Come to the Tucson Festival of Books!

The Arizona Daily Star interviewed me and Steve about our book last Wednesday for an article in today's paper. Danielle did a great job, and Fred took some lovely photos!

Article "Librarian/writer's Harry Potter knowledge is voluminous"

Steve's talk and our booksigning: Sunday, March 15th at 2:30pm, Catalina Ballroom of the University of Arizona Student Union

Signed copies of the book available at: Kids Center, 1725 N Swan Rd, Tucson, AZ

Tucson Festival of Books

List of exhibitors in attendance

Come to the Book Festival next weekend! Karen Cushman (Catherine Called Birdy), Gail Carson Levine (Ella Enchanted), Richard Peck (A Long Way from Chicago), Charles de Lint (Widdershins), J.A. Jance (Cruel Intent), Diana Gabaldon (Outlander), Luis Alberto Urrea (Hummingbird's Daughter), Richard Shelton (Crossing the Yard), Gregory McNamee (Moveable Feasts), and over 350 more authors and illustrators will be speaking and signing their books.

Other friends speaking, storytelling, and/or signing: Marge Pellegrino, Martin Rivera, Lynn Bevill, and Liz Danforth.

You must watch this (Story Town performance)

Waking Beauty Performance at Story Town 2008

Some more of the best of libraries!

I just watched this video of PCPL staff dramatizing the picture book Waking Beauty by Leah Wilcox from last weekend's Story Town, and I'm still chuckling!

The Waking Beauty Players:
Sleeping Beauty: Deanna (South Tucson Library)
Prince Charming: Aaron (El Pueblo Library)
Fairies: Thania (Valencia Library), Maya (Santa Rosa Library), and Fabiana
Narrator: Lupita (Mission Library)
Filmed by Steve Shull

Please do yourself a favor and watch this. You will have a good feeling inside all day.

P.S. The wind noise dies down fairly quickly.

Flam Chen goodness

I was able to talk to Flam Chen performers for the first time last week at the Mission Library's 30th anniversary -- once I got over my awe at seeing them close up, at least. They're a bit larger than life, as you can see on the left.

And now I find that they have posted videos of their performances online at vimeo. Take a look at my favorite, a performance piece featuring firedancing and creatures called "Kokapis" with live drum music from the Dambe Project. Flam Chen's website is being redesigned, but their MySpace is active: www.myspace.com/flamchen

For the video, picture people gathered on the grass in front of the old library on the UA Campus (now the Arizona State Museum) on a sultry evening in late June. The day has started too cool off and then they light the burners and the drums start...

Radiance from Flam Chen on Vimeo

A visit from Riikka Jäntti

Last week we had a visit from Finnish author and illustrator Riikka Jäntti. Riikka is the author of Nokikätkön ritarit ja Kuuhiisi, or The Knights of the Sooty Nook and the Moon Troll, a fantasy story where a squirrel named Chip and her friends Toivo the hedgehog and Iris the mouse save the world. Well their little corner of it. The friends discover that greedy thugs are planning on stealing a hidden crown that protects their village, and form a secret society called the Knights of the Sooty Nook to stop them.

While she was here we made an English summary of her story (two more are planned in Finland, the second one will be published shortly), and here is the list of chapters. It makes you want to read it, eh? I really hope she can get it published in the U.S. and U.K.!


Chapter One, In Which Chip the Squirrel and Toivo the Hedgehog make a new friend.
Chapter Two, In Which the Secret Society is Founded
Chapter Three, In Which Big Brother has Guests
Chapter Four, In Which they go Berry-picking at Ratham Manor
Chapter Five, In Which We Hear the Legend of Mouse Hill
Chapter Six, In Which Everyone Disappears
Chapter Seven, In Which Lord Ratham Speaks
Chapter Eight, In Which Big Brother has Second Thoughts
Chapter Nine, In Which it is Nearly Autumn

I was able to show her Tucson at its most glorious. The weather was in the 80s, the sun shone every day, and the wildflowers were blooming all over the place. Riikka is spending a month traveling around America and recording her experiences in a delightful sketchbook journal.

Here are more images from her book:

Find the nearest mailbox

One of the questions we get all the time here at the library is "Where is the nearest mailbox?" Well, now there is a website to help: Mailbox Locator can list mailboxes by zip code or by city. It's ugly but it works.

Making my list and checking it twice

I am having too much fun with a new list wiki that Amazon has created, and wondering how libraries could use it. They have named it UnSpun (beta).

The interface is smooth and pretty intuitive -- lots of Ajax so things fade nicely in and out as you write or save.

List sampling:
Most Powerful Character in the TV Show "Heroes," Favorite Quote from Your Mom, and the Best Things about Public Libraries.

Scratch your librarian/geek/listmaking itch and check it out. I am happy to say I created the first 3 lists for Tucson, AZ and one entitled "Best Book to Read a 3-Year-Old Child before Bedtime."