Monthly Archives: February 2012

There really aren’t words to describe how overwhelmingly amazing TED2012 has been so far, but I’ll try. Imagine a really super-amazing lecture — one that engages every bit of your mind and heart and leaves you thinking for weeks. Now imagine five or six of those in a row, with maybe a bit of international [...]

Today was my first day at TED2012: Full Spectrum. Here’s what greeted me when I walked into the lobby of the Long Beach Performing Arts Center this morning for AV check and rehearsal. Seeing your face on an enormous poster high over your head is both surreal and really funny.Once I stopped laughing, I went [...]

My notebook is packed. And my imagination…well, that’s always ready to go with me at a moment’s notice. This afternoon, I leave for Long Beach, California, where I’ll be speaking at the 2012 TED Conference, “Full Spectrum.” My talk on imagination and world building will be part of Friday’s Session 11, called “The Classroom,” along [...]

I spent the better part of this week in a state I’d never visited until now, Missouri, talking with school kids about reading and writing, and signing books in Chillicothe.  It’s a small city in rural Missouri (“The City in the Country,” they call it) with just about the friendliest people you’ve ever met. Chillicothe [...]

…is that spotting them at a distance one day is likely to send one out to the marsh early in the morning the next, in the hopes of getting a better look. AuSable Point State Park in Peru, NY

Inspired by Loree Griffin Burns’s new book, CITIZEN SCIENTISTS, my daughter and I decided to take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend. The simple directions and downloadable regional birds checklist online made it easy to get involved, even though we’re fairly beginning birders.  It was cold today, so we decided we’d watch [...]

Today was full of lovely things…though not the exact lovely things I might have been expecting. I’m thankful for surprises like these… I was hoping I might hear back on a manuscript that’s out– and while that didn’t happen, I did get the terrific news that my picture OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW is going [...]

Full disclosure: The author of this book, Loree Griffin Burns, is my friend and critique partner, and she fed me lunch in the middle of my pouring-rain drive through New England last fall. That said, I’d be singing this book’s praises even if Loree were a stranger who didn’t make great soup. I love this [...]

I love letters from kids, and I always write back, but sometimes I forget to check my post office box for a little while , and things get backed up. Today was one of those days, so I came home with a pile of mail that made for a delightful afternoon.  Here are a few [...]

Before I get to book-talking, thanks to everyone – teachers and librarians and booksellers, especially – who have shared OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW with readers & friends. It’s received some lovely accolades lately — named an ALSC Notable Children’s Book for 2012 and an Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students K-12 — and I’m [...]