First School Visit of 2012

I just had my first school visit of 2012 today at North Beverly Elementary in Beverly, Massachusetts. It was so much fun presenting There Goes Ted Williams to a school full of serious Red Sox fans. Looking forward to heading back there tomorrow for four more presentations.

one of the many baseball-themed displays around the school

New Stars for Young Stars, recap

On Saturday I was honored to be involved with an amazing event at Jillian's in Boston, called "New Stars for Young Stars", where kids from The Jimmy Fund Clinic got a chance to meet up-and-coming Red Sox players, as well as the new Red Sox manager, Bobby Valentine, starting catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and the one and only Pedro Martinez.

First there was a private gathering where about 50 kids from the Jimmy Fund Clinic and their families got to meet the players. Then there was a public event, which was packed. I signed books at both events. Candlewick Press kindly donated all the books, so every family from the Jimmy Fund Clinic got an advance copy of There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived, and everyone attending the public event got a paperback copy of the new Fenway Centennial Edition of Zachary's Ball.

It was great to see so many people coming together for such a good cause. And it was amazing to see how much joy it brought to the kids and their parents, especially considering what they're all going through.

Here are a few pictures:

Before the guests arrived we got to meet the new Red Sox manager, Bobby Valentine. He signed baseballs for my girls.

On the car ride down, the girls practiced saying "Saltalamacchia". It came in handy when they got to meet him!

Pedro arriving, greeting a young fan

My daughters were playing at a pool table, when Pedro Martinez came up to them and said "Can I play too?" They just stared at him as I fumbled for my camera. This picture is a few seconds later. Pedro is sitting down to sign autographs.

The players were lined up for a group photo, and Bobby Valentine started barking out situations, like, "Alright, two out, man on second..."

Me and Pedro! (you can see my 4yo daughter dancing in the background)

Then we headed out to the main room for the public event, where there were LOTS of people.

me signing Zachary's Ball

the front page of the Boston Globe from the day the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series, signed by Pedro Martinez! I already framed it.

The Night I Slept at Fenway Park

This weekend I'm signing books at a wonderful event called New Stars for Young Stars, a fundraiser for The Jimmy Fund. It's a chance for kids to meet some of the rising stars in the Red Sox farm system, as well as their new manager Bobby Valentine, starting catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and one of my all-time favorite baseball players, Pedro Martinez. I am really excited to meet Pedro. I have so many great memories of watching him pitch, but this one might be my favorite:

It was the night before Game 3 of the 1999 American League Championship Series. The Sox had lost the first two games at Yankee Stadium, but now they were heading back to Fenway for game 3. Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez, the greatest pitcher in baseball coming off his greatest season, was set to face the greatest Red Sox pitcher of my childhood, Roger Clemens, now pitching for the Yankees. This was the first time the Red Sox and Yankees had ever faced each other in the postseason, and at the time this game really had that "once in a lifetime" feeling.

It was around midnight. I was at a party in Somerville, talking with some friends about the game, talking about how awesome it would be to be at Fenway for "Pedro vs. Roger". The game was sold out of course, but I had heard the Red Sox were going to make some tickets available at the Fenway ticket office on the morning of the game. I mentioned this, and someone suggested we head into Fenway right then to wait in line. A bunch of people liked the idea, but by the time the cab arrived, it was just me and one other guy. So he and I got in the cab and headed for Boston.

We arrived at Fenway around 12:30 am. There were already 117 people there. I know it was 117, because soon after I arrived, a man came up to me with a sharpie and wrote the number 118 on my hand. He was sort of the Mayor of this little world on Yawkey Way. This was his way of keeping order, and making sure the people who had waited here all night got first dibs on the tickets.

The Mayor of Yawkey Way, October 15, 1999

So we stayed there all night. By morning, there were probably 250 crazy Red Sox fans hanging out, taking turns heading into Kenmore Square for coffee and hot chocolate. It was a blast. Some people really came prepared, with beach chairs, sleeping bags, and food. Not me. At least I was wearing a jacket and a winter hat.

Me, with my pals 117 and 116, 115, etc.

Morning finally came.

Me in line. I look tired.

Around 9:00 am, the line started moving. I made it all the way to the front...

And I got two tickets! I called my dad, and he said he'd come in and join me. Then I went and took at nap at a friend's place.

My father at Fenway, before game 3 of the 1999 ALCS

The players warming up

The pregame ceremony

Pedro pitching!

Our view was a bit obstructed, but we had pretty awesome seats. And what a game! The Red Sox won 13-1. Pedro pitched seven innings and only gave up 2 hits while striking out 12. Clemens seemed rattled by the "Roger, Roger" chants, and was knocked out of the game with nobody out in the 3rd. I was exhausted, but it was a very exciting, exhilarating day. This was the only game they won in the series. I'm glad I was there to see it.

Behind the Scenes- Lady Liberty: A Biography

Here's a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Lady Liberty: A Biography, where I talk about collaborating with Doreen Rappaport. This was originally part of a DVD Candlewick Press put together a few years ago called "Open Studios", which also featured my friends, fellow Candlewick author-illustrators Timothy Basil Ering and Peter H. Reynolds. Enjoy!

New THERE GOES TED WILLIAMS book trailer

Here's the new book trailer for There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived, featuring music by my friend, the multi-talented Dan Blakeslee.

If you haven't heard Dan's music, definitely check out his website. And if you're a children's book art director, check out his illustrations. Dan is a visual artist as well as a musician, and I think he'd make an awesome children's book illustrator.

