Dublin Day Two

Bill Prosser and me with a cover of The Magic Kerchief

 Day Two in Dublin started out like Day One, only with rain. Once again, the obliging Bill Prosser stopped at Starbucks where he fueled up on a venti bold with room for cream and I got my usual nonfat latte plus some oatmeal for breakfast. I tried to hide it but I was pretty mad at Bill. I had seen that he had a copy of Jennifer Holm’s newest book,  the sequel to Our Only May Amelia, in his library so he lent it to me yesterday.

I cracked it open after the lovely dinner at Amy’s and next thing I knew, I was reluctantly turning the last page. . .way too late at night. So all those dark circles you see under my eyes in the pictures in this post are Bill’s fault! (And Jenni’s, too; more about her amazing book later).

me with wonderful hostess Amy Proctor in "The Pit" by my signature--it was really okay to write on the walls!

 On top of making me stay up far too late, Bill made me work soooo hard today. The first portion of the day was spent signing books for kids – what a challenging job that was! I mean, imagine talking, one-on-one, with a whole bunch of really smart, thoughtful and polite kids for about 2 hours. I barely survived. ;-) I do wish our Nubs editor, Nancy Conescu, could’ve been there to see kids’ faces light up when I told them that was Nubs’ real paw print on the cover of that book. By the time the signing was over, I was plotting a way to sneak 550 kids into my suitcase to bring home. Do you think Neil would notice? 

Just before my first presentation of the day, Bill’s partner in literary crimes and my new shopping bud, Joyce Christman, came in bearing gifts. 

 

She is an incredibly talented jewelry maker and she brought in four stunning necklaces for me to choose from! It was a very hard decision but thanks to some help from student Audrey who helped me narrow four irresistible choices down to two, 

I selected this one which I think will go with a lot of things. This thoughtful, lovely gesture I will wear on my heart even on days I don’t wear the necklace.

Today, I focused on talking about nonfiction. The kids loved learning more about how Mary and I researched and wrote Two Bobbies and Nubs. I can honestly say I wish we’d had their great minds when we were coming up with questions to ask to begin our research for each of those books. These Bailey kids had some insightful suggestions! Though I had never done a two day visit in a school before, I am so glad I had this opportunity. It gave me the chance to get to know the kids a little bit and really interact with them. I had a blast doing the presentations and I think the kids enjoyed them too.

Bailey's Newbery Club

Lunchtime was pizza with the crew just above – a group of dedicated readers that read books from Mock Newbery lists and lobbied for their favorites, articulately and passionately. They had strong feelings about endings and I sure learned a lot. Okay – so maybe I can’t fit 550 kids into my suitcase. I bet I could squeeze these 14 kids in .  . .do you think their parents would notice?

Okay, I promise. I won’t take any kids. But I will take with me a lovely silver shamrock paperweight and marble coaster – a gift from the PTO on behalf of the school—and even better, I take with me memories of smart, fun, kind and funny kids and their smart, fun, kind and funny teachers and parents.  My heart is full as I leave Dublin behind.

My next adventure is to visit Botkins Elementary in Botkins, Ohio. Wonder teacher, Michele Meyer, picked me up at Panterra in Dublin where we noshed on soup and salad and then drove 90 or so scenic miles to Sidney where I was forced to rough it at the Greatstone Castle. I do suffer so, don’t I?!

My Cinderella bed

Stay tuned for a report about my visit to Botkins and presentation at Wright State University. . .