Jo Knowles's Blog, page 47

A Letter to Ceasar Meledandri for Teacher Appreciation Day

Dear Mr. Meledandri,

I know I got put in honors English by mistake. At least I'm pretty sure. I think it had to do with a scheduling conflict. So I'm sorry if it took me a while to get with the program. But thank you, Mel, for chucking our grammar book in the trash that first day of class, and passing out copies of The Chocolate War instead. Thank you for The Lord of The Flies. Catch 22. A Separate Peace. Ordinary People. The Catcher in the Rye. To Kill A Mockingbird.

Thank you for giving us b...

Hudson Recap and a Live Performance :-)

Friday afternoon I packed up my car and headed to Hudson, New York for the 2nd Annual Hudson Children's Book Festival.

Some friends and I stayed at the Union Street Guest House, and we also met up with some other people we knew were coming in the night before. Here we are, hanging out before dinner:
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That's me, Nina Nelson (R.A. Nelson, lucky_life ), Mark Shulman, Michelle Knudson (Mikki), and Amanda Marrone ( amanda_marrone ). Laura Hamor ( artisq ) was there too. She took the picture.

Some of us had...

Friday V!

I.
Last night I went to a women's book group. It was in a beautiful, cozy cottage in the woods. There was wine and nan and other wonderful treats. All of the women were wonderful. I can't believe we live nearby and have never met! Wow. I'm so happy about this. Next time I need to drink less wine though. ;-)

II.
My son came home from school yesterday to tell me that he and two of his classmates are forming a band. They're calling themselves "The Political Speakers" and their first song is about ...

Clearing the Decks and Listening to the Battle Cry

Last week I handed in my huge freelance job that has been taking up all of my time and replacing it with lots of STRESS. As soon as I finished, I do what I always do when I finish a big project. I organize my office.

These shelves used to be over-stuffed and spilling over. Some were filled with files instead of books. Now, they are all BOOKS! :-)


I even gave away my beloved desk. But my office feels bigger and more open now, so it was worth it. Because honestly, I haven't used it since I got a ...

Celebrating Jeannine :-)

Last night I was lucky enough to celebrate jeannineatkins launch party for her beautiful book, Borrowed Names: Poems About Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C.J. Walker, Marie Curie, and Their Daughters.

Here she is, signing a book for the also wonderful and fun, Ellen Wittlinger (Have you read her new book, THIS MEANS WAR, yet? It's wonderful!):


And here is the famous (infamous?) gingerbread with chocolate frosting, taken especially for jamarattigan



And here are Jeannine's biggest fans:

Marguerite...

The House Was Quiet and the Writer Becomes the Book

Wow, I have to say, Friday was a great day here in LJ-land. It's been so quiet. I'm really happy that everyone gathered in the waiting room (did anyone's number get called???). It was just like old times!

I think we should do that more often. Maybe pick a publishing topic or writing challenge to discuss and help each other through. What do you think?

Anyway, thanks to everyone who stopped by. It was great to see you!

Today, the house is quiet. Peter has gone back to work. E has gone back to sch...

On waiting

Does anyone else miss cynthialord 's wonderfully supportive waiting room?

Well, I'm here today. Been here for a little while now. I've read through all the People and New Yorker and Time magazines, and even some Popular Mechanic's I was so desperate for distraction.

If you're here, too. Let me know. We can sit next to each other. I might even buy you some chocolate from the vending machine.

:-)

Happy Earth Day!

I'm still thinking about our trip to DC and all the moments that made me laugh or cry or just stand, simply stunned. Since it's Earth Day, here's a "celebrate life" moment.

We were walking along the Reflecting Pool at the National Mall and saw these:



Oh, ducklings. You are so cute.


And when we came home, cynthialord 's forsythia were in full bloom and full of hope.

It's great to be home, but I wish we were still in DC for the big Earth Day celebration. They were already getting ready for it when ...

The Great Goose Egg Auction

Every other year, the Open Fields School has a wonderful fundraiser called The Great Goose Egg Auction". They auction off over 100 goose eggs which have been painted by artists from all over the country.

Here is one of my favorites, by Barbara Krieger:


The auction takes place on Saturday, May 8 at 1:30 at the Hanover Inn in Hanover, NH. You can go in person or bid online. I hope you'll join us! The eggs this year are spectacular. If you go to the link above, you can see all of them.

This is a v...

Home

We arrived home last night after a whirlwind three days in DC with my very patient and fun cousin. Our brains were saturated with beauty and history and intense gratitude.

Here is E, sitting blissfully alone, mesmerized by an absorbing Eadweard Muybridge display. For DC folks, I highly recommend visiting this exhibit.



Also came home to a very sweet letter from a new reader who loved Jumping Off Swings, and news that it was chosen as the Teen Book of the Month at the San Jose Library!