Last Visit of the School Year

Yesterday I wrapped up my school year, with one last presentation at Thoreau School in Concord, Massachusetts. By my count, this was my busiest year of school visits yet- I did 115 presentations at 38 schools, from Birmingham, Alabama, to Bellevue, Washington, to Benton, Maine...

I've gotten so much great feedback from teachers, librarians, parents, and students. And I just wanted to use this space to say a great big THANK YOU to all the people who made this such a great school year for me. I know it takes a lot of work form a lot of people to make a successful school visit- from the parent volunteers who organize the book orders, to the librarians who read my books to the kids leading up to the big day, and all the teachers who follow up my presentations with fun writing and art projects.

When I set out to be a children's book author-illustrator, I had no idea I'd end up spending so much time talking in front of large groups of people. And as someone who used to dread getting up in front of the class to speak, I never imagined how much I would enjoy it.

So thanks! Looking forward to another great school year in 2014-15. But first... SUMMER!

bulletin board in Middlebury, CT, with awesome student artwork based on my books

Becoming Babe Ruth Giveaway!

It's been a very busy spring (traveling around for lots of school visits, finishing up my Pedro Martinez book, helping out with my daughters' little league teams...), so I haven't been keeping up with my "monthly" book giveaway on my facebook page. But here it is!

I'm giving away this signed copy of Becoming Babe Ruth, with an original ink drawing of Wade Boggs inside. To enter, just visit my facebook page and like, share, or comment on this post to enter. I'll set a deadline of midnight on Friday, June 6, 2014, and I'll announce the winner on Saturday morning. If you're not on facebook, you can enter by leaving a comment on this post.

Boggs, like Ruth, was a star for the Red Sox and the Yankees. He was also one of my favorite Red Sox players when I was a kid, and I remember what a bummer it was when I heard he signed with the Yankees. He was part of the first Red Sox team I really knew (Boggs, Barrett, Rice, Clemens...) and even though he spent those years with the Yankees, I'd like to see his number 26 retired at Fenway someday.

 Here are some pictures of the book:

Becoming Babe Ruth, with original pen drawing of Wade Boggs on page 1

And here's a picture I drew of Wade Boggs when I was a kid:

Find Becoming Babe Ruth at an independent bookstore near you.