HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Many thanks for everyone's kindness and support this year. And for putting up with the endless promotion of my book!

I hope you all have a wonderful winter holiday and a 2011 filled with goodness!

Encino Man

Big thanks to the Encino Elementary School for having me as the headliner of their Book Fair. Barnes and Noble Encino hosted a big crowd of book loving kids, parents, and teachers.

I got to draw the school librarian, Mrs. Cummings.


Unfortunately, caricature isn't my strong point. Sorry, Mrs. Cummings.


I signed a lot of books...


I met some adorable Wubbzy fans...


And hung out with some very photogenic families...



AND- as a thank you gift, I was given a really awesome customized tin of cookies. Yum! Yum!

Super Mega Epic Virginia Book Tour!

7 schools, over 3000 kids, and a whole lot of fun!
I was lucky enough to spend 10 days giving presentations to elementary schools in the great state of Virginia.

Here's a video that tries to capture the experience:



Did that seem like a blur? Yeah, it did for me too! A super awesome blur!
So here's a run down of just what happened:

St. Bridget's School in Richmond
Thanks to Assistant Principal Charlene Bechely, and Principal Ray Honeycutt for setting up the visit.
And extra super special thanks to Ann Neuhaus for promoting the event, selling books, and providing a bag of Bill's BBQ for the author at 9AM!

* You know that the Principal is cool when he asks you to draw on his shirt!

South Anna Elementary School in Montpelier

I was able to lead a group of exceptional 5th grade art students in the creation of a story that we all drew out on ceiling tiles. The kids are going to paint them and they will be placed back in the schools ceiling so that everyone can see their great work!

Huge thanks to Lara Ivey and Julie Dauksys at Growing Up With Books (it's like Netflix for books!) for making this visit so special!

They really promoted the event and had the kids fill the school with 'What's at the end of the red string art work!

They even gave me a goodie bag filled with diet appropriate snacks, South Anna swag, and.......... a cell phone strap with my favorite Japanese character, Sato Chan, on it! Lara had it shipped from Japan!!

Beech Tree Elementary School in Falls Church (My old elementary school!)
Thanks to Ellen Valentine for setting up this visit.


Pennington Elementary School in Manassas

Colonial Trail Elementary School in Glen Allen

Extra special thanks to Jackie Rice and Linda Levine for making this happen!

Rivers Edge Elementary School in Glen Allen
Thank you to Susie Milwit and Principal Johnna Riley for putting together the visit!



Nuckols Farm Elementary School in Henrico
Thanks to Principal Mary Cox and Assistant Principal Lisa Merriam for hosting my visit.
And super-sized muchas gracias to Diane Schnupp and her family for making everything so easy and treating me like a Rock Star!

Thanks to everyone at the schools for their amazing southern hospitality!

Moustaches, Math, and Merriment!

Last weekend's book signing/presentation at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena was a blast!

I tried donning a moustache and reading from my new book, The Joy Of Math, but apparently kids aren't that excited by math and moustaches on Saturday mornings. Go figure!
So I read them HUGO, did some drawing, and fed them some cake. When in doubt, give them cake!

Thanks to everyone who came out.
If you didn't make it, here's a super condensed video version of what you missed:




Special thanks to Tom Warburton for being my crowd wrangler! He seemed to use the "BOO" sign quite a bit but I probably deserved it!

Bustin' a book!

Last Saturday, LL Cool J was signing his book at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena.
This Saturday, it's my turn!

I'll be reading, drawing, and generally making a fool of myself!
The fun begins at 10:30am. Bring the whole family!

Maybe I'll even bust out a rap or two!

Peace out!

Hugo the Musical!

Well, it's not quite a musical but it is a 'music video' that I put together for my new children's book, Hugo and the Really Really, Really Long String.

Many thanks to Brad Mossman for lending his amazing song making skills!
Brad and I worked together to create all of the songs on Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! I wrote the silly lyrics and Brad turned them into really great, high-energy pop songs!

You can find out all you want to know about the Wubbzy songs here- http://wubbzysongs.blogspot.com/

And you can view all the Wubbzy music videos here- http://wubbzysongvideos.blogspot.com/

Birth of a book!

My first children's book, Hugo and the Really, Really, Really Long String, hits the stores today!

And in celebration, I'm posting some of the first little lunchtime scribbles of Hugo. It's always fun to look back at where an idea started and see how far it's come.

Lights! Camera! Book!

My first children's book, Hugo and the Really, Really, Really Long String, will be in book stores on March 23rd.

Here is a silly little video that I put together to help promote it.

Many thanks to Jann Carl for the lending her voice over skills and the neighborhood kids for sharing their amazing acting abilities.

That new book smell

During the Holidays, I got one of the greatest gifts ever-
an advance copy of my first Children's book!

It's called Hugo and the Really,Really, Really Long String.

Random House is the Publisher and it will be in stores on March 23rd (or you could hit the link over on the left to pre-order).

Big thanks to my Editor, Heidi Kilgras!