Lisa Yee's Blog, page 6
November 4, 2012
A Dog Rumpus Moon Festival
First of all, if you are reading this on Monday, remember to VOTE Tuesday. If you are reading this on Tuesday, VOTE today, and if you are reading this after Monday or Tuesday, I hope you remembered to vote!
This is who I am voting for . . .
CLICK HERE to see the other authors and illustrators who stand behind our President.
Speaking of elections, here's a great illustration Dan Santat did in BOBBY VS. GIRLS (ACCIDENTALLY). In the book, Bobby runs against his best friend Holly for student council rep . . .
Okay. So politics aside, after a thousand-ish weeks on the road, I was home for a couple of weeks. During that time this went on . . .
However, other stuff happened, too. Like, I signed books at the Moon Festival! It's put on by the South Pasadena Chinese-American Club. (FYI, I am Chinese American and live in South Pasadena.)
There was lots to see and do . . .
Look! It's our friend Tau Nyeu. Her book, SQUID AND OCTOPUS is sooooooo cute!!!!
In between book signings, I wrote a letter and drew pictures for RUMPUS- Letters for Kids . . .
It's the totally cool thing where you sign up and for a small fee your kid(s) or class(es) get a real letter for a children's book author, in something called a MAIL BOX, twice a month. CLICK HERE for more information.
Psst. Over there! Who's that creating those awesome bonsai plants???
He looks awfully familiar. Could he be the bonsai man in GOOD JOB, KANANI? That's one of the books I wrote for American girl -- and I had to go to Hawaii for fun, er, research . . .
(That's me and one of my instructors. Yes, I took surf lessons. Had to. Kanani surfs.)
Wait! I think it is the same man from the book, and he looks familiar because -- that's my dad and he was in the book . . .
Oh, and on another bookish note, here's a really great movie for teens and people who used to be teens . . .
And finally, there's this . . .
===========================
Wheeeee . . . BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) is now out in paperback!
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...
This is who I am voting for . . .
CLICK HERE to see the other authors and illustrators who stand behind our President.
Speaking of elections, here's a great illustration Dan Santat did in BOBBY VS. GIRLS (ACCIDENTALLY). In the book, Bobby runs against his best friend Holly for student council rep . . .
Okay. So politics aside, after a thousand-ish weeks on the road, I was home for a couple of weeks. During that time this went on . . .
However, other stuff happened, too. Like, I signed books at the Moon Festival! It's put on by the South Pasadena Chinese-American Club. (FYI, I am Chinese American and live in South Pasadena.)
There was lots to see and do . . .
Look! It's our friend Tau Nyeu. Her book, SQUID AND OCTOPUS is sooooooo cute!!!!
In between book signings, I wrote a letter and drew pictures for RUMPUS- Letters for Kids . . .
It's the totally cool thing where you sign up and for a small fee your kid(s) or class(es) get a real letter for a children's book author, in something called a MAIL BOX, twice a month. CLICK HERE for more information.
Psst. Over there! Who's that creating those awesome bonsai plants???
He looks awfully familiar. Could he be the bonsai man in GOOD JOB, KANANI? That's one of the books I wrote for American girl -- and I had to go to Hawaii for fun, er, research . . .
(That's me and one of my instructors. Yes, I took surf lessons. Had to. Kanani surfs.)
Wait! I think it is the same man from the book, and he looks familiar because -- that's my dad and he was in the book . . .
Oh, and on another bookish note, here's a really great movie for teens and people who used to be teens . . .
And finally, there's this . . .
===========================
Wheeeee . . . BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) is now out in paperback!
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...
October 28, 2012
Exploring Sioux Falls, Then Talking About Books in Texas
During our Book Festival week in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, we had some free time to explore downtown. Of course, Peepy made friends everywhere she went . . .
We visited the falls of Sioux Falls, too . . .
There were lots of great stores like Zandbroz Variety . . .
We especially liked this book shop called . . . oh, what was the book shop called? Absolutely Maybe it was called THE BOOK SHOP!!!
Peepy found some light airplane reading, and good thing because we were headed to Houston, TX next . . .
We were visiting the Long Horn state to see the students at St. John's . . .
Before we spoke we explored the libraries (they had more than one) . . .
There was a hole in the stage, and I was afraid I was going to fall into it since I am clumsy . . . but I didn't. Hooray!
Then I got ready for the first of three assemblies. Here's what it looked like backstage as everyone was coming in . . .
And here are the enthusiastic St. John's students . . .
During lunch we ate with the speaker for the lower grades, picture book author/illustrator Jon Agee!!!
Um. Was he wearing the same shirt at Sherman Alexie?
Later, Jon and I did a video interview with a student reporter . . .
(CLICK HERE to see the interview!)
That evening there was a ginormous school fundraiser at Barnes & Noble . . .
Of course, the star of the evening was Peepy. She had her photo taken dozens of times, like with the boy on the far right of the photo . . .
And speaking of contests (pretend we were), here's the winner of my Facebook caption contest . . . Paul Acampora!!!
(Seen here with his grand prize, an autographed menu signed by Loren Long, Dan Santat, and Moi.)
Next Blog: The Moon Festival in South Pasadena
In the meantime. Oops, she did it again . . .
Oh! Oh! One last thing. My next novel is a Young Adult book called SEVEN DAYS DOWN. It chronicles the last seven days of high school of a popular senior. When it's revealed that he cheated on his Harvard application, his life spirals dangerously out of control.
So then, I've been asking my facebook friends questions like, "What one thing do you remember most about your high school graduation ceremony?"
Over 150 shared their experiences, and I loved reading through them. Here's what they had to say.
===========================
Wheeeee . . . BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) is now out in paperback!
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...
We visited the falls of Sioux Falls, too . . .
There were lots of great stores like Zandbroz Variety . . .
We especially liked this book shop called . . . oh, what was the book shop called? Absolutely Maybe it was called THE BOOK SHOP!!!
Peepy found some light airplane reading, and good thing because we were headed to Houston, TX next . . .
We were visiting the Long Horn state to see the students at St. John's . . .
Before we spoke we explored the libraries (they had more than one) . . .
There was a hole in the stage, and I was afraid I was going to fall into it since I am clumsy . . . but I didn't. Hooray!
Then I got ready for the first of three assemblies. Here's what it looked like backstage as everyone was coming in . . .
And here are the enthusiastic St. John's students . . .
During lunch we ate with the speaker for the lower grades, picture book author/illustrator Jon Agee!!!
Um. Was he wearing the same shirt at Sherman Alexie?
Later, Jon and I did a video interview with a student reporter . . .
(CLICK HERE to see the interview!)
That evening there was a ginormous school fundraiser at Barnes & Noble . . .
Of course, the star of the evening was Peepy. She had her photo taken dozens of times, like with the boy on the far right of the photo . . .
And speaking of contests (pretend we were), here's the winner of my Facebook caption contest . . . Paul Acampora!!!
(Seen here with his grand prize, an autographed menu signed by Loren Long, Dan Santat, and Moi.)
Next Blog: The Moon Festival in South Pasadena
In the meantime. Oops, she did it again . . .
Oh! Oh! One last thing. My next novel is a Young Adult book called SEVEN DAYS DOWN. It chronicles the last seven days of high school of a popular senior. When it's revealed that he cheated on his Harvard application, his life spirals dangerously out of control.
So then, I've been asking my facebook friends questions like, "What one thing do you remember most about your high school graduation ceremony?"
Over 150 shared their experiences, and I loved reading through them. Here's what they had to say.
===========================
Wheeeee . . . BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) is now out in paperback!
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...
October 22, 2012
I Flew a F-18, Peepy on the Radio(s), and More South Dakota Bookness
WARNING: THIS PARTICULAR BLOG IS A TOTAL MASHUP OF MISHMASH.
Where were we? Ah, yes! The South Dakota Festival of Books.
We had just met author/Rolling Stone critic/NPR commentator Will Hermes. It was pretty clear that Will had something important he wanted to ask Peepy. That's right. Would she agree to do an interview with him? Peepy graciously agreed, giving Will the interview of his career . . .
(To read Will Hermes' exclusive interview with Peepy, look for the special Rolling Stone Special Peep Edition, on your newsstand sooner or later.)
So then, of course, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, wanted an interview too. Can you blame them?
Next it was my turn to be interviewed by Karl Gehrke. You can listen to us here. (It sounded like I was hyped up on coffee. Um. Maybe I was.)
(Photo credit: Roy Blount Jr.)
