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My day started with a big Texas sunrise on the way to school, where I was greeted by this sign…

…this life-size image of the school principal.  (This was my first clue that the lead learners at this school have a great sense of humor!)

…and a whole bunch of smiling faces!

I really wish every school could have a librarian like the women I’ve met in San Antonio this week. Wetmore Elementary’s Cynthia Baker and Jean Ann Johnson were hopping from the minute Cynthia picked me up this morning, setting things up, handling the book signing, and making sure every group arrived at the library ready to talk books, reading, and writing.  Cynthia apparently book-talked my titles so well that they ran  out of a couple titles, but Cynthia and Jean Ann sprang into action, made a few phone calls, and hustled over to the Scholastic Warehouse and Barnes and Noble so that kids could have signed copies of the books they’d requested. Here we are at the end of a very busy day!

From left to right, that’s Jean Ann, me, and Cynthia.

I also had a little fun, informal time with kids at the library later on.  Charlie and Cole are both reading my mystery, CAPTURE THE FLAG, so they challenged me to a game.

While I love presenting to big groups of kids, I also really enjoy the quieter conversations that happen when they stop back later to have books signed, or even when they’re on their way back to class.  One boy who’d been fascinated by my story about Champ, the legendary Lake Champlain monster, stopped to ask if I’d heard about chupacabra.  I hadn’t…so I had him write it down in my notebook to research later on.  This is what I found. Fascinating stuff…and a story that just might make its way into one of my books down the road.  Yesterday, a girl at Harmony Hills suggested an idea for a future Marty McGuire book, and that’s in my notebook now, too.

Thanks so much for a great day, Wetmore Elementary readers! Everything your principal and librarian told me about how awesome you kids are is 100% true, and I so loved spending the day in your school library.

Day Two of my week of school visits in San Antonio brought me to Harmony Hills Elementary School, where amazing librarian Angie Oliverson had the library decked out in banners for all of my books. I especially loved this one with the mini-tornadoes!

The hallway near the library was full of fantastic student art. Second graders had illustrated their favorite scenes in SEA MONSTER’S FIRST DAY.

Watch out, Andy Rash…I think some of these kids may be after your illustrating job soon!

I gave presentations to three different groups of kids, ranging from Pre-K to fifth grade. You can tell by their faces just how enthusiastic these readers were!

I also popped in for a little extra time with one fifth grade classroom where the students have been reading EYE OF THE STORM.

While they ate lunch, I signed books, and we chatted about everything from tornadoes to favorite books to future plans (one girl told me she’s going to be a lawyer!)  I have no doubts she’ll make it – and truly, I see all of these kids doing great things. Thanks, Harmony Hills Elementary School, for a magical day!

I’m visiting Texas for the first time this week and just finished up the first of five days of elementary school visits in San Antonio.  Tuscan Heights Elementary has a simply wonderful staff, student, and family community, and it was so much fun spending time with their 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders this morning.

Third grade reading superstars!

Fabulous Fourth Graders!

First-Rate Fifth Graders!

I talked with the kids about how reading made me a writer, shared some of my favorite research stories, from kissing frogs to exploring a tropical rain forest, and then the students had great questions.  My favorite inquiry of the day?  “When you kissed that frog (research for a frog-kissing scene in Marty McGuire) did you like it?”

As soon as I could stop laughing, I did answer. “Not so much.”  While frog-kissing is most definitely not on my list of things to try again,  I did appreciate the insight it gave me as to Marty’s predicament. 🙂

I got to meet so many great readers and writers, including Tessa, who recently wrote a proposal to get a Writing Club started at her school.

And of course, I got to spend time with Tuscany Heights Elementary’s dynamic lead-reader, school librarian Sue Keuntz.

Thanks to everyone at Tuscany Heights Elementary for such a warm, wonderful welcome.  Tomorrow, I’m off to Harmony Hills Elementary – looking forward to another great day with Texas readers!

I learned something recently that I thought I’d share…because it saved me from doing something nice that could have turned into something uncomfortable.

If you’ve ever finished a novel and gone on to read the acknowledgments pages in the back, you know that authors are frequently thankful to lots of people. We thank our editors and agents, our copy editors, publicists and cover designers.  We thank experts who helped with research and gatekeepers who may have granted access to research opportunities. We thank our partners and friends and writing buddies, and sometimes, we thank booksellers, teachers, and librarians who have been champions of our work.  And all of that is lovely, but…

An acknowledgment in the back of a book is different from a quiet thank you note that arrives in a mailbox. It’s a very public thank you, and in some situations, it might not be comfortable for the person being thanked.

A museum employee or zookeeper who granted unusual access to records or an exhibit, for example, may have bent some rules in doing so.  A public thank you could make for an awkward conversation with that person’s boss.

A teacher or librarian who enjoys an author’s work might be delighted to see his or her name in the back of a book.  But what if that reader wants to be on a state or national awards committee and the author’s book shows up in the pile of titles to be discussed?  Suddenly, having that public thank you in the book is awkward at best and at worst, could create pressure for the person to resign from a great opportunity.

I’ll be honest – I wouldn’t have thought of any of this until a friend brought it to my attention recently.  Because what could be wrong with saying thanks?  Nothing…as long as the person has a heads up.

