Josh Funk's Blog, page 3

Exclusive It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk Giveaway

In two weeks (on September 19th), my fifth book, It’s Not Jack in the Beanstalk will be released. To celebrate, I’m sending Exclusive Signed “Collector’s Card” Postcards to anyone* that pre-orders or orders** the book for themselves or their school/classroom/library/dentist-waiting-room/etc by October 1, 2017!

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Wait, what is this book even about? Here’s what the publisher has to say:

Jack is not fond of the bossy narrator of his fairy tale! When Jack is told to trade his beloved cow Bessie for some magic beans, throw the beans out the window, climb the ENORMOUS beanstalk that sprouts overnight, and steal from a GIANT, he decides this fairy tale is getting out of control. In fact, he doesn’t want to follow the story line at all. Who says Jack needs to enter a life of daring, thievery, and giant trickery? He takes his story into his own hands—and you’ll never guess what happens next!

​With laugh-out-loud dialogue and bold, playful art (including hidden fairy tale creatures for kids to find), this Jack and the Beanstalk retelling will have children rolling with laughter till Bessie the cow comes home.

Now that you’re convinced, links to order are here:

Indiebound   B&N   Amazon   BAM!   Book Depository   Indigo/Chapters

Simply tell me where to mail the postcard once you’ve ordered your copy***. Please use this online google form (or the one embedded below). I promise I won’t share your address with anyone. Period.

* Open to US and CAN mailing addresses only.

** We’re using the #KidLit Honor System. Please don’t abuse.

*** If you already ordered it days/weeks/months ago, I’d be happy to send you a postcard. You don’t need to order another to be eligible (but you’ll probably want to).

Where I’ll Be Next

Sunday, 9/10 at 2pm: Bookseller Panel at The Writers’ Loft, 20 North Main Street, Sherborn, MA, USA
Saturday, 9/16 at 11am: It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk Book Launch at Cary Memorial Library, 1874 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA, USA

Saturday, 9/23 from 11am-4pm: Princeton Children’s Book Festival at Princeton Public Library and the Albert E. Hinds Memorial Plaza, 65 Witherspoon St, Princeton, NJ, USA

Two for You

(two books I recommend you read)

1. What Makes a Monster? written by Jess Keating & illustrated by David DeGrand

2. Boo Who? written and illustrated by Ben Clanton

#pb10for10: Fairy Tales

Educators Mandy Robek & Cathy Mere have been running the #pb10for10 event for several years now. What’s #pb10for10? Well, you pick 10 picture books you simply can’t live without and share today, August 10th, with the hashtag #pb10for10 (see the official rules here). Share your own and check out all the others in the #pb10for10 Google Community.

[image error]I participated the last two years and loved it each time. My themes were Rhyming Picture Books in 2015 and Pirates, Dinosaurs, & Dragons in 2016 (you don’t need a theme, but sometimes it helps narrow down your choices when there are TONS of amazing picture books, it’s hard to narrow it down).

This year, I’m sharing my favorite Fairy Tale Picture Books because my next book, It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk, comes out in just a few weeks – on 9.19.17:

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One note: I limited my choices to only one retelling per story. Without further ado, here are my ten.

1. Little Red Gliding Hood by Tara Lazar & Troy Cummings

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2. The Three Pigs by David Wiesner

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3. Snoring Beauty by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen & Jane Manning

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4. Señorita Gordita by Helen Ketteman & Will Terry

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5. Mirror Mirror by Marilyn Singer & Josée Masse

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6. An Undone Fairy Tale by Ian Lendler & Whitney Martin

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7. The Three Cabritos by Eric A. Kimmel & Stephen Gilpin

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8. Hensel and Gretel: Ninja Chicks by Corey Rosen Schwartz, Rebecca J. Gomez, & Dan Santat

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9. Interstellar Cinderella by Deborah Underwood & Meg Hunt

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10. Goatilocks and the Three Bears by Erica S. Perl & Arthur Howard

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Don’t forget to check out everyone else’s favorite picture books, comment, and share in the #pb10for10 Google Community!

