Lisa Yee's Blog, page 25

Hanging Out With the Homegirls

Sometimes my Peep and I go on adventures far from home and visit fabu-awesome places like this and like this.

Sometimes, we go on grand adventures nearby, like last Friday.

Recently, we hopped on the Gold Line in South Pasadena and headed east . . .



We got off at the Chinatown stop . . .



But Chinatown wasn't our destination. This was . . .



Homeboy Industries is the brainchild of Father Gregory Boyle, a man who has dedicated his life to helping former gang members ease into the mainstream. His goes into LA's roughest neighborhoods and offers job training and work to gang members -- in exchange for them giving up the gang life.

His motto is, "Nothing stops a bullet like a job."



Father Boyle even wrote a bestselling book about this.


(Photo from the Los Angeles Times Blog)

Housed within Homeboy Industries headquarters is Homegirl Cafe. That's where I was going to meet a fellow author for lunch.



However, he was late. So I settled into the booth and admired the original art on the walls and studied the menu . . .



I also read the newspaper . . .



Finally, Michael Reisman showed up, claiming LA traffic was his nemesis . . .



We had a wonderful meal. (I had the chorizo soft tacos and salmon tacos, a keylime tart, and COFFEE!) Later, we chatted Alex Malaspinas about Homegirl Cafe. She even brought Peepy a plate of scrumptious cookies . . .



What a wonderful afternoon we had. And look what else! There's even a gift shop and bakery at Homegirl Cafe . . .



Luckily for me, I can also get fresh baked Homeboy Bakery breads at my local Farmers Market!

However, if you don't live close, you can order holiday (or anytime) gifts online . . .



To listen to Terry Gross interview Father Boyle on NPR, CLICK HERE.

Oh, and BTW, here are Irondale Public Library's Staff Favorites of 2010. Recognize the book on the top left?


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Craig Ferguson, Neil Patrick Harris and The Peep

Last Friday was our return visit to the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

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The first time we attended the show, the special guest was Robin Williams.

The CBS studios are adjacent to the famed Farmers Market where all the television stars used to (and some still do) dine when shooting their shows. So of course, we had to have lunch there . . .

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Cameras weren't allowed in the studio and our cell phones were taken away from us. But luckily, I have these oil paintings of what went on during the show.

The special guests were Neil Patrick Harris and Peepy . . .



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Peeps went on first and Craig was fascinated by her wit . . .

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A couple of times during the show, Secretariat, the horse, came out and the entire audience did a dance. Look carefully and you can (almost) see me in the front row!!!

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Next up was Neil Patrick Harris. Craig insisted that Peepy stay on and she enchanted both men . . .

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She was such a hit, that Craig asked her to replace Geoff as his sidekick . . .

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However, she's no one's sidekick and is holding out for her own show.



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Bobby Meets Mr. Lee's Fabulous Fourth Graders

Remember that great teacher you had in elementary school? The one who made everything fun?

Well, one of the perks of being an author is that I get to meet so many wonderful teachers all across the country. Earlier this year, I met a fourth grade teacher named Mr. Lee and lots of other book-loving teachers when I was at Hicklebee's Educator Night . . .



Later, Mr. Lee wrote to me, saying he was reading BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) to his class . . .



Part of his letter went like this . . .

"We are up to Chapter Five and the kids laughed out loud at the Mr. Wiener House chapter, and they all gasped when they realized Bobby had gotten in trouble."

"One of the guys remarked, 'Bobby is not brave, well kind of brave in his own way.'"

"They didn't think it was unusual for the kids to take a fish and a worm for a walk."

"One of the boys has read the book already . . . so I have to remind him not to spoil it for others."

When you write a book, you're in a bubble, isolated from the rest of the world, with only your imagination to keep you company. So when a book comes out and you hear from your readers, it's a delight. And when they send pictures, well, this is how wonderful it is . . .



When Mr. Lee finished the book, his students all wrote to me . . .



