SLAM in Tampa, FL

I am so thrilled and honored to have Measuring Up nominated to the SSYRA. Look at the fabulous company I'm keeping!

Dioramas, Art, and Films

All the students who attended SLAM had entered their schools' contests to attend by reading the books on the SSYRA list and then creating works of art or making films based on them.

Look at this cool diorama a student made! She came by during the signing so I could sign her copy of Measuring Up and her diorama.

Alexander Elementary

As part of SLAM, I visited a couple of schools. Ms. Lipstein created this colorful balloon display with my book cover of Measuring Up.

Thanks to Ms. Lipstein for the fun visit, for her excited students, and the conversation about theme parks.

Egypt Lake Elementary

Ms. Ungaro held an essay contest for the exclusive meet-the-author lunch before my presentation. I loved getting a chance to sit down in a small group to answer her students' questions.

Books for the schools

I was so impressed that SLAM gave copies of my book to each of the schools I visited. Not only that, but each attendee at SLAM also got a copy. So very generous!! I'm sure a lot of hard work went into the fundraising to make it possible to give out so many books. Many thanks to all the people involved and the donors!

BAM in West Palm Beach, FL

My first panel with so many seasoned, multi-published authors. Let's just say that I was awestruck to be in their presence. We talked publishing and I was eager to hear their answers and learn from them. One of the things that really stayed with me is that every one of us have stalled on a writing project. There was no one easy answer to get going again. It took experimenting with different ways because tactics that worked in the past didn't always work on a current project.

Cookie Decorating Panel

It was a lively session with lots of eager readers for decorating cookies and particularly eating them.

Marsh Pointe Elementary

I got these heartwarming notes from Ms. Lipscher's students. ❤️❤️❤️ I'm so happy I was able to inspire them and hopefully help them become their fullest selves even if only in a small way.

Lewiston, ME Library

I did a program for Chloe's Lunar New Year with Ms. Turner. Lucien played a couple of Taiwanese tunes on his guitar and I brought Taiwanese snacks.

Lewiston has a large Somali population but few Asians so there were a lot of questions about Taiwanese culture. I was glad I could share and answer questions about Lunar New Year traditions with the families who came.

Connors Elementary

This is the coolest thing a school has ever done for my school visit. Ms. Raymond and Mr. Jalbert arranged for the cafeteria to make oil rice for student lunch the day of my visit. If you remember, oil rice is a key dish in Measuring Up. Their version of oil rice was spicy for their Somali student population. It was delicious that way!

GEMS Cambridge International, Dubai

Ms. Bhatia and Ms. Manoj welcomed me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. The students were enthusiastic about writing. They focused their questions on how to be more creative and to be more motivated. I cover some techniques for both in my presentation but they were eager for even more. Thanks to them, I've been thinking about how I could add even more information to my presentation.

Sharjah Children's Reading Festival Panel

The Sharjah Children's Reading Festival is a 12 day festival with an attendance of 11,000 visitors.

I did a panel with these esteemed, very accomplished women. Mrs. Taimar skillfully moderated the conversation between Dr. Daas, Mrs. bin Kidra, and myself. I wore a headset so I could hear the translator. I would wait for the translation of the question, speak my answer, and wait for my answer to be translated into Arabic. It was very cool and between the headset and the time delay in being asked a question and when I could answer, I felt like one of those foreign correspondents on a news program.

We talked about how parents can better communicate with their kids in the age of ubiquitous electronic usage. Parental concern and love for our kids truly unites us across the globe.

Whoa! I'm so BIG!

I am so glad I didn't realize I was on a Jumbotron until after my panel when Lucien showed me the photo. Yikes!

Radio and Talk to the Camera

After my radio interview with Aisha Al Mazmi, they filmed a very short 1 minute video of me talking to the radio host. Let's just say that they had to keep telling me to stop looking at the camera. It took many takes. LOL

Animation Festival Mascot

Sharjah also held their first animation conference to the programming. I love animation so Lucien and I spent many happy hours listening to the lectures.

I knew that animators do a ton of research when creating the art but they are even more detail-oriented than I'd realized. The art director for House of the Dragon talked about how they not only look at how stone walls are built to re-create them properly but they also study how the walls crack. Mind blown.

Animation Wall

The wall was a blank canvas that attendees drew and filled in as the festival progressed. The animation industry is in its early stages there but given the amount of artistic talent and energy, I think that the future is bright.

Miyazaki

The festival also brought in the 40 piece Florence Pops Orchestra from Italy. They played several concerts from the music of Disney movies and my favorite Miyazaki films. Lucien and I were mesmerized by the beauty of the music and the singers. It truly felt so special to hear the Miyazaki pieces live in concert. Since then, Lucien has added music from Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky to his gigs.

Costumed Strollers

I'm not sure who or what these strollers represent but their costumes are gorgeous.

House of Wisdom

The House of Wisdom is an homage to the original House of Wisdom in Bagdad from the 8th through 13th century. His Highness the Ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah built it as a celebration of Sharjah being named as an UNESCO World Book Capital.

When we walked in, one of the first things we saw was our books on the display shelves. Here, Jasmine Warga and I have our books displayed on the top shelf!

Ms. Shinu and Ms. Alphi gave us a tour with such well-deserved pride for the library. The library has created a community space for readers and makers with podlike seating, an Espresso bookmaker for people to print their own books, and a 3D printer. Also, they had just recently done an exhibit of Frida Kahlo which I would have loved to have seen. If you love books and you're in the UAE, the House of Wisdom truly is a must see.