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Where I’ll Be Next

Today! Thursday, August 10 at 6:30pm: Charlestown Branch of the Boston Public Library, 179 Main Street, Charlestown, MA, USA
Saturday, August 12th at 10:30am: Franklin Public Library, 25 Kenwood Circle, Franklin, MA, USA
Friday, September 8th at 7:00pm: The Writers’ Loft, 20 North Main Street, Sherborn, MA, USA

Huge News! I Sold a Book! You Can Learn How to CODE a Sandcastle!

I’ve got incredible news to share! I sold a book called How To Code a Sandcastle to Viking/Penguin! Just announced via Publisher’s Weekly:

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“As part of Penguin’s partnership with Girls Who Code, Kendra Levin and Leila Sales at Viking have bought Josh Funk’s picture book, HOW TO CODE A SANDCASTLE, about a young girl and her trusty robot who use fundamental coding concepts to construct the perfect beach day, a fun, quirky story that brings coding to life, in a two-book deal, to be illustrated by Sara Palacios. Publication is set for Summer 2018.”

Yes! This is a Picture Book AND it’s about coding – sequences, loops, conditionals, etc!

I am thrilled on so many levels to share this book!

Have you heard of Girls Who Code? [image error]Girls Who Code was founded by Reshma Saujani with the mission to close the gender gap in technology. Girls Who Code has grown to over 40,000 girls in all 50 states through their coding clubs and programs. I couldn’t be more excited to join in Penguin’s Girl Who Code partnership! Check out the awesome books they have coming starting on August 22nd, 2017

and more going forward.

I get to reunite with my editor and publisher of Dear Dragon at Viking/Penguin! Everyone over at Viking/Penguin – editorial, art and design, marketing, publicity, sales, and especially School & Library Marketing – were fantastic to work with! I can’t wait to team up with all of them again![image error]
Sara Palacios’s illustrations are amazing! Check out her art here, all of her books here, definitely follow her on Instagram here, and she’s even got a book coming out with Young People’s Poet Laureate Margarite Engle(!!!) called The Flying Girl: How Aida de Acosta Learned to Soar in March 2018![image error]I feel incredibly fortunate that Viking/Penguin paired us together on this project!
We certainly hope to make this a series! It’s my first two-book deal (which is awesome in itself) and I’m working on the follow-up right now!
If you didn’t know, I spend my days coding (I’m a software engineer by trade), so I’m thrilled to be combining my two areas of interest by bringing coding to the world of Children’s Literature.

I’ll stop there for now, as I’m sure I’ll be talking a lot about this book going forward – it’s only a YEAR away from release!

And as always, thanks, Kat, for making this happen!

Where I’ll Be Next

Thursday, July 27th at 6:30pm: Burlington Public Library, 22 Sears Street, Burlington, MA, US
Tuesday, August 1st at 6:30pm: Sharon Public Library, 11 N Main St, Sharon, MA, USA

Tuesday, August 8th at 7:30pm: Rhyme Craft Chat at The Writers’ Loft, 20 North Main Street, Sherborn, MA, USA

Two for You

(two books I recommend you read)

1. Can An Aardvark Bark? written by Melissa Stewart & illustrated by Steve Jenkins

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2. Martí’s Song for Freedom/ Martí y sus versos por la libertad written by Emma Otheguy & illustrated by Beatriz Vidal

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It’s Not a Stinky Giveaway

Yesterday I had that “Back to the Future” moment for the fifth time. I received a package containing a final copy of my next book, It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk.

[image error]If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.However, my silly editor mistakenly sent me TWO copies. While one of them was probably supposed to go to the book’s extraordinary illustrator, Edwardian Taylor, I’ve decided to give it away to one lucky reader!