Wait, wait, don't tell me! Why was Roy Blount Jr. snapping my photos? Because he was interviewed, too. Here are photos I took of him.
Here's a link of when Peepy and I went to Wait, Wait . . . Don't Tell me!
Fun fact: Our friend Emily Ecton is one of the show's producers. Here she is dining with BatPeep . . .
Emily, under the name Emily Fairlie, has a fantastic book coming out soon. Check out the first blurb.
Oops. Back to South Dakota. (As you can clearly see, this blog is written without the guidance of an editor.) So then, Roy and Peepy had a major argument over string theory and advanced astrophysics, until Roy realized that Peepy was right . . .
The next day there was another radio interview! This time with Mix 97.3 . . .
(Photo credit - the clear ones: Ryan Woodard.)
Immediately after, we hurried to speak at a tea for over almost 200 American Girl fans (including the dolls). The room was packed!
(Photo credit - the clear ones: Tina Nicholas Coury)
It was awesome, and the girls wrote me messages on these paper surf boards!
After, we signed a zillion books . . .
From there, we spoke at the library . . .
That night, dinner was delish . . .
We capped off the evening with a traveling author's dream come true -- a hotel with a public washer and dryer! (I was on the road for about 463 years or days-ish, more or less.)
The next morning we opened the newspaper and read about ourselves. Twice!
(The girl in the first photo is reading ALOHA, KANANI.)
Later, we flew an F-18 while the news crews looked on . . .
Huh? Oh. It wasn't a real F-18. It was a simulator. (And that's a good thing because I crash landed in the desert.) Why was I flying an F-18? Because, not to boast, but I WAS PART OF THE NASA SOCIAL MEDIA GROUP COVERING THE SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOR!!!!!!!!! (Um. Here's proof.)
Wait? What? I thought we were in South Dakota?
Well, yes. but right now we are shuttling over to Edwards Air Force Base when we were there to see the shuttle land and take off for LAX . . .
But Lisa, you were tracking the Endeavour for NASA a few weeks ago, right? Yes, but this past weekish, Endeavour journeyed through the streets of Los Angeles!!!
Because my recent blogs are all part of one continuous looooong road trip, and I didn't have room before, I am post blogging some Endeavour stuff. So here's more of the NASA behind-the-scenes we were privy to as we go back to the future of the past while here in the present . . .
These are space shuttle tiles . . .
These are not . . .
Eeeeeek . . . LOOK! Aliens! Space aliens!!!!
Oh, wait. That's Dan Santat and Loren Long.<./a> They took part in my facebook caption contest. We had almost one hundred entries, and Lisa Yee, Lisa Yee, and Lisa Yee* picked the winner!
To find out who won this lovely/autographed/drawn-on menu from Barney's Beanery, CLICK HERE.
*The judges were facebook friends of mine who are also named "Lisa Yee.")
And now, back to more super secret maybe NASA stuff . . .
NEXT BLOG: Same road trip, next location . . . Houston, Texas
===========================
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...
Where were we? Ah, yes! The South Dakota Festival of Books.
We had just met author/Rolling Stone critic/NPR commentator Will Hermes. It was pretty clear that Will had something important he wanted to ask Peepy. That's right. Would she agree to do an interview with him? Peepy graciously agreed, giving Will the interview of his career . . .
(To read Will Hermes' exclusive interview with Peepy, look for the special Rolling Stone Special Peep Edition, on your newsstand sooner or later.)
So then, of course, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, wanted an interview too. Can you blame them?
Next it was my turn to be interviewed by Karl Gehrke. You can listen to us here. (It sounded like I was hyped up on coffee. Um. Maybe I was.)
(Photo credit: Roy Blount Jr.)
Wait, wait, don't tell me! Why was Roy Blount Jr. snapping my photos? Because he was interviewed, too. Here are photos I took of him.
Here's a link of when Peepy and I went to Wait, Wait . . . Don't Tell me!
Fun fact: Our friend Emily Ecton is one of the show's producers. Here she is dining with BatPeep . . .
Emily, under the name Emily Fairlie, has a fantastic book coming out soon. Check out the first blurb.
Oops. Back to South Dakota. (As you can clearly see, this blog is written without the guidance of an editor.) So then, Roy and Peepy had a major argument over string theory and advanced astrophysics, until Roy realized that Peepy was right . . .
The next day there was another radio interview! This time with Mix 97.3 . . .
(Photo credit - the clear ones: Ryan Woodard.)
Immediately after, we hurried to speak at a tea for over almost 200 American Girl fans (including the dolls). The room was packed!
(Photo credit - the clear ones: Tina Nicholas Coury)
It was awesome, and the girls wrote me messages on these paper surf boards!
After, we signed a zillion books . . .
From there, we spoke at the library . . .
That night, dinner was delish . . .
We capped off the evening with a traveling author's dream come true -- a hotel with a public washer and dryer! (I was on the road for about 463 years or days-ish, more or less.)
The next morning we opened the newspaper and read about ourselves. Twice!
(The girl in the first photo is reading ALOHA, KANANI.)
Later, we flew an F-18 while the news crews looked on . . .
Huh? Oh. It wasn't a real F-18. It was a simulator. (And that's a good thing because I crash landed in the desert.) Why was I flying an F-18? Because, not to boast, but I WAS PART OF THE NASA SOCIAL MEDIA GROUP COVERING THE SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOR!!!!!!!!! (Um. Here's proof.)
Wait? What? I thought we were in South Dakota?
Well, yes. but right now we are shuttling over to Edwards Air Force Base when we were there to see the shuttle land and take off for LAX . . .
But Lisa, you were tracking the Endeavour for NASA a few weeks ago, right? Yes, but this past weekish, Endeavour journeyed through the streets of Los Angeles!!!
Because my recent blogs are all part of one continuous looooong road trip, and I didn't have room before, I am post blogging some Endeavour stuff. So here's more of the NASA behind-the-scenes we were privy to as we go back to the future of the past while here in the present . . .
These are space shuttle tiles . . .
These are not . . .
Eeeeeek . . . LOOK! Aliens! Space aliens!!!!
Oh, wait. That's Dan Santat and Loren Long.<./a> They took part in my facebook caption contest. We had almost one hundred entries, and Lisa Yee, Lisa Yee, and Lisa Yee* picked the winner!
To find out who won this lovely/autographed/drawn-on menu from Barney's Beanery, CLICK HERE.
*The judges were facebook friends of mine who are also named "Lisa Yee.")
And now, back to more super secret maybe NASA stuff . . .
NEXT BLOG: Same road trip, next location . . . Houston, Texas
===========================
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...
October 15, 2012
Jet Lagging with Sherman Alexie, Men in Plaid, and the South Dakota Festival of Books
After panelling and chatting and chewing in Brooklyn . . .
. . . it was time to head to the South Dakota Festival of Books. I was set for another boring plane ride, when look who I bumped into in Minneapolis -- we were going to the same place!
Yes! That's Sherman Alexie. When we last saw Sherman he was doing this . . .
We were both jet lagged, but I don't think it was too noticeable . . .
Even though he was tired, I woke Sherman up and asked him to sign something for Son's teacher and others. I also asked him to sign a check for me, but he refused.
The South Dakota Festival of Books takes place in various parts of the state. We were in Brookings to speak to the 4th graders at Camelot Intermediate School. Look how big they are!
Oh, wait. That's not a student, that's the principal, Dave Fiedler. (So cool when you have a fun principal!)
Here's a before and after of speaking to the 4th graders . . .
Later, Dave gave me a tour of his wonderful school. I'd never seen sinks OUTSIDE of the restrooms, but was told that it speeds things up, thwarts goofing around, and you can see who washes their hands. Makes sense to me!
As I was touring the campus, I found myself in a math problem!!!
That evening it was off to hear Sherman kick-off the festival. He spoke IN AN ARENA . . .
Here's Sherman with Pam Merchant and me backstage. Pam was kind enough to drive me all over South Dakota because I get lost easily. For that reason alone, vote for Pam!
The next day it was off to Sioux Falls, which is a different place than Sioux City, not that anyone I know would confuse the two. Ah hem.
(Above is the goodie bag that greeted me in Sioux Falls.)
You've heard of Men in Black, right?
Well, I got to have dinner with their literary dopplegangers -- Men in Plaid. It was wonderful seeing Newbery/National Book Award-ish Gary Schmidt (on right) again! The last time we saw him he was with the lovely and mysterious BatPeep. And who's that other plaid clad fellow? Why, it's none other than Rolling Stone critic/NPR commentator/author Will Hermes . . .
