by Matthew | Mar 30, 2014 | Appearances |
Notice to anyone in the Baltimore, Columbia, or Washington DC areas…
Robbi and I will be giving a series of children’s book readings and book-making workshops at Baltimore County libraries this spring. Basically, we’ll read a few books, do an amusing-yet-information-rich presentation on the life and work of a writer and illustrator, and then walk kids through the process of binding, writing, and illustration of their very own books. Little guys make saddle-stitch books and bigger kids get to create their own mix and match book. We’ve done this event with a few groups of kids now, and it has been a big hit.
To give you a sense of the storts of things we’ll be doing, here’s a link to a post about our recent day-long visit to the Haverford School (the scene of the photo above):
http://www.bobbledybooks.com/fun-day-at-the-haverford-school/
Of course, we’d love to see you ALL there, but registration is limited to 20 kids for each session, so if you’re interested, sign up sooner than later.
Here’s the info.
Reisterstown Library
Saturday, April 19,
2:00-4:00pm
Space limited to 20
Call 410-887-1165 to register
North Point Library
Saturday, May 10, 2014
2:00-4:00pm
Space is limited to 20
Call 410-887-7255 to register
Hereford LIbrary
Saturday, May 17, 2014
3:00-4:00pm
Space is limited to 20
Call 410-887-1919 to register
I really hope we get to see (or meet) you this spring.
Also: Please feel free to pass this along to others you think might enjoy it!
by Matthew | Feb 26, 2014 | Appearances |
Yesterday, we drove north to Haverford, PA, where we were visiting author/illustrator for the Haverford School Parents Association Book Fair.
The signage suggested that we were in the right place.
A quick stroll through the interior confirmed our suspicions.
Bill the Dragon was everywhere. In fact, they had themed the entire book fair around “imaginary creatures” in his honor.
Frankly, it was terrifying.
Our first stop was an assembly for approximately 150 pre-K through 2nd graders.
In case you don’t know, at the Haverford School, you hold your two fingers up like this if you want others to be quiet. For the record, I am pointing at Robbi in this picture. For the record, she wasn’t cooperating.
Once everyone was settled in, we talked about what we do, showed pictures of the barn, and read The Imaginary Dragon. Did the boys enjoy themselves?
Can a high five lie?
Next, we headed to the library, to meet with a group of fifth graders about careers. On the way, we passed the art studio, which was magnificent, and this display of clay figurines.
Which beautifully demonstrated the power of multiplicity.
When we got to the library, we discovered that Bill had arrived before us.
The fifth graders were great. In fact, everyone we met with asked great questions, from the four-year-olds to the teachers.
After a rather satisfying lunch, we presented to 100 or so 3rd and 4th graders.
Again, we told them what we do, but then we moved into workshop mode, assigning them the same “make your own book” project we did with the graduate students last week.
We were curious to see whether it would translate for the younger crowd. Making a mix-and-match book is not an easy proposition.
But they dived right in with no hesitation.
We helped them a little, but just a little.
And what they did was amazing.
We had been impressed with the graduate students ingenuity. But these 3rd and 4th graders had just as much imagination, just as much vision when it came to creating their drawings.
Here is one kid’s astronaut.
And here is a cowboy.
And this, for example was not part of the book. Pure imagination. Pure whimsy.
Instead of drawing an astronaut when prompted, this guy drew a three-headed alien.
The best part was how excited they were to share their books with us.
Especially with Robbi. Haverford is a boys’ school. Robbi was a big hit.
Another cowboy I love.
And another astronaut. This next sequence is all from the same book. Have a look as the panels flip and the characters recombine. Keep in mind that this kid created this book in less than an hour.
Which just proves that kids can do incredible things.
After the workshop, we headed down to the book fair to sell books and talk to kids.
We signed a lot of autographs.
And discovered many more imaginary creatures, created in honor of Bill the Dragon and his book fair.
Including this three headed, three-tailed dragon.
We even picked up a couple of books for ourselves. It was kind of hard not to.
It was an amazing day.
We raised some smiles.
Did some blistering cash commerce.
And made some new friends.
And heard some powerful new ideas regarding what one might do if one was lucky enough to have Abraham Lincoln’s hat.
Eventually, a great day had to end. We were shown out by yet another imaginary creature.
The Haverford School sure knows how to treat its guests right.
At the end of the day, we drove home to reunite with our own little book lovers.
We want to extend a special thanks to our host Elizabeth Springer and the rest of the Haverford School Parents Association for inviting us to spend the day with them and their students. We couldn’t have had a better time.
For any of you readers who work at schools or sit on PTA boards or are members of parents associations, please know that Robbi and I love doing these talks and readings and workshops with kids and are officially open for business. Feel free to inquire if you’d like to discuss the possibility of us coming to your school.
And for any of you who might be parents, teachers, or even kids at the Haverford school, here are a few links that might help you learn more about us and our work.
You’re already on the blog. Check back on Saturdays for the kickoff posts for our weekly theme. Mondays give kids a chance to post their stories on the site. Tuesdays are for sharing drawings. Wednesday is a theme-related quiz. Thursdays are for children’s book reviews and parents roundtable discussions, and Fridays are a mashup of the kid-submitted content for the week. We name a weekly “expert,” who wins some cool prizes.
Here’s a link to the book we shared with the kids we met with on Monday, The Imaginary Dragon.
And here’s a link to the sign-up form for the Bobbledy club. Members get eight fun-filled envelopes in the mail each year, including three picture books by Robbi and me, one book they write and illustrate themselves, one book by a kid in the club, an album of original children’s music, a birthday card, and a funny-looking, five-headed crayon.
We loved meeting and working with your kids and would love the chance to keep sending our books to them.