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But that’s not all! I’m also going to sign and personalize it for you!

But that’s still not all! I’m also going to give away a signed and personalized copy of my most recent book, The Case of the Stinky Stench!

So how can you win this giveaway? Well, lucky you – you have SEVEN chances to enter!

Tweet about the giveaway and tag me at the end of your tweet @joshfunkbooks – double entries if you share book cover images!
Share this post on Facebook!
Comment on THIS blog post below.
Sign up for my mailing list here.
Mark It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk ‘Want to Read‘ on goodreads.
Review The Case of the Stinky Stench on goodreads.
Review The Case of the Stinky Stench on Amazon.

(Note – if you’ve previously done any of the last four above, that counts as an entry!)

Good luck! Enter by July 31st at 11:59pm eastern and I’ll pick a winner in August!

Where I’ll Be Next

Saturday, Junly 15 at 11:30am: Barnes & Noble, Northshore Mall, 210 Andover Street, Peabody, MA, US
Thursday, July 27th at 6:30pm: Burlington Public Library, 22 Sears Street, Burlington, MA, US

Tuesday, August 1st at 6:30pm: Sharon Public Library, 11 N Main St, Sharon, MA, USA

Two for You

(two books I recommend you read)

1. Claymates written by Dev Petty & illustrated by Lauren Eldridge

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2. The Teacher’s Pet written by Anica Mrose Rissi & illustrated by Zachariah Ohora

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Two New Book Announcements

I’ve been relatively absent from the blog over the last few months – for all good reasons* – but during that time I announced two new books that will be arriving on shelves in 2018!

The first is called Albie Newton, about a boy genius who can paint like Van Gogh and find a cure for cooties. But when his latest masterpiece wreaks havoc on the first day of school, his greatest experiment yet is learning to make new friends. Ester Garay is illustrating – and let me tell you, her illustrations are so adorable you’ll melt. Albie Newton will be published by Sterling Children’s in the spring of 2018.

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The second announcement is for Lost in the Library: A Story of Patience and Fortitude about the two lions who faithfully guard the New York Public Library. When Patience goes missing, Fortitude realizes the secret to Patience’s disappearance may be within the Library itself. Stevie Lewis is illustrating – and I haven’t seen anything yet, but I *love* her art! This is the first picture book that Macmillan & Henry Holt plan to publish in partnership with the New York Public Library, scheduled for publication in 2018.

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Neither book is available for pre-order yet, but both books are on goodreads if you’d like to mark them ‘Want to Read’ (which is always helpful). You can do so here for Albie Newton and here for Lost in the Library.

Side note about Lost in the Library – I didn’t actually come up with this idea – it was proposed by Macmillan and the NYPL (the project is their Intellectual Property or ‘IP’). My agent, Kathleen Rushall, asked if I was interested in submitting a sample for consideration and eventually I was awarded this awesome opportunity. So congrats to you, Kathleen – on both of these deals. And thank you!

* My blogging absence is due entirely for good reasons – I was busy planning and coordinating the New England SCBWI Conference, followed by a two week promotional book tour for my newest picture book, The Case of the Stinky Stench, followed by several weeks of trying to catch up on everything I’d missed because of the former two items.

Where I’ll Be Next

Saturday, June 17 at 11am: Gibson’s Bookstore, 45 South Main Street, Concord, NH, US
Saturday, June 24 at 11:30am: Barnes & Noble, Warwick Center, 1350 Bald Hill Road, Warwick, RI, US

Two for You

(two books I recommend you read)

1. Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist written by Jess Keating & illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguens

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2. 7 Ate 9: The Untold Story written by Tara Lazar & illustrated by Ross MacDonald

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The Stinky Stench Is Available Now! (sort of)

If you head to your local bookstore, there’s a good chance you’ll smell see something new: THE CASE OF THE STINKY STENCH!

This photo was taken at The Concord Bookshop (in Concord, Massachusetts).