After eating at an Italian restaurant with schnitzel on the menu, we headed to the authors' reception to be recepted . . .
We were so fascinating that we made the news . . .
Twice . . .
NEXT BLOG: Peepy (and Lisa) on South Dakota Public radio, sparring with Roy Blount Jr. and more from South Dakota. Plus, Will Hermes gets the interview of his career.
Oh wait! One more thing. What's that? Why it's a handwritten letter I wrote for The Rumpus - Letters For Kids.
Yes, your kid(s), or you(s), can get two actual letters in an old-fashioned thing called "the mailbox" each month from actual KidLit authors. CLICK HERE to find out more.
And finally, speaking of writing, I had a caption contest over on my facebook wall. Here's the photo of Eight-Books-Out-This-Year-Alone Dan Santat and NY TIMES #1 Besteller Loren Long . . .
(I'll post the winning caption, along with the fabulous prize, on the next 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...
. . . it was time to head to the South Dakota Festival of Books. I was set for another boring plane ride, when look who I bumped into in Minneapolis -- we were going to the same place!
Yes! That's Sherman Alexie. When we last saw Sherman he was doing this . . .
We were both jet lagged, but I don't think it was too noticeable . . .
Even though he was tired, I woke Sherman up and asked him to sign something for Son's teacher and others. I also asked him to sign a check for me, but he refused.
The South Dakota Festival of Books takes place in various parts of the state. We were in Brookings to speak to the 4th graders at Camelot Intermediate School. Look how big they are!
Oh, wait. That's not a student, that's the principal, Dave Fiedler. (So cool when you have a fun principal!)
Here's a before and after of speaking to the 4th graders . . .
Later, Dave gave me a tour of his wonderful school. I'd never seen sinks OUTSIDE of the restrooms, but was told that it speeds things up, thwarts goofing around, and you can see who washes their hands. Makes sense to me!
As I was touring the campus, I found myself in a math problem!!!
That evening it was off to hear Sherman kick-off the festival. He spoke IN AN ARENA . . .
Here's Sherman with Pam Merchant and me backstage. Pam was kind enough to drive me all over South Dakota because I get lost easily. For that reason alone, vote for Pam!
The next day it was off to Sioux Falls, which is a different place than Sioux City, not that anyone I know would confuse the two. Ah hem.
(Above is the goodie bag that greeted me in Sioux Falls.)
You've heard of Men in Black, right?
Well, I got to have dinner with their literary dopplegangers -- Men in Plaid. It was wonderful seeing Newbery/National Book Award-ish Gary Schmidt (on right) again! The last time we saw him he was with the lovely and mysterious BatPeep. And who's that other plaid clad fellow? Why, it's none other than Rolling Stone critic/NPR commentator/author Will Hermes . . .
After eating at an Italian restaurant with schnitzel on the menu, we headed to the authors' reception to be recepted . . .
We were so fascinating that we made the news . . .
Twice . . .
NEXT BLOG: Peepy (and Lisa) on South Dakota Public radio, sparring with Roy Blount Jr. and more from South Dakota. Plus, Will Hermes gets the interview of his career.
Oh wait! One more thing. What's that? Why it's a handwritten letter I wrote for The Rumpus - Letters For Kids.
Yes, your kid(s), or you(s), can get two actual letters in an old-fashioned thing called "the mailbox" each month from actual KidLit authors. CLICK HERE to find out more.
And finally, speaking of writing, I had a caption contest over on my facebook wall. Here's the photo of Eight-Books-Out-This-Year-Alone Dan Santat and NY TIMES #1 Besteller Loren Long . . .
(I'll post the winning caption, along with the fabulous prize, on the next 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...
October 7, 2012
Eating Meals and Snacks with Authors, Editors, an Illustrator and an Agent + Thurber House Rules
Hello? Where are we now? Why, even though we've been here, blog-wise we're there, in New York.
How does that work? Well, we had just had a wonderful day at the Brooklyn Book Festival, and then it was time for EATING FOOD WITH LITERARY PEOPLE.
Let's start with multi-Caldecott-ian winner Paul O. Zelinsky. He's the newest SCBWI board member. (I'm on the board, too.) Paul and I both suffer from memory loss, and we couldn't remember if we had ever met before. However, that did not stop him from treating his favoirte Peep to coffee and a muffin!
Then, that night, it was off to Park Slope to dine with my editors, Arthur Levine and Cheryl Klein . . .
It was Cheryl's birthday the day before so Peepy bought her a handmade mug!!!
(It's possible that the mug was from Arthur and Peepy was taking credit for it.)
Arthur also had a present for me . . .
Yes! A sock monkey. Eons ago when I was writing MILLICENT MIN, GIRL GENIUS (which just celebrated its 9th birthday), I could write without a sock monkey. (Don't you hate when that happens?) So Arthur sent me an imaginary one.
The next day it was lunch with author Phil Blinder and editor/author Kevin Lewis. I met them at their loft, and Kaniss, their puppy greeted Peepy. Um, for a while it looked like we might stage a remake of THE HUNGER GAMES . . .
Everyone survived, and we went on to have a great meal! Speedy Romeos. (That's the name of the restaurant -- and/or the two guys.)
Dinner with my agent was that night. I gave myself plenty of time to get lost -- something I can count on happening when in NY.
I got to Koi, the restaurant almost two hours early. So that gave me time to go to the library and wander around the area . . .
We made sure to visit the Children's Center and visit our dear friend Winnie-the-Pooh, and his friends . . .
(As some of you know, I have the second largest collection of Poohs in America. Most of my collection resides in the White River Winnie-the-Pooh Museum in Canada.)
Then we admired the rest of the Children's library . . .
There was still time before our dinner, so we hung out at Bryan Park, where there appeared to be a mass hoe down happening, and other stuff, too . . .
My Writers House agent, Jodi Reamer, and Peepy, along great, for the most part . . .
When we last saw Jodi, we were in jail at Disneyland . . .
Later, we hopped on our space shuttle . . .
(CLICK HERE. if the video above is invisible.
We were headed to Sioux Falls for the South Dakota Festival of Books. But I'll tell you all about that next blog.
In the meantime, since we're being all authorly and agently and editorly (but clearly not proofreaderly), I want to tell all the published authors out there about this . . .
A couple of years ago, I wrote a letter to Alan Silberberg when he was selected as the Thurber House Children's Writer-in-Residence. He went on to win the Sid Fleischman Humor Award, something I won in 2004 when I was the first recipient.
Later, Donna Gephart went on to be selected at the Thurber House Children's Writer-in-Residence. She also won the Sid Fleischman Humor Award.
And then after that, Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy was selected as the Thurber House Children's Writer-in-Residence, and then won the Sid Fleischman Humor Award. No wait, that hasn't happened yet, but here are some of the other authors who lived in James Thurber's home.
Here's what happened when I had lunch -sort-of-maybe-kinda with Colin Firth . . .
Oops. Sorry for that Darcy digression. Anyway, if you are a published children's book author and would like to be considered for the Writer-in-Residence position, CLICK HERE for more information.
Here's the letter I wrote to Alan, re-engineered for the next Thurber House Children's Writer-in-Residence . . .
Dear YOUR NAME HERE,
Congratulations on being named this year's Thurber House Children's Writer-in-Residence. I remember when I got the call. It was sooooo exciting! I can't believe that last year at this time I was living in Thurber House. I just know your residency is going to be great.
Since you asked (okay, you didn't, but I'm going to do this anyway), here are some helpfulhintssuggestionsthings to make the most of your month living in James Thurber's childhood home:
The house 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.)
Feel free to explore and soak up the atmosphere. You get your own swell two-bedroom apartment in the attic where the bed fell on James's father--AND the rest of the house (which is a museum during the day) is all yours at night!
(Above: James Thurber's room where James and I wrote, though not at the same time)
Beware of the (friendly) ghost . . .
Don't go running. You may fall flat on your face and end up in the hospital looking like a color palatte . . .
Write in the garden. So nice to be sitting among the dogs!
Enjoy the hospitality. There are lots of friendly people in Columbus, OH.
Get ready for enthusiastic Thurber writing camp authors . . .
(Ummm . . . it took us a while to figure out the screen, but once that was up, we really got going!)
Have fun at the Dowd Center. Those kids will amaze you with their creativity. Earlier this year Scholastic donated 500 books to their library . . .
Walk around town (don't run) and take in the sights. There's art everywhere! . . .
The Columbus Main Branch is only a couple blocks away . . .
If you can catch a ride, check out the award-winning Worthington Libraries . . .
