Thanks for another great school year!

Last week I wrapped up my school year with two presentations at Stratton Elementary School in Arlington, Massachusetts. This was one of the busiest years of school visits I've ever had- I did 127 presentations at 49 schools, from Fredericksburg, Virginia, to Westfield, New Jersey, to Cumberland, 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. It truly is one of the best parts of my job.

So thanks! Looking forward to another great school year in 2017-18. If you're interested in planning a visit, let me know.

Have a great summer!

Thanks for another great school year!

As another school year comes to an end, I just wanted to say a great big THANK YOU to all the people who made this such an enjoyable year for me. I've gotten so much great feedback from teachers, librarians, parents, and students, and I really appreciate all of it.

I did over one hundred presentations at over thirty schools during the 2014-15 school year. Here are a few pictures I took along the way:

Nothing like walking into a school and seeing student artwork inspired by my books. It floors me every time.

Wow!

Nice Gingerbread Pirates window art, with a hand-painted baseball bulletin board in the background!

How awesome are these baseballs!?! The shading!

Well done, Lily!

Even after doing this for over fifteen years, it's always a little surreal to walk into a building and see stuff like this.

...and this.

Sometimes they even give me cake! I had a nice big slice of this one (because it would have been rude not to, right?)!

Then a few days later at a different school... another baseball cake! And chocolate chip cookies. Nomnomnom.

Love this student drawing of me giving a presentation on Growing Up Pedro. Not bad!

School visits often lead to me getting some really awesome mail!

Hey, anything I can do to help! :)

It takes a lot of hard work from a lot of people to make a successful school visit. So thank you to the parent volunteers who organize the book orders, and to the librarians and teachers who share my books with their students leading up to the big day, and to all the teachers who follow up my presentations with fun writing and art projects. And of course, thanks to all the kids for being great listeners, and for their interesting questions, their thoughtful letters and their awesome artwork.

I've said this before but I'll say it again- 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 2015-16. I've already got trips planned to Utah, Texas and Minnesota! Can't wait.

But first... SUMMER!