And this was at Gibson’s Bookstore (in Concord, New Hampshire):

@joshfunkbooks Did I find the first in the wild copy? pic.twitter.com/2528QkvXZq

— Kari Allen (@Kari_D_Allen) April 12, 2017

(Photo Credit: Kari Allen)

While the official release date of The Case of the Stinky Stench isn’t until May 2nd, it appears that you can pick up your copy now! (at least if your local bookstore is in a town called “Concord”)

[side note: I’ve also received word that certain online retailers are also sending copies early]

So, clean out your fridges, everyone! The Stinky Stench has arrived!

Where I’ll Be Next





Saturday, 4/15 at 2-4pm: April Showers with 9 other Local Authors (M.P. Barker, Sarah Brannen, Joan Duris, Ruth Horowitz, Deborah Kops, Heather Lang, Cheryl Lawton Malone, Anna Staniszewski, Jean Taft) at An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café, 111 South Street, Plainville, MA, USA
Saturday, 4/29 at 3pm: Stinky Stench Pre-Launch Storytime at the Boston Public Library, Central Library in Copley Square, 700 Boylston St, Boston, MA, USA
And then …

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Two for You

(two books I recommend you read)

1. Happy Dreamer written & illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

2. Vampirina at the Beach written by Anne Marie Pace & illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Get Stinky! (with the Stinky Stench Activity Kit)

The fine folks at Sterling Publishing have outdone themselves once again and put together an awesome activity kit for The Case of the Stinky Stench! While the book isn’t out until May 2 … you can download the *Free* Printable Activity Kit RIGHT NOW (by clicking right HERE)![image error]

Contents of the kit include:

Word Search
Maze
Cutouts
Coloring Activity
Connect the Dots
Rhyme Time
… and of course, the all-important Answer Key

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Don’t miss the activity kits (and other fun stuff) for all of my books on the “Stuff for Kids” section of my website here.

And of course, you can pre-order The Case of the Stinky Stench wherever books are sold – and if you do, let me know and I’ll send you some free swag (see here for more info).

Where I’ll Be Next





Saturday, 4/15 at 2-4pm: April Showers with 9 other Local Authors (M.P. Barker, Sarah Brannen, Joan Duris, Ruth Horowitz, Deborah Kops, Heather Lang, Cheryl Lawton Malone, Anna Staniszewski, Jean Taft) at An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café, 111 South Street, Plainville, MA, USA
Saturday, 4/29 at 3pm: Stinky Stench Pre-Launch Storytime at the Boston Public Library, Central Library in Copley Square, 700 Boylston St, Boston, MA, USA





Two for You

(two books I recommend you read)

1. Cy Makes a Friend written by Anne Marie Stephens & Tracy Subisak

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2. Martina & Chrissie: The Greatest Rivalry in the History of Sports written by Phil Bildner & illustrated by Brett Helquist

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Stinky Stench Pre-Order Giveaway!

It’s Pancake Day! And in just over two months – on May 2nd, THE CASE OF THE STINKY STENCH, sequel to Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast, will be released. To celebrate, I’m sending swag out to anyone who pre-orders a copy.*

Magnets, Collectors Cards, & Bookmarks

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AND – if you pre-order from an Independent Book Store, I’ll send a bonus something special!

TO ENTER: snap a picture of your receipt and send it to joshfunkbooks+giveaway [at] gmail [dot] com along with your snail mail address.

To top it off, I’m picking ONE lucky winner to get personalized signed copies of both Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast AND The Case of the Stinky Stench. Good luck! And may the syrup be ever in your flavor!

* giveaway is open until May 1, 2017 to U.S. residents only, while supplies last.