Watch your Peep at all times, she could get in dangerous situations . . .
The amazing women who run Thurber House are wonderful . . .
The men aren't so bad either . . .
Here are the stairs to your own private writer's apartment . . .
And here's your official plaque . . .
So then. If you are a published children's author, or know of one, check this out. Maybe you (or they) be the next Thurber House Children's Writer-in-Residence.
Oh, and speaking of books, my friend Mike Jung just had his first-ever launch party!!! You can see/hear about it HERE!
Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!
Email:
How does that work? Well, we had just had a wonderful day at the Brooklyn Book Festival, and then it was time for EATING FOOD WITH LITERARY PEOPLE.
Let's start with multi-Caldecott-ian winner Paul O. Zelinsky. He's the newest SCBWI board member. (I'm on the board, too.) Paul and I both suffer from memory loss, and we couldn't remember if we had ever met before. However, that did not stop him from treating his favoirte Peep to coffee and a muffin!
Then, that night, it was off to Park Slope to dine with my editors, Arthur Levine and Cheryl Klein . . .
It was Cheryl's birthday the day before so Peepy bought her a handmade mug!!!
(It's possible that the mug was from Arthur and Peepy was taking credit for it.)
Arthur also had a present for me . . .
Yes! A sock monkey. Eons ago when I was writing MILLICENT MIN, GIRL GENIUS (which just celebrated its 9th birthday), I could write without a sock monkey. (Don't you hate when that happens?) So Arthur sent me an imaginary one.
The next day it was lunch with author Phil Blinder and editor/author Kevin Lewis. I met them at their loft, and Kaniss, their puppy greeted Peepy. Um, for a while it looked like we might stage a remake of THE HUNGER GAMES . . .
Everyone survived, and we went on to have a great meal! Speedy Romeos. (That's the name of the restaurant -- and/or the two guys.)
Dinner with my agent was that night. I gave myself plenty of time to get lost -- something I can count on happening when in NY.
I got to Koi, the restaurant almost two hours early. So that gave me time to go to the library and wander around the area . . .
We made sure to visit the Children's Center and visit our dear friend Winnie-the-Pooh, and his friends . . .
(As some of you know, I have the second largest collection of Poohs in America. Most of my collection resides in the White River Winnie-the-Pooh Museum in Canada.)
Then we admired the rest of the Children's library . . .
There was still time before our dinner, so we hung out at Bryan Park, where there appeared to be a mass hoe down happening, and other stuff, too . . .
My Writers House agent, Jodi Reamer, and Peepy, along great, for the most part . . .
When we last saw Jodi, we were in jail at Disneyland . . .
Later, we hopped on our space shuttle . . .
(CLICK HERE. if the video above is invisible.
We were headed to Sioux Falls for the South Dakota Festival of Books. But I'll tell you all about that next blog.
In the meantime, since we're being all authorly and agently and editorly (but clearly not proofreaderly), I want to tell all the published authors out there about this . . .
A couple of years ago, I wrote a letter to Alan Silberberg when he was selected as the Thurber House Children's Writer-in-Residence. He went on to win the Sid Fleischman Humor Award, something I won in 2004 when I was the first recipient.
Later, Donna Gephart went on to be selected at the Thurber House Children's Writer-in-Residence. She also won the Sid Fleischman Humor Award.
And then after that, Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy was selected as the Thurber House Children's Writer-in-Residence, and then won the Sid Fleischman Humor Award. No wait, that hasn't happened yet, but here are some of the other authors who lived in James Thurber's home.
Here's what happened when I had lunch -sort-of-maybe-kinda with Colin Firth . . .
Oops. Sorry for that Darcy digression. Anyway, if you are a published children's book author and would like to be considered for the Writer-in-Residence position, CLICK HERE for more information.
Here's the letter I wrote to Alan, re-engineered for the next Thurber House Children's Writer-in-Residence . . .
Dear YOUR NAME HERE,
Congratulations on being named this year's Thurber House Children's Writer-in-Residence. I remember when I got the call. It was sooooo exciting! I can't believe that last year at this time I was living in Thurber House. I just know your residency is going to be great.
Since you asked (okay, you didn't, but I'm going to do this anyway), here are some helpfulhintssuggestionsthings to make the most of your month living in James Thurber's childhood home:
The house 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.)
Feel free to explore and soak up the atmosphere. You get your own swell two-bedroom apartment in the attic where the bed fell on James's father--AND the rest of the house (which is a museum during the day) is all yours at night!
(Above: James Thurber's room where James and I wrote, though not at the same time)
Beware of the (friendly) ghost . . .
Don't go running. You may fall flat on your face and end up in the hospital looking like a color palatte . . .
Write in the garden. So nice to be sitting among the dogs!
Enjoy the hospitality. There are lots of friendly people in Columbus, OH.
Get ready for enthusiastic Thurber writing camp authors . . .
(Ummm . . . it took us a while to figure out the screen, but once that was up, we really got going!)
Have fun at the Dowd Center. Those kids will amaze you with their creativity. Earlier this year Scholastic donated 500 books to their library . . .
Walk around town (don't run) and take in the sights. There's art everywhere! . . .
The Columbus Main Branch is only a couple blocks away . . .
If you can catch a ride, check out the award-winning Worthington Libraries . . .
Watch your Peep at all times, she could get in dangerous situations . . .
The amazing women who run Thurber House are wonderful . . .
The men aren't so bad either . . .
Here are the stairs to your own private writer's apartment . . .
And here's your official plaque . . .
So then. If you are a published children's author, or know of one, check this out. Maybe you (or they) be the next Thurber House Children's Writer-in-Residence.
Oh, and speaking of books, my friend Mike Jung just had his first-ever launch party!!! You can see/hear about it HERE!
Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!
Email:
September 30, 2012
Behind the Scenes (and on the stage) at the Brooklyn Book Festival
Our last blog found us in the desert flying high (practically) aboard the space shuttle Endeavour . . .
This blog takes us from There to Here . . .
That's right! We were in New York for the quite bodacious Brooklyn Book Festival . . .
Peepy and I headed to the Green Room to get ready for our panel and to apologize to our Scholastic publicist, Lauren Felsenstein . . .
(That's Lauren, on the right, with newly minted Scholastic Publicity assistant Rachel Howard. The apologies were because when I landed in NY, I was beyond exhausted, having not slept in two days. So, I emailed Lauren and said I would have to miss anything going on on Sunday. Um. Oops. I had meant Saturday. Sunday was the book festival.)
Our moderator, Lisa Graff, and fellow panelist Amy Ignatow were hanging out in the Green Room, too . . .
As (the other) Lisa prepped in the glow of literary-ness, we spied our friend E.B. Lewis (again) sharing a snack with Peepy. Then we were instructed to storm the stage, or at least head toward it . . .
Our panel was on humor and though we tried to be high minded, I won't deny that the words "fart" and "barf," were mentioned more than once. (FYI, the person who is not Lisa, Lisa or Amy is Eric Wight.)
(I had no idea I that my arms flailed around that much.)
We had a blast! After, agent Barry Goldblatt, tried to talk Peepy into signing with him for her epic fashion memoir/astrophysics tell all . . .
(As you can guess, Peepy is being courted by all the top agents. She hasn't made a decision yet, but when she does, we will let you know.)
Next, we got ready for the Guys Read panel. Um, but Lisa, you say, or he says, or she says, or someone says," you are not a guy."
True.
However, I write lots of books with guy protagonists, I am not afraid of snakes, and I don't get grossed out easily, so that qualified me to be the moderator!
Here's our panel . . .
Er. That wasn't the panel. That was a photo Lauren accidentally took of the floor. THIS is our panel . . .
(Despite what the name tags say, from left to right, is Gordon Korman, Jon Scieszka, Angelina Jolie, and Joseph Bruchac.)
(Find the photo of Gordon and I wearing our good clothes. And this is the time Gordon and I tried to decimate each other while Jon cheered us on.)
It was standing room only, and when I introduced everyone I made the dudes do guy-ish things . . .
It was so fun! I asked math questions (not), and even things my facebook friends had suggested. For example, fellow author Peter Lerangis suggested I ask, "Who does your hair?" (They are all bald-ish.)
Later, there was a book signing session . . .
I also ran into a lot of friends at the festival, like scary (if you don't believe me, check out his serial killer novel) Barry Lyga . . .
Paul Acampora was there with his daughter!
(That's not his daughter, that's Peepy in the photo.)
John Bemelmans Marciano was kicking back with friends, and Dan Yaccarino was upside down. . .