They had taken a section of the book, where Bobby and his friends talk about what kind of superhero they would be, and made it their own. Here are the kind of superheroes Mr. Lee's students imagined themselves as . . .



How cool is that?

But wait, there's more! I asked Mr. Lee if I could blog about his class at Discovery Charter School in San Jose, and he said, "yes," but that his students wanted to write to me again.

This time they sent these amazing letters relating to the book. They told me who their heroes were (lots picked their parents!), and their fears, and what they liked most about both BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) and BOBBY VS. GIRLS (ACCIDENTALLY) . . .





Here are a couple, selected at random, up close. The first young author wrote that she was brave when she got a shot . . .



Another wrote, "What is a brave thing I did? Hold a parrot . . . in Russia."


This author was really brave when they went into the grass to rescue their friend who had allergies . . .


And this boy was brave when he climbed a rock, he even wrote, "This is freaky!"



To Mr. Lee and his students . . . thank you soooooo much for sharing all this!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's an interview I did with The Happy Nappy Bookseller about writing the Bobby books.

For a list of "Books that help kids make the leap into middle grade novels," CLICK HERE.

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David Sedaris Gets Squirrelly

I love David Sedaris. I first heard of him on NPR. I love NPR, too. Here's when I went to see/hear Ira Glass . . .



The rumors are true. David Sedaris and I are BFF.



David doesn't know this, but I think it could be true. Someday. Sometime. Somewhere.

After all, we've met before . . .



So when I heard he had a new book out, I had to get it.



It's David's first illustrated book for adults. And get this, the illustrator is Ian Falconer!



I love Ian Falconer, and even have his OLIVIA postage stamps . . .



So get this, if you bought the book at Vroman's in Pasadena, you could see/hear David for ZERO DOLLARS!

Vroman's is so cool. It's where I've had my book launch parties . . .


(That's Dan Santat signing with Moi. He illustrated my Bobby Ellis-Chan books, and he saw David Sedaris, too.)

The first people to buy SQUIRREL SEEKS CHIPMUNK were the first to get tickets. Still, you had to arrive early to get a good seat . . .



No photos were allowed . . .



So here's an oil painting of not David prior to his appearance . . .



David spoke for an hour. He was delightful and funny and clever and witty and wise, and had me laughing so hard that I snorted. Snort. See, I'm doing it again.





CLICK HERE to see David talking with Jon Stewart about SQUIRREL.

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Harry Potter Theme Park Peep

Recently I was in Orlando for the NCTE and ALAN conferences. Yes, over 8,000 English teachers and authors all convened at Walt Disney World to talk books!!!! (BTW, I used to work at Disney as a writer/producer, and figured I have been there over 2,000 times.)

Between conference sessions, Peepy and I had a few hours to sneak away. We hitched a ride with Neal Shusterman and headed here . . .



Were exactly were you, you ask? Well, here's a hint . . . WE WERE AT THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER!!!!!

It was wonderous (and crowded!) . . .



The attention to detail was amazing . . .


And the frozen butterbeer was delish. It tasted like a slushy butterscotch concoction with a light, sweet head of foam . . .



Most of the stores were too packed to get into, so we window shopped . . .


However, we did make it inside a couple of stores . . .



Like the wand shop . . .



Everywhere, there were wizard-y sights and sounds . . .



I loved the rooftops most of all . . .



Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey was awesome!!! (But it gave me motion sickness.)


The wizards and witches were so nice!



Here's a video of the place when some Harry Potter cast members visited . . .


Oh wait, back to Walt Disney World! "The Goddess of YA Literature" was at the ALAN Conference and heard me talk about my next book. Here's what she had to say about WARP SPEED. Wheeee!!!!




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Conference Confidential - More Authors "Get Peeped"

When last we were in blogland together, Peepy and I were at the NCTE conference in Orlando. Well, guess what? We're still there, thanks to our Time Machine!