Where I’ll Be Next





Saturday, 3/4 from 10am-1pm: March Into Reading Children’s Book Festival, O’Hare Academic Centre, Salve Regina University, 36 Ochre Point Ave, Newport, RI, USA
Saturday, 3/4 at 2:30am: Read Across America at the Warwick Mall Center Court, 400 Bald Hill Rd, Warwick, RI, USA
Saturday, 3/11 at 11am: Pancake Brunch & Storytime at the Bacon Free Library, 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA, USA
Saturday, 3/11 at 2:30am: Storytime at the Waltham Public Library, 735 Main Street, Waltham, MA, USA







Two for You

(two books I recommend you read)

1. The Friend Ship written by Kat Yeh & illustrated by Chuck Groenink

2. You Don’t Want a Unicorn! written by Ame Dyckman & illustrated by Liz Climo

It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk – Cover Reveal!

GIANT News! It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk officially has a cover and is available for pre-order!

The cover was revealed last week at Dylan Teut’s Mile High Reading Site along with an interview with me and the amazing illustrator, Edwardian Taylor. And here is the official cover:

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I have to say, I think it’s pretty amazing! This META-Mixed-Up Fairy Tale is my first book that isn’t written in rhyme. For more info, here’s the official flap copy:

Jack is not fond of the bossy narrator of his fairy tale! When Jack is told to trade his beloved cow Bessie for some magic beans, throw the beans out the window, climb the ENORMOUS beanstalk that sprouts overnight, and steal from a GIANT, he decides this fairy tale is getting out of control. In fact, he doesn’t want to follow the story line at all. Who says Jack needs to enter a life of daring, thievery, and giant trickery? He takes his story into his own hands—and you’ll never guess what happens next!

With laugh-out-loud dialogue and bold, playful art (including hidden fairy tale creatures for kids to find), this Jack and the Beanstalk retelling will have children rolling with laughter till Bessie the cow comes home.

It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk is available for pre-order now and will be released on September 19, 2017!

Where I’ll Be Next





Thursday, 2/23 at 1:00pm: Storytime & Signing with Anna Staniszewski at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA, USA
Saturday, 2/25 at 11:00am: Storytime & Signing at the Lincoln Public Library, 3 Bedford Road, Lincoln, MA, USA
Saturday, 3/4 from 10am-1pm: March Into Reading Children’s Book Festival, O’Hare Academic Centre, Salve Regina University, 36 Ochre Point Ave, Newport, RI, USA
Saturday, 3/4 at 2:30am: Read Across America at the Warwick Mall Center Court, 400 Bald Hill Rd, Warwick, RI, USA





Two for You

(two books I recommend you read)

1. Before You written & illustrated by Rebecca Doughty

2. Pigloo written by Anne Marie Pace & illustrated by Lorna Hussey

My World Read Aloud Day 2017 Experience

On Thursday, I visited 21 classrooms in 12 states, 6 time zones, 4 countries, and ALL the hemispheres.

You see, Thursday, February 16th was World Read Aloud Day (#WRAD), presented by litworld.org, an organization whose goal is to cultivate a love of reading and fight illiteracy worldwide. According to LitWorld, WRAD “calls global attention to the importance of reading aloud and sharing stories” and “is celebrated by millions of people in more than 100 countries.”

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What was my involvement? Well, to do my part, I virtually visited (via skype) a score of classrooms across the world on Thursday – and one on Wednesday night in Kuala Lumpur (but it was Thursday morning for them) – see the map below. Some of the visits were with a single classroom. Others were with entire grades or even multiple grades congregating in libraries and media centers. I saw all grade levels from K through 5. For each 15-20 minute visit, I read a sneak peek copy of THE CASE OF THE STINKY STENCH (the upcoming sequel to LADY PANCAKE & SIR FRENCH TOAST) – even though it’s not out until May 2nd. Then I took questions from the kids for the remaining time. And all the visits were completely free of charge.

But 21 visits? How did I manage that? At the beginning of the school year, all-star author Kate Messner puts a call out to authors who are willing to skype with classes and then lists them for educators to find. We can call Kate the WRAD Matchmaker. Between Kate, Twitter, Facebook, the contact page on my website, and the network of my educator friends, my schedule filled up pretty quickly.