Oh, and look, it's (I'm not sure) . . .
But I know who that is! It's Wendy Mass!!!
The festival was spread out and the weather was PERFECT . . .
The bookmobile had a wonderful selection of titles . . .
For more KidLit fun at the Brooklyn Book Festival, check out the Publishers Weekly photo roundup and see if you can spot the peep!
NEXT BLOG: Dining and snacking with authors and illustrators. Plus, THE HUNGER GAMES, almost . . .
In the meantime, here's a video (with a very unattractive screen grab) that includes me touching Jon and Gordon's bald heads . . .
===========================
Wheeeee . . . BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) is now out in paperback!
October Events:
October 3, 5:30 - 8:30 pm
Houston, TX -- Barnes and Noble, Vanderbilt Square
St. John's School Bookfair - open to the public
October 6
South Pasadena, CA Moon Festival
October 26 - 25
PCTELA Conference, Lancaster, PA
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...
This blog takes us from There to Here . . .
That's right! We were in New York for the quite bodacious Brooklyn Book Festival . . .
Peepy and I headed to the Green Room to get ready for our panel and to apologize to our Scholastic publicist, Lauren Felsenstein . . .
(That's Lauren, on the right, with newly minted Scholastic Publicity assistant Rachel Howard. The apologies were because when I landed in NY, I was beyond exhausted, having not slept in two days. So, I emailed Lauren and said I would have to miss anything going on on Sunday. Um. Oops. I had meant Saturday. Sunday was the book festival.)
Our moderator, Lisa Graff, and fellow panelist Amy Ignatow were hanging out in the Green Room, too . . .
As (the other) Lisa prepped in the glow of literary-ness, we spied our friend E.B. Lewis (again) sharing a snack with Peepy. Then we were instructed to storm the stage, or at least head toward it . . .
Our panel was on humor and though we tried to be high minded, I won't deny that the words "fart" and "barf," were mentioned more than once. (FYI, the person who is not Lisa, Lisa or Amy is Eric Wight.)
(I had no idea I that my arms flailed around that much.)
We had a blast! After, agent Barry Goldblatt, tried to talk Peepy into signing with him for her epic fashion memoir/astrophysics tell all . . .
(As you can guess, Peepy is being courted by all the top agents. She hasn't made a decision yet, but when she does, we will let you know.)
Next, we got ready for the Guys Read panel. Um, but Lisa, you say, or he says, or she says, or someone says," you are not a guy."
True.
However, I write lots of books with guy protagonists, I am not afraid of snakes, and I don't get grossed out easily, so that qualified me to be the moderator!
Here's our panel . . .
Er. That wasn't the panel. That was a photo Lauren accidentally took of the floor. THIS is our panel . . .
(Despite what the name tags say, from left to right, is Gordon Korman, Jon Scieszka, Angelina Jolie, and Joseph Bruchac.)
(Find the photo of Gordon and I wearing our good clothes. And this is the time Gordon and I tried to decimate each other while Jon cheered us on.)
It was standing room only, and when I introduced everyone I made the dudes do guy-ish things . . .
It was so fun! I asked math questions (not), and even things my facebook friends had suggested. For example, fellow author Peter Lerangis suggested I ask, "Who does your hair?" (They are all bald-ish.)
Later, there was a book signing session . . .
I also ran into a lot of friends at the festival, like scary (if you don't believe me, check out his serial killer novel) Barry Lyga . . .
Paul Acampora was there with his daughter!
(That's not his daughter, that's Peepy in the photo.)
John Bemelmans Marciano was kicking back with friends, and Dan Yaccarino was upside down. . .
Oh, and look, it's (I'm not sure) . . .
But I know who that is! It's Wendy Mass!!!
The festival was spread out and the weather was PERFECT . . .
The bookmobile had a wonderful selection of titles . . .
For more KidLit fun at the Brooklyn Book Festival, check out the Publishers Weekly photo roundup and see if you can spot the peep!
NEXT BLOG: Dining and snacking with authors and illustrators. Plus, THE HUNGER GAMES, almost . . .
In the meantime, here's a video (with a very unattractive screen grab) that includes me touching Jon and Gordon's bald heads . . .
===========================
Wheeeee . . . BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) is now out in paperback!
October Events:
October 3, 5:30 - 8:30 pm
Houston, TX -- Barnes and Noble, Vanderbilt Square
St. John's School Bookfair - open to the public
October 6
South Pasadena, CA Moon Festival
October 26 - 25
PCTELA Conference, Lancaster, PA
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...
September 24, 2012
Exclusive Video: Endeavour Takes Off 500 Feet Away From a Peep
So, when last blogging, we saw THE SPACE SHUTTLE LAND 500 FEET FROM US . . .
While I was writing the blog, I was watching the Endeavour on television in my motel room . . .
Why were we "this" close? Because we were part of the NASA Social Media group for the Endeavour!
This blog, we'll show an exclusive VIP (Very Important Peep) video of THE SPACE SHUTTLE TAKE OFF 500 FEET FROM US. But before we get to that, there's this . . .
After watching the Endeavour land, we were in for more excitement. We got to see the 747 carrier and space shuttle up close . . .
Stephanie Stilson, flow director and transition director for the space shuttles. spoke to our NASA Social group . . .
Then WE GOT TO GO INSIDE THE 747 Shuttle Carrier. Wheeeeeeee!!!!!
The next morning we had to get to Edwards Air Force Base really, really, really early. Like before we went to security clearance, including having our car searched by a bomb-sniffing dog . . .
There were lots of television crews there, but the NASA Social group got to go in before them! Why? Most likely because there was a Peep with us.
We boarded a bus out to the desert landing strip, and along the way saw the sunrise over the Endeavour . . .
When we got to the runway, um. Someone had to go to the restroom. Only, it was far, far, far away -- so it wouldn't be in any of our shots, or the TV/Newspaper/Magazine shots . . .
While we were waiting, there was a celebrity sighting!
Then an even bigger celebrity arrival! Endeavour was heading our way . . .
Can you believe this???? The Endeavour, piggybacked on the 747 carrier that we had been on, was taking off a mere 500 feet from us, and we were right there!!!!!
Oh man, it was so beautiful. Photos and video can't even get close to the experience of watching it in person. Truly, this was a once-in-a-lifetime event. Thank you, NASA.
WE INTERRUPT THIS SHUTTLE NEWS FOR CHILDREN'S BOOK NEWS . . . Guess who will be hosting the marvelous 2013 Children's Choice Book Awards?
Answer: Me! (I got the news about being accepted for the NASA Social, and being a part of the Children's Choice Awards within 24 hours. It was a good day.))
The Children's Choice Book Awards is the only national book awards program where winning titles are selected by young readers of all ages.
AND NOW BACK TO THE SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR . . .
Mere seconds after we stopped weeping, we began Tweeting and FaceBooking and getting the word/photos/video out . . .
We sent out our reports on-site, on the bus, and then back in our media room . . .
NASA Social Media even beat out the traditional press . . .
Speaking of traditional press, NBC-TV Los Angeles did a segment on our NASA group. Our fearless leader, John Yembrick was interviewed (as was my Peep, sort of) . . .
As it was happening, I Tweeted, and coincidentally, my friend Bob Boyle and his wife Teri were watching TV . . .
Even though it was days ago that Endeavour took off and flew over California . . .
. . . I still get goosebumps thinking about it, my experience, and the wonderful friends I made. John Yembrick, with an assist from Cindy Chin, took this photo of us aboard the Endeavour's 747 carrier . . .
Special thanks to Lisa Mattox, Social Media Lead, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center and John Yembrick, NASA Social Media Manager, and the rest of the wonderful NASA team who hosted us -- you made this girl's dream come true.
For more about NASA Social Media and how it was created, CLICK HERE
Next Blog: Hanging out with the guys (and gals) at the Brooklyn Book Festival . . .
===========================
Wheeeee . . . BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) is now out in paperback!
Upcoming Events:
South Dakota Festival of Books
September 26
Camelot Intermediate School, Brookings, SD
September 29
12 – 1:30 PM ~ SPECIAL EVENT — Holiday Inn, Starlite — Tea with American Girl author Lisa Yee — Lisa Yee, author of the Kanani series, will host a tea party for kids and adults that includes beverages and desserts, with a Kanani American Girl doll to be raffled at the event! TICKET REQUIRED ($15)
3 - 3:45 - WARP SPEED! Lisa Yee will be talking about her kids' novels, and strange and hilarious journey to becoming a bestselling author. FREE
October 3, 5:30 - 8:30 pm
Houston, TX -- Barnes and Noble, Vanderbilt Square
St. John's School Bookfair - open to the public
October 6
South Pasadena, CA Moon Festival
October 26 - 25
PCTELA Conference, Lancaster, PA
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...
