Twitter: My Friday Humor

I'm new to twitter. You can find me at

ARScattergood

But I'm feeling more in touch with these tweets than those.

I'll try to fire off a few tweets from the Mississippi Children's Museum today.
But they may be kind of like that little birdie's up there. Old School.

Happy Birthday, Clifford

50 years old! And lots of celebrating going on.

Yesterday a huge banner appeared, unfurled onto the Scholastic Building in lower Manhattan. I missed it by a few days, but here's a great picture.

WOW!

I saw Clifford everywhere though.
Decorating Broadway, hanging out at the New York Public Library's main Children's Room.

(Can't resist sneaking this one in. 

Had to pose Glory Be with Clifford in the background. NYPL visit!)

If you've never visited the Scholastic Store, in the middle of Soho, it's totally worth a trip. Especially with kids in tow. 

This greeted us. 

Kate Messner, talking about reading and writing, encouraging kids. 

Okay, not really her. But pretty lifelike!

And there's also Clifford. Welcoming everybody into the store. Yes, it only takes a little to BE BIG. You tell 'em, Big Red Dog...

And my very favorite part of the store. Tucked behind the bright red bannister.

A quote I adore.

Wordswimming Today...

I'm so proud to be included on Bruce Black's fabulous Wordswimmer blog.
Check it out RIGHT HERE.

As his blog says:
COME DIVE INTO A SEA OF WORDS AND SWIM TOWARD A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF THE WRITING PROCESS.

Thanks, Bruce!

Wax Lips!

I love what the brilliant Joyce Sweeney helped me understand about writing with recurring images-- moving a story along using plot devices, motifs, threads.  They can be running jokes, memories, sounds. They don't really have to symbolize a thing. They can just be fun or give readers a sense of what's happening, a literary device. In Joyce's Plot and Structure workshop, we even created arcs for these devices.

A little Sweeney wisdom from my workshop notes:
This is not a first drafty thing! Rather, it's an opportunity for layering.
Make sure it doesn't become an irritant. ie Do not overdo!

In my notes, I found this quote. It sounds like Joyce, so I'm giving her credit:
"Take your soul and turn it into craft."

Whenever I read a novel, especially a kids' book, if an event or an object shows up where you might not expect it, and then shows up again, it makes me smile. I tried to do that with the box and the game of Junk Poker the two sisters in my novel, GLORY BE, play together.

Now I have a lot of fun talking to kids about my JUNK POKER box. 

Showing them my treasures.

I love it when I surprise kids--and occasionally a very young teacher!-- with something they've never seen.

Like a skate key.

 

(Kids always think it's a bottle opener...)

Another item of interest are my WAX LIPS. Remember those?

If not, let me refresh your memory.

(Thanks to my great friend, Julie, who posed at a gathering of her friends. Just for me, of course.)

So pull out your skates, find yourself some bright red lips, maybe deal a hand of whatever card game you play, think about your plots, but not to much, and have a great weekend everybody!

Mississippi Children's Museum

Y'all Come! (back, that is)







I'm heading back to Jackson next week, and I cannot wait.
This event at the  
MISSISSIPPI CHILDREN'S MUSEUM
looks like great fun.

I'll be there on Friday, September 28.
Click that link up there for my schedule.
And for the list of writers who'll also be coming to the

Once Upon A Fall Festival Author Series.

Fun times back home. Do come say hello!

In My Head Today

Humming Pachelbel and Zippidy Doo Da today.
I can't decide which music suits the day best.
But I'm hearing both and sending Brooke a we-love-you message.

Thanks, BBGB!

Loved my day at bbgb tales for kids  in Richmond.

And I had such fun at the terrific school Jill and Jenesse connected me to. Thank you everybody!

College friends, childhood friend, a camp friend of my daughters', old neighbors, new friends, lots of book-loving kids, a couple of infants, and a few authors thrown in for good measure. 