It was a blast to share THE CASE OF THE STINKY STENCH, but the best part was interacting with the students. They asked so many amazing questions. I shared my writing and revision process, my favorite books (now and as a kid), how I come up with ideas, and more. These kids did some serious research and some even completed their own versions of my ‘fill-in-the-blank’ bio. And twice I was asked about my system for getting as much syrup on the bottom pancake as the top (I didn’t give away the secret, don’t worry).

Here’s a snapshot of my day:

Thanks @joshfunkbooks for sharing your new #book with us! Can’t wait to get our hands on STINKY STENCH in May. #WRAD17 #Literacy #kidlit pic.twitter.com/ciXx0UDMsE

— 3rdGradeLove (@rowlak5) February 18, 2017

Awesome skype for 3rd graders with @joshfunkbooks today for #WRAD17 today! pic.twitter.com/m9h3NhnLNu

— Michelle Simpson (@m_simpson5) February 17, 2017

You are amazing @joshfunkbooks! Ss were captivated by #WRAD17 Skype! Thanks for answering ?s & giving a preview of Stinky Stench❤️ #RTSrocks pic.twitter.com/xMHj5HqPuy

— Allison Stout (@rtslitech) February 17, 2017

Stinky Stench fun w/ our pal @joshfunkbooks ! The book is hilarious #wrad17 pic.twitter.com/t7U4ptSQ6H

— Marci Johnstone (@MarciJohnstone) February 16, 2017

@USD418 5th grade @Skype w author @joshfunkbooks today! We got to hear him read his NOT YET published book! #wrad17 pic.twitter.com/SDeLLTvxB1

— Carmen Zeisler (@misszeisler) February 16, 2017

2nd grade loved your book and your entertaining reading voice! @joshfunkbooks #wrad17 #tcefam #tce2ndgrade pic.twitter.com/cKL65pZyOz

— Catherine Kim (@MissKimTCE) February 16, 2017

2nd grade loved your book and your entertaining reading voice! @joshfunkbooks #wrad17 #tcefam #tce2ndgrade pic.twitter.com/cKL65pZyOz

— Catherine Kim (@MissKimTCE) February 16, 2017

Happy #wrad17 @MarloweBTWI and Ms. Meister’s class are skyping with author, @joshfunkbooks. #d75learns @d75eagles @JenVincentTech @pbertana pic.twitter.com/otXXbkCf7h

— Dan Swartz (@Curriculum75) February 16, 2017

Celebrating World Read Aloud Day with @joshfunkbooks @gbefcps #wrad17 #gbereads @FCPS_LIS pic.twitter.com/XbpXg74xhi

— Katie B (@MrsB_reads) February 16, 2017

What an awesome author Skype with @joshfunkbooks! Thanks for our new book! #RTSRocks pic.twitter.com/llkjz11SLQ

— RTSteach3 (@RTSteach3) February 16, 2017

@joshfunkbooks skyped with us today! So exciting to share our ideas & ask questions! #wrad17 #rtsrocks pic.twitter.com/r0bZlXsago

— Mrs. Linck’s Class (@missinglinck3) February 16, 2017

3rd grade #rtsrocks asked @joshfunkbooks great questions, he said! Ss prepped & made their own q’s after reading his books/website. #wrad17 pic.twitter.com/NsNfFZWArJ

— Stephanie McCreary (@steph2911) February 16, 2017

Drummond Elementary 2nd graders Skyping with @joshfunkbooks for #wrad17. The kids were so excited! @PattonvilleSD pic.twitter.com/TXQH2y8QCW

— Drummond Reads (@drummond_reads) February 16, 2017

Skyping with @joshfunkbooks for #wrad17! @drummond_reads kids are so excited they’re kind of star struck!