September 20, 2012
VIP ENDEAVOUR LANDING, UP CLOSE & PERSONAL
What's that? Where are you?
It began a short while ago. My friend Linda Bernfeld, who's husband works with NASA, sent me a link to a NASA website. (Linda knows I like science, and even wrote a book that includes a lot about Star Trek vs. Star Wars vs, Batman.)
It seems they were looking for people who were involved in social media -- Twitter, Facebook, blogs. Those selected would have unprecedented access to the space shuttle Endeavour's arrival via a 747 carrier at Edwards Air Force Base.
I thought I had no chance, but applied along with over 2,000 people. But then, this happened . . .
The event took place over three days, but this blog will focus on Day 2, the day Endeavour arrived at Edwards Air Force Base/Dryden Fight Center in California. (I'll blog the other days later.)
That said, I need to tell you that on Day One, I got lost in the desert. I was sooooo upset about being late, I cried. NASA Social Media/ Dryden Flight Center knew I was lost and even Tweeted trying to find me . . .
(Um. Ignore that bottom Brussels sprouts Tweet.)
Luckily a nice Sparklett's truck driver gave me directions.
The next day, Day Two, I was determined not to be late. We were supposed to arrive at 8 a.m. I got there at 6:40 a.m. and was the first of Nasa Social Media to arrive . . .
The only others there were a TV crew from CBS. While we waited, Peepy made new friends . . .
As before, our car was search by a bomb-sniffing dog. Only this time THERE WAS A BOMB IN MY CAR!!!!!! Okay, so it was a smoke bomb. And the military put it there with my permission to test their dog. Still, it was quite exciting. The dog was to heel if he found the bomb . . .
Once inside we were given our schedule. Here it is, along with the witty, charming and attractive NASA Social Media-ites, all listening to Peepy go over the day's agenda . . .
The head of the California Science Center, where Endeavour will make a permanent home, spoke to us, and then we boarded a bus to the runway . . .
Here's a Daily Trojan article about Endeavour and the science center, which is next door to my alma mater, USC. And speaking of USC, in case you missed it, who's the USC Alumni author of the month with her list of Five Must-Read Books??? CLICK HERE to find out the mystery person who gets lost in cars and in books.
Oops. Digression. Back to the Endeavour arrival.
Were we excited? Well, duh, yeah!!!
The desert was hot. I forgot to check the temperature when we were out there, but I think it was about 147 degrees, maybe more. Here's the 5:53 p.m. temperature . . .
We marched down a rocky road to the runway . . .
There were some false sightings and everyone got all exciting thinking it was Endeavor, but it wasn't . . .
To pass the time, NASA Social Media-ites took photos of a celebrity . . .
Then we spotted the real thing! The 747 carrier with the Endeavor piggybacked on it did a flyover first . . .
It was a beautiful site.
Before we could catch our breath, Endeavour came right toward us for the landing. We were just 500 feet away. Squeeeeee!!!!!!
Yes, it was a VIP (Very Important Peep) viewing!!! On the bus ride back, everyone was flushed with excitement and sunburn . . .
Our NASA Social Media group even scooped the traditional press!
But that wasn't the end of the day. I'll blog in more detail next, but we also met the pilot of the 747 Carrier and got to go inside the 747 itself . . .
So then. How would I rate this experience? Well, honestly, it was one of the highlights of my life, even ranking higher than the time Son did the dishes without me having to ask him.
===========================
Wheeeee . . . BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) is now out in paperback!
September events:
Brooklyn Book Festival
Youth Stoop (Borough Hall Plaza/Columbus Park)
10:00 A.M. Humor Me. Franklin is a fourth grader with a big imagination and an alter ego named Frankie Pickle; fifth graders Lydia and Julie are best friends who observe “the popular girls” at their school to discover the code of popularity; and Robert is a normal fourth grader who gets into crazy situations! These hilarious characters spring from the minds of authors Amy Ignatow (The Popularity Papers), Eric Wight (Frankie Pickle series) and Lisa Yee (Bobby the Brave [Sometimes]), all of whom have an uncanny knack for writing laugh-out-loud funny, illustrated chapter books that elementary school kids love. Moderated by Lisa Graff (Mothership).
1:00 P.M. The Balls’ In Your Court. Guys will want to get reading with humor author favorite Jon Scieszka (Spaceheadz, Stinky Cheese and others), Gordon Korman (39 Clues) and Joseph Bruchac (Wolf Mark) as they discuss the latest Guys Read Volume 3, which combines the great pleasures of sports and reading. Moderated by Lisa Yee (Bobby the Brave).
South Dakota Festival of Books
SATURDAY, Sept. 29
12 – 1:30 PM ~ SPECIAL EVENT — Holiday Inn, Starlite — Tea with American Girl author Lisa Yee — Lisa Yee, author of the Kanani series, will host a tea party for kids and adults that includes beverages and desserts, with a Kanani American Girl doll to be raffled at the event! TICKET REQUIRED ($15)
3 - 3:45 - WARP SPEED! Lisa Yee will be talking about her kids' novels, and strange and hilarious journey to becoming a bestselling author. FREE
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...
It began a short while ago. My friend Linda Bernfeld, who's husband works with NASA, sent me a link to a NASA website. (Linda knows I like science, and even wrote a book that includes a lot about Star Trek vs. Star Wars vs, Batman.)
It seems they were looking for people who were involved in social media -- Twitter, Facebook, blogs. Those selected would have unprecedented access to the space shuttle Endeavour's arrival via a 747 carrier at Edwards Air Force Base.
I thought I had no chance, but applied along with over 2,000 people. But then, this happened . . .
The event took place over three days, but this blog will focus on Day 2, the day Endeavour arrived at Edwards Air Force Base/Dryden Fight Center in California. (I'll blog the other days later.)
That said, I need to tell you that on Day One, I got lost in the desert. I was sooooo upset about being late, I cried. NASA Social Media/ Dryden Flight Center knew I was lost and even Tweeted trying to find me . . .
(Um. Ignore that bottom Brussels sprouts Tweet.)
Luckily a nice Sparklett's truck driver gave me directions.
The next day, Day Two, I was determined not to be late. We were supposed to arrive at 8 a.m. I got there at 6:40 a.m. and was the first of Nasa Social Media to arrive . . .
The only others there were a TV crew from CBS. While we waited, Peepy made new friends . . .
As before, our car was search by a bomb-sniffing dog. Only this time THERE WAS A BOMB IN MY CAR!!!!!! Okay, so it was a smoke bomb. And the military put it there with my permission to test their dog. Still, it was quite exciting. The dog was to heel if he found the bomb . . .
Once inside we were given our schedule. Here it is, along with the witty, charming and attractive NASA Social Media-ites, all listening to Peepy go over the day's agenda . . .
The head of the California Science Center, where Endeavour will make a permanent home, spoke to us, and then we boarded a bus to the runway . . .
Here's a Daily Trojan article about Endeavour and the science center, which is next door to my alma mater, USC. And speaking of USC, in case you missed it, who's the USC Alumni author of the month with her list of Five Must-Read Books??? CLICK HERE to find out the mystery person who gets lost in cars and in books.
Oops. Digression. Back to the Endeavour arrival.
Were we excited? Well, duh, yeah!!!
The desert was hot. I forgot to check the temperature when we were out there, but I think it was about 147 degrees, maybe more. Here's the 5:53 p.m. temperature . . .
We marched down a rocky road to the runway . . .
There were some false sightings and everyone got all exciting thinking it was Endeavor, but it wasn't . . .
To pass the time, NASA Social Media-ites took photos of a celebrity . . .
Then we spotted the real thing! The 747 carrier with the Endeavor piggybacked on it did a flyover first . . .
It was a beautiful site.
Before we could catch our breath, Endeavour came right toward us for the landing. We were just 500 feet away. Squeeeeee!!!!!!
Yes, it was a VIP (Very Important Peep) viewing!!! On the bus ride back, everyone was flushed with excitement and sunburn . . .
Our NASA Social Media group even scooped the traditional press!
But that wasn't the end of the day. I'll blog in more detail next, but we also met the pilot of the 747 Carrier and got to go inside the 747 itself . . .
So then. How would I rate this experience? Well, honestly, it was one of the highlights of my life, even ranking higher than the time Son did the dishes without me having to ask him.