A great turnout at the bookstore, sold lots of books, and can't wait to go back.

Here's a quick photo tour. More to come, I hope. 

The beautiful entryway to ORCHARD HOUSE SCHOOL. I spoke to a class, signed books, answered questions. I loved the girls' book suggestions and writing ideas! One told me she keeps a notebook of names she loves, and she mentioned Obadiah. She's bound to be a writer soon!

You know you're going to love a school visit when you are greeted by a display of 1000 paper cranes. Made by the students for a project that involved books. These girls love to read, and it shows.

While I waited for the girls to arrive, I snapped this picture of the bulletin board. 

(I am adding these to my lists!)

Then it was off to the bookstore.  

Here I am, armed with book and Junk Poker box, answering questions and carrying on, as my grandmother would say. 

Doesn't that store look adorable? Hustle on over there if you live in or pass through Richmond. Lots to do and see there. 

Fun times, and I didn't even tell you about the ham biscuits...

WHAT'S UP

 Richmond- here I come!
Please stop by tomorrow, September 13th, at  
bbgb tales for kids.
I'll be there talking, signing and hoping to see old friends and new.

3100 Kensington Ave
Richmond, Va 23221        804.353.5675

glory be
thursday, september 13
described alternately as a deep-south-coming-of-age story or as the help-for-middle-graders, augusta scattergood’s debut novel is simply glory-ous 

(and the perfect title to kick off your mother-daughter book club!) 

come meet the author and have her sign your copy of glory be at 4:30.

My September 11

I thought I'd skip this year. 
That this year would be the first time I didn't really feel so sad on September 11th. But I guess that's something we will live with forever. Listening to the live replay from 2001 just about did me in this morning. So I'm sharing something I wrote back then.

You don't have to read it. Really.
I just had to write it.

But while you're here, I'll share two other blog posts from fellow kids' writers. I invite you to see how they experienced September 11th as New Yorkers.

Meg Cabot

Elizabeth Eulberg

I experienced it as someone living in New Jersey, married to an airline pilot, with a daughter living in D.C.

As many of you know, I was in Paris on September 11, 2001. I'd gone to visit my friend, Kay, and to mark my very first September in many years that I hadn't started school in some capacity or another.

Now I'm sharing a letter I wrote after I returned to New Jersey. A letter my friend Beth originally posted on her USA DeepSouth website. I have condensed it.  This is mostly for me to remember. Although truly I don't think I need anything in writing. 
Just seeing the news replayed this morning was enough.

Here's my letter, nonetheless.

Dear Friends,
Thanks to all of you who have worried and wondered about our whereabouts over the last two weeks.  All the Scattergoods are home now, and glad of it. Thanks for your emails, they are quite a commentary on what happened. I think I will keep them forever.

The first subject lines from my sister, my friend Frank, and brother Jack, and others are chilling to read: "Where are you?" "Is Jay on the ground?" "Kate okay?"

If this was one of those life-defining moments, a time in history that you never forget where you were, some day my story will sound more glamorous than it is. "I was in Paris on September 11th" sounds very different from the reality.

I went to visit my friend Kay in her student garret, bunk beds and all. She was there studying. I went to keep her company. What was to have been a few days of eating, shopping, practicing my high school French, turned into ten days I'll never forget.

But then, who will.

Kay and I were in a perfume shop in the center of the city near the American Embassy when a Frenchman came in, agitated, speaking rapidly in French. When his story was translated, we didn't believe a word of it. An airplane had flown into two tall towers?

We rushed down the street to the Hotel Intercontinental. The concierge led us to the bar where he'd tuned a TV in to CNN, in English. There we saw what the rest of the world was seeing. We still didn't believe it.

After the horrible confusion of trying to call home to find out if our families were safe-- Kay has kids and a husband who work in the city, I have a husband who flies airplanes for a living-- we realized the phone lines weren't working. We quickly returned to our apartment. In the space of a few hours, all the trash cans in Paris had been covered or removed. The gendarmes on the street now wore bulletproof vests.