The next morning was time for the Scholastic Literary Brunch. Hosted by the-man-with-the-best-English-accent-at-the-conference, John Mason, Scholastic's Director of Library and Educational Marketing, he introduced these authors who read from their upcoming books . . .


(That would be Derrick Barnes, Lois Lowry, Judy Blundell, Pam Munoz Ryan, Kirby Larson, and Moi.)

Speaking of accents, here's the cast of HARRY POTTER attempting "American accents" . . .


Oops! Didn't mean to get distracted by the Brits. Back to the luncheon.

I followed Lois Lowry (squeeeeeee!!!) and read from WARP SPEED, which will be out in March. Here's the audience brunching, then looking at Peepy . . .



When Kirby read, she dressed accordingly. My go-to guy for the STAR TREK references in the book, Trekker Ed Masessa, was there cheering us all on . . .



After, it was fun to hobnob with Walter Mayes . . .



In the evening we were back at Disney where the conference was being held. It was now time for the ALAN reception. It was a glittering soiree of educators, authors and characters . . .


Lots of authors "Got Peeped" that night, including, Gary Paulson, Alyson Noel, and Marlene Perez . . .



Sneed Collard, Alex Flinn, and Ned Vizzini were Peeped, too . . .



We also got to hang out with Siobhan Vivian, Rachel Cohn, and Ann Angel . . .



The last time we saw Malinda Lo we were Skyping together. And here's Cindy Pon, and Scholastic editor and author, Andrea Pinkney . . .



In the morning it was time for the ALAN conference. I was on a panel with Laura Resau, Jewell Parker Rhodes and Art Corriveau . . .


(Art was hiding when the photo was taken.)

We spoke to these 500 smart, witty, attractive uber readers/educators . . .



When it was time for the book signing, the line went around the room, out the door, and all the way to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios . . .



Speaking of HARRY POTTER . . .



I'll be blogging about Peepy's adventures at the Wizarding World next!

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When Authors and English Teachers Collide (NCTE 2010)

What happens when authors and English teachers collide?????

YES! The annual NCTE Conference . . . and too much fun! This was my second NCTE and I had a blast.

When I told my friend Curtis that I was at a conference with 8,000 English teachers, he said, "That's my worst nightmare." For me, it was my dream come true.

It began on Friday night at the Scholastic Family dinner . . .



Peepy loved meeting Newbery Winner Lois Lowry and Rodman Philbrick . . .



Pam Munoz Ryan, E.B. Lewis and Kirby Larson made sure Peepy had plenty to eat and drink . . .



Things got wild after that. It was all Gordon Korman's fault. He dared Peeps to balance on his head . . . then everyone wanted to get into the act. Here's Gordon, Deborah Wiles and Sara Lewis Holmes . . .



And Coe Booth, Maggie Stiefvater, and David Levithan . . .



And Derrick Barnes, Margaret Peterson Haddix, and National Book Awardee Judy Blundell . . .



Our fabulous Scholastic team who make it possible for our books to get into the hands of educators and librarians, Lisa Ann Sandell, Robin Hoffman (with Judy), Tracy van Straaten, John Mason and Lizette Serrano . . .



And here's our fearless leader Dick Robinson, President, CEO and Chairman of Scholastic . . .



The next day it was time to roam around the convention floor. It was fun running into old friends and new, like Adam Rex, Neal Shusterman, and Megan Whalen Turner . . .



And Henry Cole, Caledcott (x 3) Winner David Wiesner and Janet Wong . . .



And Barbara O'Connor, Ellen Wittinger and Monica Edinger . . .



And Gennifer Choldenko . . .



Plus, editors David Gale and Alvina Ling . . .



Then it was time to sign books!


Soon we were at a Speed-Dating-With-Authors-Type-Event. Holly Black and I were at the same table . . .


(Holly, along with Cecil Castellucci, edited GEEKTASTIC, a YA anthology I have a story in!)