Thanks again to everyone at Haverford School for an amazing day!
by Matthew | Sep 27, 2013 | Appearances |
Yes, we are dragging ourselves and our books across the Bay to man a booth at the Baltimore Book Festival this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Take a moment to gaze dreamily at this cheerful logo. How could you not attend such an event?
The Festival is an outdoor affair, which means we will be selling our books out of a 10 x 10 foot tent in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood. Come join us for books or for conversation. My weather app suggests that the sun will be shining and temperatures will be in the mid/high 70s all three days.
In case you don’t feel like sleuthing on the Festival website, the hours are:
FRI 12-8pm
SAT 12-8pm
SUN 12-7pm
And that’s all the arm-twisting we’re prepared to do this morning (there is a 10 x 10 foot booth to set up, after all). We hope to see you there.
by Matthew | Sep 26, 2013 | Appearances, Our Books |
Last weekend we had the honor of being asked to do a reading at the Chestertown Book Festival.
We were delighted to learn that the event would be held in the back room of Bookplate, where we had our first-ever public appearance almost seven years ago.
Notice the strollers out front, announcing the presence of their passengers like a platoon of Harleys outside a dive bar.
We got there early to set up, and, to our surprise, there were already three fans sitting there expectantly.
The reading was a double-billing. First up was painter, illustrator, and sometimes author Marcy Dunn Ramsey, who was reading from her impressive body of work.
We are great admirers of Marcy’s books, and she is a great supporter of ours. In addition to reading her books, she gave the kids a glimpse inside her process, showing a marked-up manuscript with sketches, draft illustrations, and finals. The image below is from her book about nests. (As you can see, even humans make nests sometimes.)
After Marcy was done, we took the stage. We gave the kids a little background on who we are and how we work together.
And then we read a few books, including The Girl With Frogs in Her Ears, Gorillas in the Kitchen (Spencer’s version), Archipelago, and The Imaginary Dragon while projecting the images on a screen behind us. This gave us the comforting illusion that the kids were admiring our hairdos.
Well, Robbi’s hairdo, anyway. I’m just self-aware enough to know that there’s nothing special going on atop my head.
The kids were great. They listened (for the most part), sat still (for the most part), and were wholly willing to join us in pronouncing all of the five-syllable words we threw their way (can YOU say hypsilophodon?).
After we were done reading, the kids spent some time browsing our wares. We signed a few books and added a few new subscribers to the mix.
Thank you, Chestertown Book Festival, for giving us a chance to share our stuff with local kids.
Thank you, local kids, for laughing at all the right places and making us feel good about ourselves.
by Matthew | Sep 20, 2013 | Appearances |
Once again we have failed to give you much notice, but hopefully you are reading this in time to come join Robbi and me tomorrow morning at 11:00am, when we will be reading from our Bobbledy Books titles at Book Plate on Cross Street in Chestertown.
The reading is part of the Chestertown Book Festival, and we will be part of a mini-lineup of local children’s book authors and illustrators. The other half of the lineup is our friend, the artist Mary Dunn Ramsay, who has illustrated more than a few children’s books in her day. Marcy’s reading begins at 10:00am, also at Book Plate.
So if you have time, come join us for the entire lineup.
For our part, we plan to talk a bit about what writers and illustrators do, how Robbi and I work together, and how nice it is to wear pajamas and slippers all day long. We’ll also read The Girl With Frogs in Her Ears, Archipelago, and The Imaginary Dragon. That is, as long as the kids don’t start throwing tomatoes halfway through. If that happens, we will stop reading and start throwing tomatoes back at them. Which might be more fun, arguably.
So please, please come see us tomorrow. And if you are the book-loving sort, be sure to check out all of the other authors and events on the slate for this year’s Festival.
by Matthew | Jun 20, 2013 | Appearances |
Perhaps you know or perhaps you don’t, but every Saturday morning at the Chestertown Farmer’s Market, there is a quiet little corner just for kids. Called Hebbe’s Garden, after the goddess of youth (who just happens to sit atop the fountain in the middle of the square), the fun runs from 10-12 and usually comes in the form of two separate offerings, whether a chance to learn about a local school or the opportunity to hear a couple of local yahoos read from their children’s book collection.
There you have it. Ironclad evidence that Robbi and I have taken another step in our insidious plan to take over Chestertown, one impressionable mind at a time.
Perhaps you require further evidence? We’re glad you asked.
Satisfied?
Still don’t believe us? Fine. Here we are in the park. Notice Robbi. Notice the small but attentive group of children. Robbi is holding a copy of The Girl With Frogs in Her Ears, reading the parts of Vera and Vera’s mom while I read the parts of the narrator and the ogre. Look at the children rapt and attentive. Notice how even our own children are behaving.
As is our custom when reading Girl With Frogs, we paused afterward to teach the kids how to play Simple Jim, a game that we made up for the book. A game that just happens to require nothing more than two people and one bent playing card.
Stella was a quick study.
Mary-Jane and Alden had a hard time breathing, they were laughing so hard.
Even Mary-Jane’s mom got in on the fun.
After everyone had had his fill of Simple Jim, we moved on to Archipelago. This time, I held the book while Robbi read the story. Together, the kids all practiced saying long and complicated words. They did a fantastic job.
I hadn’t realized it, but there must be a glum, solemn moment somewhere in the middle of Archipelago.
Look at those faces. You would think we were reading Crime and Punishment.
While you’re here, take a gander at Alden’s getup. I’m not sure where she got her fashion sense. Would that I had been so bold at age five.
So you know, Hebbe’s Garden is the brainchild of Francoise Sullivan, mom extraordinaire and proprietress of web design firm Moo Productions. We and many others thank her for everything she does for local kids.
In the case that you are angry and/or regretful that you were not there, apparently, we did well enough to be invited back. Next time, we promise to give you a bit of notice.