We communicated via email at the little internet cafe down the street. We were constant figures, sharing the space with teenagers blasting away at video games. Disconcerting, but our only lifeline back to New York and New Jersey.

My daughter Kate immediately sent word from her office in Washington that she was okay. She'd also called Kay's son, her friend, who worked in the city. He reported that he and his sister were both safe. We breathed a slight sigh of relief, not a big one.

Only later did I hear that Jay had taken off from Newark at approximately 9 AM, flying a Continental flight to San Francisco on that Tuesday morning. As he taxied out onto the runway, he caught a glimpse of United Flight 93.

Jay diverted to Grand Rapids where he spent the next two days trying to get himself, his crew, the passengers, home. He reported that the passengers were amazingly calm when they heard the announcement: "Because of a national emergency," they were landing immediately in Grand Rapids. Everybody picked up a cellphone and tried to call somebody, somewhere. He finally drove a shared rental car back to New Jersey.

It became obvious that I wasn't leaving Paris any time soon. All flights were grounded, and the international ones didn't start back for a while. Once they did begin to fly, my standby status guaranteed I was not going anywhere.

The temptation to make the best of the situation wasn't there. My friend Julie emailed from Baltimore which museums to visit and ice cream not to miss. It was a hard sell. But we tried. And we did have our moments- strolling along the Aquaduct, sampling the Berthillon. As Kay and I walked around the city, we were struck by the sympathy of the normally aloof Parisians. Twice we were stopped on the street by older women who asked if we were Americans, patted us on the arms, and said how sorry they were. A neighbor invited us to watch her TV and translated the news. All the time shaking her head, near tears. We were all shaking heads, near tears, weren't we.

Probably the most unforgettale moment of the almost two weeks happend on Friday, September 14. The sun was shining. I decided to take a walk.

I was drawn to the back of Notre Dame Cathedral, by the bells from the tower. I remembered the little garden from another visit with our friends Frank and Ivy, not long ago. I crossed over to the side of the cathedral to look at the gargoyles when I realized there was absolutely no sound coming from the street. Frightening at first, eerie. Then I saw thousands of people standing in total silence in front of Notre Dame. Heads bowed; some even knelt. Traffic had stopped, and there was no noise. After a few minutes the church bells pealed again. People walked away slowly, heads still bowed. I moved closer to the church and read the sign tacked to the door: Three minutes of silence will be observed at 11:45.

I learned later that this happened all over the world. My friend Keith emailed that her daughter who lived in London had attended a service there. Others wrote that Bishop Gray had preached at a church in downtown Jackson, where they worshiped. And observed that same silence.
I began to feel connected to people all over the world. A small comfort. But a comfort.

When I returned to New Jersey after the planes started flying again, I was struck by the sadness everywhere. No small talk in the grocery store. No one lingering in the library to gossip. Just a sense of sorrow as we hear of more and more friends and acquintances still not accounted for. Flags fly from every house. Last night our town held a candlelight service at the football field. When it was over, people with flashlights, baby strollers, dogs on leashes walked home. Police and firemen in uniforms stood at quiet attention at various street corners.

But it wasn't a parade. There was that same silence I felt at Notre Dame, the same sadness my daughter and sister-in-law tell me is all over the city of Washington. I suspect it is all over this country.

None of us will ever forget where we were on September 11th. Or how much we lost.

When I flew into Newark, finally, the sight of the changed NYC skyline took my breath away. I looked back at the passengers on our plane and saw so many tears. The sky doesn't look right. Well, it isn't right. And it makes us all sad.

September 28, 2001

A year later, I added this to my notes:
Our little town is healing. We lost at least eleven people from Chatham, NJ, and our neighboring towns of Madison and Summit lost that many also. We are on the train line that so many still take each day to work downtown.  Our communities have planted trees at the stations, commemorating "Our friends who left on the train that day and didn't return that night."

