Betty Birney’s Blog

With Jill Dorfman at Richboro Elementary

 Bucks County is obviously a great place for writers, since Pearl Buck (Nobel Prize winner), James Michener (Pulitzer Prize winner)  and Oscar Hammerstein II (Oscar winner - a lyricist but no less a writer - and a genius) all resided here (not all at the same time). Margaret Mead, Stephen Sondheim, Moss Hart, S.J. Perelman, the Berenstains of Bear fame, Bob Dylan and Dorothy Parker also lived there at one time or another - no slouches at writing, any of them!

It’s a beautiful part of the country. I especially love the old stone houses. But I didn’t have a lot of time for sightseeing because my assignment was to visit schools! After I left Mill Creek and Warrinton (previous post) I moved to Newtown, which is a very old town, and the Brick Hotel.  My first day was spent at Goodnoe Elementary with librarian Laura Follmer and assistant Kathy Labold. A more enthusiastic group of Humphrey fans I have never encountered. (Okay, the sentence is backwards. Poetic license.)

That evening, I had dinner with Jill Dorfman and her family. Jill arranged the whole visit. She and her husband, Dennis, son Jeremy and daughter Rachel took me to an Italian restaurant where I indulged in my passion for mussels. Jeremy is a recent NYU film school grad and Rachel is in high school. I thank them for a great welcome.

I spent the next day at Richboro Elementary, Jill’s school, where I was the recipient of even greater hospitality -a major morning feast including a cake with my name on it - followed by presentations to Humphrey and Sassafras fans.

That night, I was taken to dinner by David and his parents, Eric and Peggy, at the Temperance House, one of those very old taverns with a fireplace so big,  a family of 4-6  could stand in it! David was the very astute Mill Creek student who, when he realized I was coming to Bucks County, alerted his school. Then I was contacted by first grade teacher, Cynthia Ventresca, who arranged for my visit there. Eric, the dad, grew up in my hometown of St. Louis so we did a little strolling down memory lane. He went to Kirkwood High. My sister, Janet, and her husband live in Kirkwood and  Steve is a Kirkwood grad as well.

 Sharon Blumenthal, me, Arlene Williams

Up and early the next morning I headed to Holland Elementary where Arlene Williams and assistant Sharon Blumenthal gave me another warm welcome.  It was a BUSY-BUSY-BUSY day, but Arlene rewarded me with authentic PA pretzels - I’ve never had pretzels that good, even though my husband is from PA - and then dinner with a group of  teachers, planned by Arlene so I could have an authentic Philly Cheese Steak sandwich. (Although this is quite controversial - some feel “authentic” means Cheese Whiz - thankfully, this nice Italian restaurant used Provolone.) It was great - and different than I expected.

Tired but happy, I left the restaurant and receive a beautiful reward for two weeks away from home: a double rainbow! I followed it all the way back to my hotel and if I just could have gotten into those woods, I know I would have found my pot of gold!  But wait - are we sure that wonderful lyricist’s name wasn’t Oscar Hamsterstein?

Two weeks. Eight flights.  Three states. Four hotels. 1500 books signed. 15 schools.

And now I’m home. It was a great trip with few hitches (airline related-only). I’m home for a week and a half, then off for the final trip of the year - to fulfill the Humphrey Drawing Contest. (I have to visit the school of the winner - more about that soon.)

The photo above is from the Cedar Rapids leg of the trip - it was taken by librarian Sally Reck at Indian Creek Elementary in Marion, IA.  I give it three BOINGS!!!

   Sally and Wynelle Lindsley of Bowman Woods arranged this wonderful visit for me. Here I am with Jan Dickinson and Wynelle at their library.
 The kids there performed a GREAT-GREAT-GREAT poem for me and the answer to their question is “Yes, there will be another Humphrey book.”

To that end, ADVENTURE ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY is being typeset for next spring and I’m starting the first “shorter” Humphrey book - a short chapter book that will be illustrated. I may have some time off from travel but never time off from Humphrey!

 I’ll catch up with the Bucks County part of the trip in a few days. Let’s just say it ended with a double rainbow!

 Doylestown, PA May 18, 2008

Okay, I kind of made a mistake and inadvertently booked back-to-back trips this spring. So on Mother’s Day, I flew to Indianapolis and then drove to Carmel, IN - a charming area just outside Indianapolis. I stayed at a great B&B (Old Towne Bed and Breakfast) where I was graciously hosted by Lorraine and Doug who went the extra mile to make sure I had what I needed. I spoke at Smoky Row Elementary and Forest Dale Elementary. My thanks to hosting media specialists Mrs. Marley (Smoky Row) and Mrs. Duffy (Forest Dale). I had a GREAT-GREAT-GREAT time and offer my heartfelt thanks to the Ahearns for a lovely dinner and great conversation.

 Then up at the crack of dawn (always at the crack of dawn) for the trip to Cedar Rapids. I changed planes in St. Louis, my home town. It was to supposed be a close connection but a lightning storm shut down the airport so we were delayed. I’m just sorry I didn’t get to stay over and see my relatives.

Wynelle Lindsley of Bowman Woods Elementary in Cedar Rapids picked me up and whisked to her school to sign lots and lots and lots of books. Then it was off to dinner at Sally Reck’s house (Indian Creek Elementary) for another great homecooked meal where I got to meet some of the other media specialists and their entertaining husbands.

Then it was a stimulating round of school visits to Novak, Linn Grove, Indian Creek, Oak Ridge, Westfield, Wilkins and Bowman Woods where I met GREAT-GREAT-GREAT students who were very enthusiastic about Humphrey!!

Thanks so much to the extremely gracious media specialists: Cynde, Melissa, Sally, Sue, Deb, Tiffany and Wynelle for great lunches and dinners (we won’t talk about the many hours of signing - I had a very nice room to do it in).

Cedar Rapids/Marion (Marion is where these schools were located except Bowman Woods) is a truly beautiful area, reminding me of my midwestern childhood. And the people, as I always find in the midwest, are so friendly. Kind of like Humphrey!

Now I’m in Bucks County, PA for the weekend. I’ll fill you in on that schedule later … but I had a lovely morning exploring Doylestown - what a charming town - quintessentially American, complete with streets lined with American flags. I drove on to New Hope which is great but it poured rain and I hurried back to the room for emailing, blogging and basically catching up!

And I’ll catch up with the rest of my trip later!

I couldn’t say it at the time, but when I walked out of the ceremony in Tulsa where I received the Oklahoma State Award, the Sequoyah Award (followed by a three-hour signing session), I checked my email on my Blackberry and learned that The World According to Humphrey had won the Nebraska Golden Sower Award! It wasn’t announced until May 1 but I was celebrating early and am looking forward to going to Lincoln in October for the ceremony. This is Humphrey’s 7th state award. He’s also won the Rhode Island Children’s Book Award, the Iowa Children’s Choice Award, the Maryland Black-eyed Susan Award, the Washington Sasquatch Award, the Pennsylvania Keystone to Reading Award and the Oklahoma Sequoyah Award. He also received the Children’s Crown Award - that’s another award voted on by children and sponsored by the National Christian School Association.

That’s a lot of swag for a tiny hamster … and he and I are VERY-VERY-VERY grateful.

Thanks, Nebraska!