===========================
Wheeeee . . . BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) is now out in paperback!
September events:
Brooklyn Book Festival
Youth Stoop (Borough Hall Plaza/Columbus Park)
10:00 A.M. Humor Me. Franklin is a fourth grader with a big imagination and an alter ego named Frankie Pickle; fifth graders Lydia and Julie are best friends who observe “the popular girls” at their school to discover the code of popularity; and Robert is a normal fourth grader who gets into crazy situations! These hilarious characters spring from the minds of authors Amy Ignatow (The Popularity Papers), Eric Wight (Frankie Pickle series) and Lisa Yee (Bobby the Brave [Sometimes]), all of whom have an uncanny knack for writing laugh-out-loud funny, illustrated chapter books that elementary school kids love. Moderated by Lisa Graff (Mothership).
1:00 P.M. The Balls’ In Your Court. Guys will want to get reading with humor author favorite Jon Scieszka (Spaceheadz, Stinky Cheese and others), Gordon Korman (39 Clues) and Joseph Bruchac (Wolf Mark) as they discuss the latest Guys Read Volume 3, which combines the great pleasures of sports and reading. Moderated by Lisa Yee (Bobby the Brave).
South Dakota Festival of Books
SATURDAY, Sept. 29
12 – 1:30 PM ~ SPECIAL EVENT — Holiday Inn, Starlite — Tea with American Girl author Lisa Yee — Lisa Yee, author of the Kanani series, will host a tea party for kids and adults that includes beverages and desserts, with a Kanani American Girl doll to be raffled at the event! TICKET REQUIRED ($15)
3 - 3:45 - WARP SPEED! Lisa Yee will be talking about her kids' novels, and strange and hilarious journey to becoming a bestselling author. FREE
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...
September 16, 2012
Me and My Agent Disneylanding, Plus Getting Ready to Shuttle!!!
Well, the big news is that this week I will be part of the NASA Social to witness the Space Shuttle Endeavour arrival in the Mojave Desert!
(Photos courtesy of NASA.)
You can bet that my next blog will be all about that!!!
Also, next Sunday, you can find me at the Brooklyn Book Festival. I'll be on a humor panel at 10 a.m., plus moderating the Guys Read Panel at 1 pm. More details are at the bottom of this blog, along with a link to the South Dakota Festival of Books, where I'll be the following week.
(Um. That's the GUYS READ: THE SPORTS PAGE. There was some shininess going on when I took the photo.)
In canine news, my dog is (in)famous. She made the hilarious DogShaming website!!!! To celebrate, she did this . . .
Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Hey, Lisa. Isn't it that time of year again? You know, time for your Annual Summit with your Writers House agent at Disneyland?"
Well, you're right! For the past 12 or four years, Jodi Reamer and I have gone to Disneyland to, er, talk about publishing, and the economy, and books, and business.
Year One.
Year Two.
Year Three.
Year Four . . .
Fun fact: I once DROVE THE MONORAIL!!!!!
(When I worked at Walt Disney World as a Writer/Producer, they had this program for management called So You Are Burnt Out But We Want You To Have Fun So How's About You Do Different Things in the Parks. (Or maybe it was called something else.) Anyway, that's how I got to drive the monorail. And if you've heard the rumor that I overshot my stop and it was one of the rare occasions where the monorail had to back up, well . . . well . . . um.)
The Peter Pan ride is one of my favs . . .
It was a hot day, but still we climbed the Matterhorn . . .
Jodi had never been to Tom Sawyer's Island! It's now called Pirate's Lair, but it will forever be Tom Sawyer's Island to me. As a kid (and an adult) I loved running around and exploring the island.
I would like a treehouse office, please.
Not only is Jodi and agent and a lawyer, but she's a black belt, and apparently a stuntwoman/Gold medal gymnast . . .
We found the treasure. That's right. I'm rich now.
This knight took my gold, but Jodi and I were the ones thrown in jail!
Peepy loved Toontown . . .
We headed to California Adventure for a New York Adventure. (Just checking to see if you are still awake.)
I LOVED the new Cars Land!!!
(The cones served food in . . . cones.)
Ah, another successful Annual Summit!!!
===========================
Wheeeee . . . BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) is now out in paperback!
September events:
Brooklyn Book Festival
Youth Stoop (Borough Hall Plaza/Columbus Park)
10:00 A.M. Humor Me. Franklin is a fourth grader with a big imagination and an alter ego named Frankie Pickle; fifth graders Lydia and Julie are best friends who observe “the popular girls” at their school to discover the code of popularity; and Robert is a normal fourth grader who gets into crazy situations! These hilarious characters spring from the minds of authors Amy Ignatow (The Popularity Papers), Eric Wight (Frankie Pickle series) and Lisa Yee (Bobby the Brave [Sometimes]), all of whom have an uncanny knack for writing laugh-out-loud funny, illustrated chapter books that elementary school kids love. Moderated by Lisa Graff (Mothership).
1:00 P.M. The Balls’ In Your Court. Guys will want to get reading with humor author favorite Jon Scieszka (Spaceheadz, Stinky Cheese and others), Gordon Korman (39 Clues) and Joseph Bruchac (Wolf Mark) as they discuss the latest Guys Read Volume 3, which combines the great pleasures of sports and reading. Moderated by Lisa Yee (Bobby the Brave).
South Dakota Festival of Books
SATURDAY, Sept. 29
12 – 1:30 PM ~ SPECIAL EVENT — Holiday Inn, Starlite — Tea with American Girl author Lisa Yee — Lisa Yee, author of the Kanani series, will host a tea party for kids and adults that includes beverages and desserts, with a Kanani American Girl doll to be raffled at the event! TICKET REQUIRED ($15)
3 - 3:45 - WARP SPEED! Lisa Yee will be talking about her kids' novels, and strange and hilarious journey to becoming a bestselling author. FREE
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...
(Photos courtesy of NASA.)
You can bet that my next blog will be all about that!!!
Also, next Sunday, you can find me at the Brooklyn Book Festival. I'll be on a humor panel at 10 a.m., plus moderating the Guys Read Panel at 1 pm. More details are at the bottom of this blog, along with a link to the South Dakota Festival of Books, where I'll be the following week.
(Um. That's the GUYS READ: THE SPORTS PAGE. There was some shininess going on when I took the photo.)
In canine news, my dog is (in)famous. She made the hilarious DogShaming website!!!! To celebrate, she did this . . .
Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Hey, Lisa. Isn't it that time of year again? You know, time for your Annual Summit with your Writers House agent at Disneyland?"
Well, you're right! For the past 12 or four years, Jodi Reamer and I have gone to Disneyland to, er, talk about publishing, and the economy, and books, and business.
Year One.
Year Two.
Year Three.
Year Four . . .
Fun fact: I once DROVE THE MONORAIL!!!!!
(When I worked at Walt Disney World as a Writer/Producer, they had this program for management called So You Are Burnt Out But We Want You To Have Fun So How's About You Do Different Things in the Parks. (Or maybe it was called something else.) Anyway, that's how I got to drive the monorail. And if you've heard the rumor that I overshot my stop and it was one of the rare occasions where the monorail had to back up, well . . . well . . . um.)
The Peter Pan ride is one of my favs . . .
It was a hot day, but still we climbed the Matterhorn . . .
Jodi had never been to Tom Sawyer's Island! It's now called Pirate's Lair, but it will forever be Tom Sawyer's Island to me. As a kid (and an adult) I loved running around and exploring the island.
I would like a treehouse office, please.
Not only is Jodi and agent and a lawyer, but she's a black belt, and apparently a stuntwoman/Gold medal gymnast . . .
We found the treasure. That's right. I'm rich now.
This knight took my gold, but Jodi and I were the ones thrown in jail!
Peepy loved Toontown . . .
We headed to California Adventure for a New York Adventure. (Just checking to see if you are still awake.)
I LOVED the new Cars Land!!!
(The cones served food in . . . cones.)
Ah, another successful Annual Summit!!!
===========================
Wheeeee . . . BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) is now out in paperback!
September events:
Brooklyn Book Festival
Youth Stoop (Borough Hall Plaza/Columbus Park)
10:00 A.M. Humor Me. Franklin is a fourth grader with a big imagination and an alter ego named Frankie Pickle; fifth graders Lydia and Julie are best friends who observe “the popular girls” at their school to discover the code of popularity; and Robert is a normal fourth grader who gets into crazy situations! These hilarious characters spring from the minds of authors Amy Ignatow (The Popularity Papers), Eric Wight (Frankie Pickle series) and Lisa Yee (Bobby the Brave [Sometimes]), all of whom have an uncanny knack for writing laugh-out-loud funny, illustrated chapter books that elementary school kids love. Moderated by Lisa Graff (Mothership).