Fun Times in Carolina!

The BOOKMARKS Festival is the best!

I loved meeting new friends- what great volunteers. And randomly running into authors I'd forgotten I knew, and new ones I'm happy to know.

Every time we turned around, somebody was feeding us, leading us, asking for an autograph.

Here's a whirlwind recap, in pictures, of my three days in Winston-Salem.

I figured it was going to be a good day when my driver was holding an iPad instead of a big cardboard sign.

Being picked up by this Dude at the Greensboro airport kicked the weekend off.

On Friday I visited two schools. It was hat day for these fifth graders. If you made a small donation to the school's chosen charity, you got to wear a hat.

I'm not wearing a hat, but I am sharing my Junk Poker box. 

With my new writer friend, Monika Schroder, 
all dressed up for our party at the fabulous RENOLDA HOUSE. 

Also at the Renolda House? (The only thing I dared snap a quick picture of. Amazing American art. Great tour, knowledgeable docent.)

Who remembers what these machines used to hold?

 Downtown Greensboro has some amazing history. An easy walk from the hotel to discover this sign. You can read more about this event HERE.

The day of the festival started off sunny and hot. 

The two fabulous ladies in charge of my StoryLine interview, on the air-conditioned bus. 

(Great questions, Jane!)

Over 7500 visitors. Tons of fabulous events. Food. Games and puppet shows. Great volunteers.

 

(Here I am with Crystal, volunteer extraordinaire and librarian friend, 

who escorted me, introduced me, and kept me safe during the storm. )

And did I mention? BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS.

Everywhere.

The rain held off till I started to speak. Then the skies opened up. Thunder. Wind.

Fortunately I was indoors, not under a tent.

But the books were under tents, so those amazing volunteers scurried to whisk them into safety

and everybody took cover. 

A great event. Thank you, volunteers. Thank you, BookMarks!

Quote of the Day

I opened a 3-pack of mini notebooks to take along with me on my travels.
I always have a notebook handy, don't you? And when I talk to kids, I tell them that.
Each has a quote. I can't quite decide which will inspire us the most.

Van Gogh: "Looking at the stars always makes me dream."

Shakespeare: "Joy delights in joy."

or (Mr./ Ms.) Unknown: "Happiness is a bright and shining thing."



(Click here for more. And a link to writing quotes.)

Beginner's Goodbye

The Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler




Such a nice book to end the summer with.
So many favorite lines, but I particularly loved this:
(Aaron musing about moving into his sister's house)

But if I just showed up with no explanation and asked for my old room back, she would think I was having a nervous breakdown or something. She would turn all motherly and there-there. She would be thrilled.

(the "thrilled" in italics. Perfect.)

Aaron's asides are spot-on. That "bear in mind she was fond of talking" sounded so authentic! Can't you just hear somebody saying that?

I love what one Goodreads reviewer said about the brevity-- 

That some readers had complained about it being too short. 

"So read it twice."

I just may.

View all my reviews

Happy September!

Where I live in N.J., it's back-to-school week. I always get a little nostalgic this time of year. Especially when I read what fun other librarians are having, showing off new books, fancying up their spaces, tacking greetings on bulletin boards (Okay, true confession, I hated bulletin boards...).

But I can still spread the word to fellow librarians and to teachers who are still in the trenches, working their hearts out.

Click to check out  ⇒this great giveaway from Donna Gephart.
Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen= one funny book. I would so be booktalking and reading this one.

See what MR. SCHU read his kids on their first trips to his library:
http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/2012/08/welcome-to-2012-2013-school-year.html 

And last but not least- for all the preschoolers out there (and their moms and dads) headed off to school for the very first time, check this link for a few books recently reviewed in the New York Times.

 Have a great school year everybody- Read lots of books, make lots of friends, enjoy!