Here’s what I’m going to do from now on…  There are certain people I know are happy to be thanked – my critique partners, my agent and editor, my family.  But for others– individuals who have helped along the way by assisting with research or spreading the word about my books – I’ve decided it’s probably best to fire off a quick note first. Something like this…

Dear awesome person,

I wanted to drop you a note to say thanks again for (awesome things that you did).  If it’s okay with you, I’d like to say a more public thank you by including your name in the acknowledgments for (title of book that is awesome because of you).  Please let me know if that’s all right, and even if it’s not, know that I’m so very grateful for your help.

Best,

~Kate

 

So I’m curious now.  How do other writers handle acknowledgments?  I’d love to hear your thoughts in comments!

When Jane Knight at Bear Pond Books in Montpelier, Vermont asked me if I’d like to be part of an author event especially for teachers and librarians last weekend, I jumped at the chance. Bear Pond is a terrific indie bookstore, teachers and librarians are some of my favorite people, and some of my other favorite people were part of the event, too.What’s not to love?

Author Linda Urban shared writing stories and some great thoughts on point of view in novels.  She told us how she came to write her wonderful middle grade novel HOUND DOG TRUE in third person. Author Jo Knowles talked about her latest and much-acclaimed SEE YOU AT HARRY’S as well as her other titles. Jo also showed everyone the storyboard strategy she uses to revise her novels, drawing a little thumbnail picture to represent each chapter.

And this…is my only photo from the event, even though I am usually a big picture-taker. You know how sometimes you get so wrapped up in the conversation happening that you forget you meant to snap a few visual memories of the day, too?

It was one of those days – and such a great one. It was absolutely energizing to be in the company of so many teachers and librarians who are concerned with Common Core Standards, for sure, but even more concerned with getting great books into their students’ hands and creating a community of readers. I’m so thankful I got to share my morning with them, with Jo and Linda, and with the great folks at Bear Pond. Read on!

Last September, after Tropical Storm Irene tore through the Adirondacks, the children’s section of Wells Memorial Library looked like this.

The storm sent flood waters surging into the library’s basement and first floor children’s room, and they lost their entire children’s collection.  I took photos and blogged about it here, and I tweeted and Facebooked, along with a lot of other folks,  to see if people wanted to help.  They did.

Donations poured in — books and money from all over the United States and beyond.  The Bookstore Plus, a nearby indie, hosted this fundraiser that raised even more funds for the devastated library.  And today, the Wells Memorial Library children’s section looks like this.

My daughter and I stopped by to visit on our way hiking last week, and we were just amazed by the transformation — the result of many, many hours of hard work from volunteers, board members, and library director, Karen Rappaport.  Here’s Karen with all the new books…

She says a HUGE thank you to all of you who donated books and money and helped to spread the word of a library that needed a hand. Thanks to you, this library is back on its feet and sharing even more books with readers.

 

I don’t talk politics much here, but if you know me in the real world, you probably know that I have strong opinions. These opinions are not shared by everyone I like or by everyone I love – and that’s okay. I enjoy a good debate. But I feel like election season in the age of social media has made the dialogue that’s always taken place a little more pointed, a little more sharp-edged. It got me thinking…

 

What We Have In Common

by Kate Messner, Copyright 2012

 

For just a minute, let’s look at the leaves together.

Do you see how this one blushes pink around the edges?

How that one is all red, its neighbor halfway gold?

I like the way it is leaning toward autumn

But isn’t quite ready to leap.

And you know, I love the smell of pencils in September

I remembered just how much

When I saw that first-day-of-school photo you posted,

Your kids with clean faces and heavy backpacks.

I can’t believe how they’ve grown.

Mine have, too.

This afternoon, while they’re doing homework,

Maybe we can share some tea and chocolate,

Turn off the Internet and remember

What connects us.

Good books.  Bonfire smoke and  s’mores.

Fireworks and full moons,

Bare feet on chilly grass,

Kids playing kickball too late into the night,

While we lean back and notice the stars,

Breathing in and out

This air that we somehow share

Without coloring it red or blue.

 

I’ve been juggling a number of projects this summer, but I’ve spent the past week immersed in a book I haven’t started writing yet. MANHUNT (coming in Spring 2014)  is the third title in my Silver Jaguar Society mystery series with Scholastic.  It’s a follow-up to CAPTURE THE FLAG (July 2012) and HIDE AND SEEK (coming in April 2013).  Like the first two books, MANHUNT features Anna, José, and Henry – three twelve-year-old kids whose families are part of a secret society bound to protect the world’s artifacts.

In their first adventure, CAPTURE THE FLAG, the original Star-Spangled Banner is stolen from the Smithsonian, and the kids race through a snowed-in D.C. airport trying to track down the thieves.

In HIDE AND SEEK, Anna, José, and Henry and their families will explore the rainforest of Costa Rica as they search for a stolen goblet that’s also a sacred piece of Silver Jaguar Society history.

And in the third book, MANHUNT, Anna, José, and Henry will again come face to face with the the Silver Jaguar Society’s arch enemies during a multi-faceted, international heist that begins in Boston and ends here…

Yep – I’ve been “working” in Paris for the past week. (I’m pretty sure you are required to include quotation marks around the word “working” when your week has also included consuming Nutella-banana crepes and copious amounts of gelato.)

When it comes to this trip, I’m going to save my words for the book I’ll be writing this fall and winter…but here are a few photos to give you some hints about Anna, Henry, and Jose’s third adventure!

I’m headed back to my writing room now…