Honoring Dr. Seuss' Birthday

What better way to honor Dr. Seuss' birthday than to participate in a READ ACROSS AMERICA event at friend Steve Evangelista's charter school, Harlem Links! Steve found me last year through my grandmother's website, and came to a few writing workshops that I was leading at Morningside Bookstore on the Upper West Side (including a workshop based on A Wrinkle in Time.) He then invited me to come and share my love of reading with some other writers and board members of his school.

So it was with eager anticipation today that I walked over to Harlem Links' new location on 111th and Lenox. I would also be hanging out with friends Elizabeth Winthrop and Courtney Sheinmel. Elizabeth is old friends with two of the board members, (Steve had made the connection between Elizabeth and myself through this blog), and I had recommended Courtney because I think every tween should read POSITIVELY. (Elizabeth's catalog of work is too long and awe-inspiring to list!)

We were greeted by coffee and muffins, and had a chance to schmooze with some of the other guests. This was followed by each pair of guest readers sitting at a table with four "ambassador" students. Elizabeth and I were at a table with four fifth graders who were eager to be read to. One girl remembered me from last year, and that I had read The Lorax to her fourth grade class. Would I read it again? You bet! Elizabeth and I developed a great rhythm together with the kids: I read and paused at certain places, and we would raise questions about character and plot.

Next up: Elizabeth and I went to different classrooms for a read-aloud and a Q&A. Elizabeth brought her book, Squashed In the Middle to read. I asked my two ambassadors to choose a book for me, and they picked my favorite: Oh, the Places You'll Go!

The kids brought me up to their classroom and set up a chair for me, even offering me water and going so far as getting me a peppermint!

I enjoy reading aloud immensely - and this was no different. The children were attentive and appreciative, but it was the Q & A that blew me away: so much curiosity and sharp intelligence about the writing process! I could have stayed much longer and schmoozed with them, but alas, they had the rest of the school day, and other things to learn.

Courtney and I met afterward for lunch in the neighborhood. We compared notes on a wonderful, enriching morning, feeling grateful to have our opportunities in the literary world, and the chance to enthuse young readers about books.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Next post: Thursday, March 4th - another Writers for Writers lunch!

EDGES: ARC show & tell

How to celebrate hard work coming to fruition? Carry around bound galley and show to absolutely everyone you meet! (I would go get a pedicure, but all three kids need new shoes!) My first stop was breakfast with the fabulous Lila Castle who brought along her ARC of The Star Shack to show me. We cooed and oohed and ahhed over each other's babies as any other mother would do. It's so wonderful to be able to share this experience with Lila! I've also had a really fun experience on Facebook, where friend Lauren B. Davis suggested another friend Lish McBride from Seattle because we both have YA books coming out next fall. We've had a great time getting to know each other in cyber-land, and she got her ARC's about a week before mine!

Next stop in my Lit.Life was home to write a scene for my new book. I should have stayed out, because the bed (my office) was too comfortable, I couldn't help closing my eyes . . .

And as you know, Monday is also Megday, so I woke myself up to run to a different Starbucks to meet her . . . and she shared my excitement about the ARC. The ARC! It's been YEARS of struggling with self doubt about my choice to heed the call to practice the art of writing, and I am doing everything I can to set up my life so I can keep at it! My eyes are watering . . . I am SO grateful!

I will leave you with my favorite piece of writer advice this week, from Margaret Atwood, via Lauren B. Davis:

"You most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary grammar book, and a grip on reality. This latter means: there's no free lunch. Writing is work. It's also gambling. You don't get a pension plan. Other people can help you a bit, but ­essentially you're on your own. ­Nobody is making you do this: you chose it, so don't whine."

Tomorrow, Tuesday: READ ACROSS AMERICA at my friend Steve Evangelista's school, Harlem Links, with friends Elizabeth Winthrop and Courtney Sheinmel!

Lit.Life on a Snow Day in NYC

Snow Day in NYC . . . Really? Okay, it's a great excuse to stay in my pajamas and finish reading Positively by fellow Writopia instructor Courtney Sheinmel. (Meg also shot me an email, asking if I would post something because she needed something to read as there was no school. Ha, ha!)

I was supposed to head up to Harlem Links Charter School this morning to see my friend Steve and to talk to some of his fifth grade class about A Wrinkle in Time. I haven't seen Steve since last year - he is very busy helping to run this wonderful school of which he is a founding member. It's funny because the same thing happened last year - the city had called a snow day on my scheduled visit!

In Steve's email to me yesterday, he invited me to participate in Read Across America on March 2nd, an event I went to last year where author's come and both read to and are interviewed by the kids. (It's a good thing I have a great reading voice as I am not quite published!) He also called it an "amazing coincidence" because, as he has been reading my blogs, he knows what has been going on in my lit.life.

He writes:

"By the way, if it’s any further enticement, I forgot to mention that Elizabeth Winthrop is signed up to come to Read Across America this year. I saw the synchronicity on your blog! Turns out she is a friend not only of one of our board members, but also a childhood friend of a former board member who is still involved in the school (and those two people don’t know each other!)."

Wild, huh? I get very excited about things like this!

Now onto Positively . . . I should have kept a box of tissues by my side, because my eyes were wet the whole time. Sheinmel opens the book with the death of thirteen year old Emmy's mother, death from HIV/AIDS. What is different about this book is that not only does Emmy have to deal with all of the feelings that come up from her mother's death, but the fact that she is HIV positive herself. Sheinmel expertly navigates Emmy's inner world and gives us a rich portrait of anger and grief as well as the struggle to keep a positive attitude in the face of loss and uncertainty. It is only when Emmy goes to a camp where she meets other girls with the same trauma, that her heart begins to melt.

Sheinmel does an amazing job of educating while she tells the story - not an easy task. HIV/AIDS is still a public health issue, and it seems to have fallen by the wayside. I remember growing up in the '80's and early '90's when it was constantly in the news and education about the disease was paramount. In the late '90's I remember teaching a health class and having it be part of the curriculum. Can anybody tell me whether HIV/AIDS is still getting the attention it deserves? Thank goodness there are better medicines so that people can live with the disease for longer, but people are still dying; it's still an epidemic. I want to thank Courtney from the bottom of my heart for shedding light on this subject. Read it! Have your kids read it! And if you want to donate, Courtney is heavily involved with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

To sum up and tie these two seemingly disparate things together, I am hoping that Courtney will be able to join Elizabeth and me with Steve at Harlem Links on March 2nd!