1:00 P.M. The Balls’ In Your Court. Guys will want to get reading with humor author favorite Jon Scieszka (Spaceheadz, Stinky Cheese and others), Gordon Korman (39 Clues) and Joseph Bruchac (Wolf Mark) as they discuss the latest Guys Read Volume 3, which combines the great pleasures of sports and reading. Moderated by Lisa Yee (Bobby the Brave).
South Dakota Festival of Books
SATURDAY, Sept. 29
12 – 1:30 PM ~ SPECIAL EVENT — Holiday Inn, Starlite — Tea with American Girl author Lisa Yee — Lisa Yee, author of the Kanani series, will host a tea party for kids and adults that includes beverages and desserts, with a Kanani American Girl doll to be raffled at the event! TICKET REQUIRED ($15)
3 - 3:45 - WARP SPEED! Lisa Yee will be talking about her kids' novels, and strange and hilarious journey to becoming a bestselling author. FREE
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...
September 9, 2012
Dog Trouble, Santa Barbara Books, Space Shuttle Soiree, USC Alum-ing, and Guess Who?
Okay, first the "phew" news. Puppy survived. "Survived what?" you ask. Well, this . . .
Yes, she ate NINE brownies and had to go to the dog hospital and even stay 24-hours to make sure she was okay, which she is. Now. Raisins, I hear, are also toxic to dogs. Book are not though . . .
Wait! What's that? GUESS WHO IS GOING TO WELCOME THE ENDEAVOUR SPACE SHUTTLE TO CALIFORNIA UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL and have official NASA clearance and stuff? Here's a hint . . .
I know!
Squeeeeeeeee!!!! I'll be facebooking and tweeting it as it happens. And you just know that there's going to be a big blog about this! In the meantime, CHECK THIS OUT! (I once got an awesome private tour of JPL (Jet Propulsion Lab), but this, this is a dream come true.)
Speaking vehicles, just this morning I boarded my Time Machine to go back to gorgeous Santa Barbara. We've been there before, although things did get out of hand when some grownups behaved badly. . .
(CLICK HERE to find out what went on.)
But another time we were in Santa Barbara getting dizzy with other authors and kids, and everyone behaved . . .
During our last visits, we didn't have time to see the renowned local indie bookstore, Chaucer's. So this time, we made it a priority, and are so happy we did!
(I love that books even line the floors!)
The children's book department was wonderful . . .
Peepy made lots of new friends . . .
Later we ate at La Super-Rica Taqueria, a place recommended by Julia Child, and the NY TIMES . . .
It was worth the wait!
Wait! Wait! What? Who's that? See if you can tell?
(This super fun worksheet was brought to you from the mind of Jarrett J. Krosoczka!!! If you'd like to download this for your class, library, personal collection of authors when they kids fliers, etc., CLICK HERE.)
Oops. That was a digression. Let's board our Time Machine and head to the main branch of the Santa Barbara Public Library . . .
Of course, we veered straight to the children's department . . .
Peepy loved it there, and looked to see where her epic fashion memoir will be (once she writes it) . . .
Ah! An indie bookstore, tacos and the library. Perfect day.
Hawaii? Did someone say "Hawaii"??? Yes, BOBBY VS. GIRLS (ACCIDENTALLY) is on Hawaii's Nene Awards Book Recommendation List!
We love Hawaii and even set our American Girl KANANI books there!
And finally, guess who's the USC Alumni Author this month, and what five books Lisa, er, she would take with her if she was stranded on a desert island???
CLICK HERE for the answer.
===========================
Wheeeee . . . BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) is now out in paperback!
Where Lisa Will Be In September:
Brooklyn Book Festival
Youth Stoop (Borough Hall Plaza/Columbus Park)
10:00 A.M. Humor Me. Franklin is a fourth grader with a big imagination and an alter ego named Frankie Pickle; fifth graders Lydia and Julie are best friends who observe “the popular girls” at their school to discover the code of popularity; and Robert is a normal fourth grader who gets into crazy situations! These hilarious characters spring from the minds of authors Amy Ignatow (The Popularity Papers), Eric Wight (Frankie Pickle series) and Lisa Yee (Bobby the Brave [Sometimes]), all of whom have an uncanny knack for writing laugh-out-loud funny, illustrated chapter books that elementary school kids love. Moderated by Lisa Graff (Mothership).
1:00 P.M. The Balls’ In Your Court. Guys will want to get reading with humor author favorite Jon Scieszka (Spaceheadz, Stinky Cheese and others), Gordon Korman (39 Clues) and Joseph Bruchac (Wolf Mark) as they discuss the latest Guys Read Volume 3, which combines the great pleasures of sports and reading. Moderated by Lisa Yee (Bobby the Brave).
South Dakota Festival of Books
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...
Yes, she ate NINE brownies and had to go to the dog hospital and even stay 24-hours to make sure she was okay, which she is. Now. Raisins, I hear, are also toxic to dogs. Book are not though . . .
Wait! What's that? GUESS WHO IS GOING TO WELCOME THE ENDEAVOUR SPACE SHUTTLE TO CALIFORNIA UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL and have official NASA clearance and stuff? Here's a hint . . .
I know!
Squeeeeeeeee!!!! I'll be facebooking and tweeting it as it happens. And you just know that there's going to be a big blog about this! In the meantime, CHECK THIS OUT! (I once got an awesome private tour of JPL (Jet Propulsion Lab), but this, this is a dream come true.)
Speaking vehicles, just this morning I boarded my Time Machine to go back to gorgeous Santa Barbara. We've been there before, although things did get out of hand when some grownups behaved badly. . .
(CLICK HERE to find out what went on.)
But another time we were in Santa Barbara getting dizzy with other authors and kids, and everyone behaved . . .
During our last visits, we didn't have time to see the renowned local indie bookstore, Chaucer's. So this time, we made it a priority, and are so happy we did!
(I love that books even line the floors!)
The children's book department was wonderful . . .
Peepy made lots of new friends . . .
Later we ate at La Super-Rica Taqueria, a place recommended by Julia Child, and the NY TIMES . . .
It was worth the wait!
Wait! Wait! What? Who's that? See if you can tell?
(This super fun worksheet was brought to you from the mind of Jarrett J. Krosoczka!!! If you'd like to download this for your class, library, personal collection of authors when they kids fliers, etc., CLICK HERE.)
Oops. That was a digression. Let's board our Time Machine and head to the main branch of the Santa Barbara Public Library . . .
Of course, we veered straight to the children's department . . .
Peepy loved it there, and looked to see where her epic fashion memoir will be (once she writes it) . . .
Ah! An indie bookstore, tacos and the library. Perfect day.
Hawaii? Did someone say "Hawaii"??? Yes, BOBBY VS. GIRLS (ACCIDENTALLY) is on Hawaii's Nene Awards Book Recommendation List!
We love Hawaii and even set our American Girl KANANI books there!
And finally, guess who's the USC Alumni Author this month, and what five books Lisa, er, she would take with her if she was stranded on a desert island???
CLICK HERE for the answer.
===========================
Wheeeee . . . BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) is now out in paperback!
Where Lisa Will Be In September:
Brooklyn Book Festival
Youth Stoop (Borough Hall Plaza/Columbus Park)
10:00 A.M. Humor Me. Franklin is a fourth grader with a big imagination and an alter ego named Frankie Pickle; fifth graders Lydia and Julie are best friends who observe “the popular girls” at their school to discover the code of popularity; and Robert is a normal fourth grader who gets into crazy situations! These hilarious characters spring from the minds of authors Amy Ignatow (The Popularity Papers), Eric Wight (Frankie Pickle series) and Lisa Yee (Bobby the Brave [Sometimes]), all of whom have an uncanny knack for writing laugh-out-loud funny, illustrated chapter books that elementary school kids love. Moderated by Lisa Graff (Mothership).
1:00 P.M. The Balls’ In Your Court. Guys will want to get reading with humor author favorite Jon Scieszka (Spaceheadz, Stinky Cheese and others), Gordon Korman (39 Clues) and Joseph Bruchac (Wolf Mark) as they discuss the latest Guys Read Volume 3, which combines the great pleasures of sports and reading. Moderated by Lisa Yee (Bobby the Brave).
South Dakota Festival of Books
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...
