler, whose latest acting gig is in Arrested Development (more on that later) . . .



But we also had some time to meet up with friends who(m) we had met on other adventures.



Remember a while back when Peepy and I covered the Space Shuttle Endeavor's journey to Los Angeles . . .



Well, one of the other social media-ites was entrepreneur Cindy Chin. She's a New York local, so we met up at MOMA for lunch, and a quick run through the galleries . . .




(Gorgeous! And the paintings are nice, too.)

As we were heading back to our hotel we got arrested by a giant banana!!! Arrested Development this is . . .


(Yes, that last photo is of people waiting in line for a free frozen Bluth banana.)

Last year, when we were at the South Dakota Festival of Books, we met author/Rolling Stone senior critic/NPR commentator Will Hermes (for such a laid back guy, Will certainly does a lot) . . .


(That's Will on the left and Newbery-ish Gary Schmidt on the right.)

So, yay! We met up with Will at Grand Central Station.


Food was on our agenda, so we ventured to Flushing Queens Chinatown . . .



I spotted the Dreaded Durian . . .



I had tasted in in Singapore a couple months ago. It was AWFUL. I imagine this is what Harry Potter's Death Eaters nibble on for snacks . . . and why they are in such foul moods all the time.

Speaking of Harry Potter, check out this new cover by Kazu Kibuishi -- seen there with Harry Potter editor, Arthur Levine . . .



Oops. Let's return to the stink, shall we? Durians are so stinky, they are not allowed in hotels or on public transportation . . .


Me, I would rather eat worms that taste a Durian again . . .



Peepy insisted we move away from the Durian, so we did . . .



Being a book lover, we weren't about to miss the Flushing branch of the Queens Library . . .



Will knew about this really great Chinese restaurant -- Biang! Wow, the food was delicious -- tangy and tingly, smooth, chewy, a cacophany of tastes and flavors . . .



On another day, I was in Brooklyn, so of course I had to visit to the Brooklyn Library -- and who should I run into?



Sara Zarr! National Book Award Sara Zarr? I know Sara Zarr! Imagine coming all this way and running into a pal from another part of the country!



As we left, we ran into another friend -- author Bennet Madison!!!



Later, I visited the Main Library in downtown Manhattan to talk to the Lego lion . . .



Peepy was skittish about the library, having once gotten lost there . . .



After, it was time for dinner at Koi with my agent, Jodi Reamer. We had fough over a guyt a couple of days earlier, but made up . . .



The famous Strand Bookstore was on our list of places to visit . . .



An editorial lunch was on the calendar with my editor Arthur Levine. He passed me the notes on my upcoming Young Adult novel . . .



After, we walked back to Scholastic headquarters where I was meeting with author Lauren Tarshis, who's also the editor of Storyworks magazine . . .


(Um, Lauren and I were so busy gabbing, I forgot to take her photo. However, I commissioned a museum-quality artist to draw this portrait of her.)

Here's a recent story I wrote for SCOPE magazine. It will also appear in STORYWORKS! It was inspired by viral videos, like this one.


Oops. Digression! Okay, and finally, before going into Scholastic headquarters, we ran into author/editor/overachiever David Levithan and his dueling coffees . . .



Next Blog: Visting Mark Twain School in Brooklyn and the Western Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English Book Festival in Pittsburgh!
===========================

Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

Want to check out Lisa's NEW AND IMPROVED website? Simply CLICK HERE.



Interested in having Lisa speak at your school, library or conference? CLICK HERE for more information.

Lisa Yee








Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!



Email:




Or you can click this for a RSS feed...