Melinda de la Cruz and Heather Brewster were there, too . . .



And so were Kurtis Scaletta, Jo Knowles and Robin Wasserman . . .



That night, Dick Robinson hosted the "Unnamed Sponsor's" (Scholastic's) annual M. R. Robinson Reception and Dinner for ONE THOUSAND educators . . .



After we ran into David Saylor, David Mcinnas Gill and Kate Messner . . .



We had a wonderful time, and it wasn't over yet!

Next Blog: More NCTE adventures, more amazing authors and more more.

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

Want some fun? CLICK HERE to visit the Lisa Yee and Son YouTube Channel.

Lisa Yee







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When Authors and English Teachers Collide (NCTE 2011)

What happens when authors and English teachers collide?????

YES! The annual NCTE Conference . . . and too much fun! This was my second NCTE and I had a blast.

When I told my friend Curtis that I was at a conference with 8,000 English teachers, he said, "That's my worst nightmare." For me, it was my dream come true.

It began on Friday night at the Scholastic Family dinner . . .



Peepy loved meeting Newbery Winner Lois Lowry and Rodman Philbrick . . .



Pam Munoz Ryan, E.B. Lewis and Kirby Larson made sure Peepy had plenty to eat and drink . . .



Things got wild after that. It was all Gordon Korman's fault. He dared Peeps to balance on his head . . . then everyone wanted to get into the act. Here's Gordon, Deborah Wiles and Sara Lewis Holmes . . .



And Coe Booth, Maggie Stiefvater, and David Levithan . . .



And Derrick Barnes, Margaret Peterson Haddix, and National Book Awardee Judy Blundell . . .



Our fabulous Scholastic team who make it possible for our books to get into the hands of educators and librarians, Lisa Ann Sandell, Robin Hoffman (with Judy), Tracy van Straaten, John Mason and Lizette Serrano . . .



And here's our fearless leader Dick Robinson, President, CEO and Chairman of Scholastic . . .



The next day it was time to roam around the convention floor. It was fun running into old friends and new, like Adam Rex, Neal Shusterman, and Megan Whalen Turner . . .



And Henry Cole, Caledcott (x 3) Winner David Wiesner and Janet Wong . . .



And Barbara O'Connor, Ellen Wittinger and Monica Edinger . . .



And Gennifer Choldenko . . .



Plus, editors David Gale and Alvina Ling . . .



Then it was time to sign books!


Soon we were at a Speed-Dating-With-Authors-Type-Event. Holly Black and I were at the same table . . .


(Holly, along with Cecil Castellucci, edited GEEKTASTIC, a YA anthology I have a story in!)

Melinda de la Cruz and Heather Brewster were there, too . . .



And so were Kurtis Scaletta, Jo Knowles and Robin Wasserman . . .



That night, Dick Robinson hosted the "Unnamed Sponsor's" (Scholastic's) annual M. R. Robinson Reception and Dinner for ONE THOUSAND educators . . .



After we ran into David Saylor, David Mcinnas Gill and Kate Messner . . .



We had a wonderful time, and it wasn't over yet!

Next Blog: More NCTE adventures, more amazing authors and more more.

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

Want some fun? CLICK HERE to visit the Lisa Yee and Son YouTube Channel.

Lisa Yee







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Hanging With People Who Can Draw

It seems like there's so much going on, that even though I'm in Orlando now at the NCTE Conference . . .



. . . I still haven't blogged about stuff that went on when last week in Southern California.

Luckily, I have my own personal time machine . . .

(Okay, so it's not a conventional time machine, but that is the bumper of my car.)

So then, where were we? Ah yes, back in sunny Southern California for the SCBWI Los Angeles' Illustrator's Day . . .



Our good friend and illustrator of our Bobby Ellis-Chan series, Dan Santat was speaking. So Peepy and I went to cheer him on.

Here's Dan dancing with with Ken Min, the day's awesome MC, and editor Abigail Samoun . . .