Anyway, enough about Dan! Here's the new trailer. Enjoy! (And if you like it, please pass it along!)

The book comes out in a little over a month. I can't wait.

Upcoming Events

With the release of There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived a little over a month away, I've got some exciting events planned for this winter and spring, including two museum exhibits, a trip to the Tucson Festival of Books, and plenty of other fun stuff. A few events are still in the works, but here's what's confirmed so far. If I'll be in your area, come say hi! As more events get booked, I'll add them to the events page on my web site.

2012	There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived Events
January 14	11:00-2:00 New Stars for Young Stars VII, at Jillian's on Lansdowne Street in Boston. Presented by the Jimmy Fund Council of Greater Boston, this Boston Red Sox autograph-signing event provides a unique and memorable opportunity to meet and greet Red Sox players, including the Greatest Red Sox Pitcher of All Time, Pedro Martinez! Tickets start at $150 and VIP tickets are $250. All proceeds from the 2012 event will benefit the Jimmy Fund and Pedro Martinez and Brothers Foundation. Ted Williams was the single most influential person in helping to raise money for The Jimmy Fund in its early days. So I am thrilled for this event to be my very frst book signing for There Goes Ted Williams. The book doesn't actually come out until Fenruary 14, but Candlewick Press is donating books so every kid from the Jimmy Fund Clinic gets a free copy.
Febraury 3- May 6	Exhibit: "Picture This: 90 Years of Storybook Art" Art exhibit at The Wenham Museum in Wenham, MA, featuring original artwork from nearly a century of classic books including work by Leo Leonni, Tasha Tudor, and illustrations from my books Zachary's Ball and The Gingerbread Pirates.
February 14	Release date for There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived, Zachary's Ball: Fenway Centennial Edition (to be released simultaneously in hardcover and paperback), and Henry Aaron's Dream (now available in paperback!)
March 10	Tucson Festival of Books, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 1:00-2:00 pm, "Bats, Balls and Gloves: Great Sports Heroes" panel discussion with Phil Bildner, Kadir Nelson, and Matt Tavares, followed by autograph session. 3:00-3:30- reading of There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived in the "Storyblanket" area, followed by autograph session. 4:00-5:00, "She Writes, We Drew: A Story of Two Illustrators and One Author" panel discussion with Doreen Rappaort, Kadir Nelson, and Matt Tavares, followed by autograph session.
March 11	Tucson Festival of Books, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 10:30 am, book signing for There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived at the Candlewick/Kids Center booth
March 17	Barnes and Noble, Newington, NH, book signing for There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived , part of book fair for Wells Elementary School. Time TBD
April 5- May 27	Exhibit: "There Goes Ted Williams: Matt Tavares and Arthur Griffin" Come see the original artwork from my book, There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived, at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA. This exhibit will feature the original illustrations from my book, alongside spectacular historic photographs of Ted Williams, taken by Arthur Griffin during Ted Williams's rookie season in 1939. I'm really excited for this! Come to the launch party and opening reception on April 12 (details below)!
April 12	3:00-5:00 pm, Winchester Authorfest, signing There Goes Ted Williams at the Winchester Town Hall, Wincehster, MA
April 12	7:00-8:30 pm, BOOK LAUNCH PARTY! for my book, There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived, and opening reception for the "There Goes Ted WIlliams: Matt Tavares and Arthur Griffin" exhibit, at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA. Free admission, everyone welcome! Book sales handled by my hometown independent bookseller, Book Ends
April 21	2:00 pm, book signing at Wenham Museum in Wenham, MA, part of the Picture This: 90 Years of Storybook Art exhibit
April 22	3:00 pm, book signing and artist talk at the Griffin Museum in Winchester, MA, part of the exhibit, "There Goes Ted Williams: Matt Tavares and Arthur Griffin". I'll sign books, and do a presentation about the making of There Goes Ted Williams.
May 20	2:00 pm, presentation and book signing for There Goes Ted Williams at the Louis T. Graves Memorial Library in Kennebunkport, Maine, part of the Pasco Lecture Series.
June 5-6	Georgia Conference on Teaching Writing and Reading, Perry, Georgia

Come Meet Pedro Martinez and Support The Jimmy Fund!

Spring Training is still a couple months away, but you can get your Red Sox fix at an amazing event taking place at Jillian's in Boston on Saturday, January 14, 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. It's an autograph-signing event called "New Stars for Young Stars", a unique chance to meet up-and-coming Red Sox players, as well as their new manager, Bobby Valentine, starting catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and the Greatest Pitcher in Red Sox History... Pedro Martinez!

Oh, I'll be there too, signing There Goes Ted Williams: The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived and Zachary's Ball. But who cares! Pedro Martinez will be there! PEDRO MARTINEZ!!

Ted Williams was involved with The Jimmy Fund from the very beginning, and he was the single most influential person in helping to raise money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. So I'm thrilled for my very first book signing for There Goes Ted Williams to be a fundraiser for the Jimmy Fund. The book doesn't actually come out until February 14, but Candlewick Press is donating advance copies so all the kids from The Jimmy Fund Clinic will get a free signed copy of my book.

Tickets start at $150 and VIP tickets are $250. All proceeds from the 2012 event will benefit The Jimmy Fund, and Pedro Martinez and Brothers Foundation.

Visit the Jimmy Fund website to order tickets.