Just got back from Hawaii! We hiked all around Kauai and snorkeled almost every day. While there, I visited the local public library, which also serves as the school library for Koloa Elementary School. It was small, but the collection still had a couple of my books!

The event at Ord Terrace Elementary was fantastic, and very well attended! The students went from reader to reader for 15-minute sessions. Besides me, there was a policeman, a fireman, a ballerina, and a karate instructor! Afterwards, we all met in the cafeteria for refreshments, book signing and a raffle. The teachers and parents were very excited and want to do it again next year!

I have been invited to speak and present a story time of my books to the students at Ord Terrace Elementary School in Seaside, California! The program is scheduled for tomorrow night, and I will be giving three presentations, followed by a book signing session. Should be fun!!!

If any of you out there had a chance to watch THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM on the Hallmark channel last Friday night, it was excellent! Based on the wonderful book by Newbery winner Christopher Paul Curtis, it is the story of a black family in the 1960's who travel from Detroit to Alabama during the civil rights movement. The youngest daughter attends the historic 16th Street Baptist Church on the day it is bombed  in 1963.The actual event, which was precipitated by desegregation legislation, eventually served as a catalyst for civil rights reform in the south. Read the book, if you haven't already!

Just got back from Orlando, where I saw old friends and ate good food! I also visited the library in Seminole County, where I used to work. While there, I read a great adventure book for kids entitled WRECKER!

I have finished writing my sequel to EGGS OVER EVIE. Entitled NEW YEAR'S EVIE, the book takes place a year later. Evie and Mrs. Hamilton decide to enroll their dogs in a dog obedience course offered at the local rec center. And - of course - Shanti  is the instructor. In the meantime Evie must deal with her mother's new boyfriend, her father's twin toddlers, and a strange little boy who lives in her father's condo complex.

Two more great sci-fi books for young readers: LARKLIGHT by Philip Reeve is sort of a Lemony Snicket version of space travel which takes place in a flying house during the Victorian era in England. A girl and her brother encounter robot spiders and space pirates. Yikes! H.I.V.E. by Mark Walden is an acronym for Higher Institute of Villainous Education. It is somewhat like Hogwarts, but for Superhero Villains. The school, which is hidden inside an inactive volcano, recruits (make that kidnaps) children who exhibit extraordinary talents in particular areas. Only trouble is...leaving is not an option!