It was fun catching up with Abigail. The last time our paths crossed we were in Cheese Country . . .


Oh wait! Back to dancing. Dan showed this video of himself and I'm telling you, he could be Dancing With The Star's next David Hasslehoff . . .



You do recall when The Hoff got to meet The Peep, don't you?


Here's Dan's video . . .



Oh yeah.

Peeps was thrilled to hang out with agents Jamie Weiss Chilton and Jen Rofe from the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (They both offered her a multibook deal, which she is considering.) Plus, Peepy got to listen to Sr. Creative Director of MacMillian's Children's Publishing Rich Deas.



We were especially happy to meet the talented Brian Floca and his three twin brothers . . . not!!! (One of these photos is not like the others. Can you figure it out?)



After the event, the fun continued as a group of People Who Can Draw, plus me and my Peep, went out for Chinese dumplings!


(Photo lifted from Dan's blog.)

Included in the group are Bob, Jeremy, Rita, Ron, Wilson and others who all raised a glass to toast Peepy! (Um, not in the microwave, of course.)



NEXT BLOG: Who are these people and why do they have a Peep on their head????



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

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Meet Me In St. Louis

Can you guess where these photos were taken?



If you said "the Grand Canyon!" you are not right. However, if you said, "St. Louis!" then you could be the next Jeopardy champion!!!!

My Peep and I were in St. Louis to take part in their totally awesome READ IT FORWARD program. That's where the awesome St. Louis Public Library selects an author and gives away 500 of their books FOR FREE!!!!!!!! Readers are encouraged to read the book, then pass it along to someone else. How cool is that???

Can you guess who the author is this year? Here's a hint . . .


(If you said, "Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy!" you're close. However, he couldn't make it, but asked me to attend in his place.)

Peepy and Moi began our day by speaking to the amazing students Metro High School about ABSOLUTELY MAYBE. One even had gorgeous blue hair! (In ABSOLUTELY MAYBE, the main character loves to dye her hair fun colors. CLICK HERE to see a 476,881-ish people who have dyed their hair in honor of the book.)



Later, we hung out in the school library . . .



Peepy got to gossip with a nice panther, and later was given a big slice of gooey butter cake . . .



The gooey butter cake was sooooo rich and delicious. However, we needed to balance the sweetness, so we had PICKLE SOUP (!!!) at The Fountain for lunch . . .



Then it was time to hang out with the cool kids at Fremont Middle School and talk about STANFORD WONG FLUNKS BIG-TIME . . .


In the evening, we headed to the Schlafly Branch Library where we got to make lots of new friends!



While in St. Louis, we also got to visit Citygarden, a place devoted to Peepy . . .



They had other stuff, too . . .


Next Blog: Having dinner with people who can draw.

Oh! And this weekend I'll be at NCTE conference in Orlando. If you're attending, come say "hi" to me and Peeps. Here's where we'll be . . .


SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20
1:00-2:00pm Scholastic Signing == Convention Center--Booth #312

2:00-3:00pm Anderson's Bookshops Signing == Convention Center--Booth #312

4:30 - 5:30 pm Middle Mosaic: Writers and Readers Together == Coronado Resort—Coronado Ballroom

5:45-7:45pm 78th Annual M.R. Robinson Reception & Dinner == Coronado Resort—Ballroom H/J


SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21
10:00-11:30am Scholastic Literary Brunch == Disney's Coronado Springs Resort—Ballroom H
(Other speakers include Kirby Larson, Lois Lowry, Derrick Barnes ,Judy Blundell, and Pam Munoz Ryan!!!)

5:30-7:00pm ALAN Reception ==Coronado Resort-Ballroom Fiesta 6


MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22
10:30-11:10am ALAN WORKSHOP == "Getting By with a Little Help from Family and Friends" Author Panel

11:10–11:40am "SILENT" BOOK SIGNING (as other authors will still be speaking)

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Lisa Yee







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