Betty Birney’s Blog

What do writers do when they’re not writing? Ummm , mostly hang out with other writers and attend book-related events.

Here’s one group of L.A. Children’s Book Writers that likes to gather together. Left to right, Kathryn Hewitt, Lin Oliver, Betsy Rosenthal, Marla Frazee, Eve Bunting, me, Susan Goldman Rubin, Susan Patron, Hope Anita Smith, Amy Goldman Koss (front) April Halprin Wayland, Ann Whitford Paul. Missing (because she’s taking the picture) is Sonya Sones. And Lisa Yee, who couldn’t make it that day.

Here we are again – this time Sonya’s in the picture – back row, far right, but Marla and Lisa are missing and Hope’s taking the photo. Hey – where’s Eve? She was there.

I’ve also been attending a lot of more formal book-related events spanning the letters of the alphabet.

First came the SCIBA Awards (Southern California Independent Booksellers Award) two weeks ago in Long Beach, preceded the night before by a signing at the brand new and gorgeous Mysterious Galaxies bookstore in Redondo Beach. Summer According to Humphrey was nominated but I was pretty sure that The Marbury Lens would win and I was right. What chance does humorous middle grade have against an edgy dystopian YA book, but I had no problem with that. I did have a problem with the glitch that meant there were no books for me to sign. They had a plethora of writers there to sign, including keynote speaker Brian Selznick – a witty and wonderful speech, by the way. The other nominees had books to sign but not me. I was grumpy about it for two whole days.

Last week was the CLCSC Fall Gala and 50th Anniversary. Okay, that’s the Council of Children’s Literature for Southern California and was held in South Pasadena. Lois Lowry gave the keynote – how lucky were we? – and I saw a ton of writer and librarian friends, including Denise Doyen, Antoinette Portis (she was also at the SCIBA event), Eve Bunting, Susan Patron, Susan Rubin and Sharon Hearn, who receive a well-deserved honor for her contribution to children’s book in L.A. with her fabulous bookstore, Children’s Book World. I’m doing an event with Sharon this week.

Last night (after a fun baby shower with great friends – no, the shower wasn’t for me), I attended the CSLA (California School Library Association) banquet along with a ton of writers. Each of us hosted a table but I got the BEST table – a great group from Berkeley. My pal, Amy Koss was there, as well as old friends Barb Odanaka and Carol Tanzman. And I enjoyed meeting Maile Meloy, whose book Apothecary is hot and I can’t wait to read it. (I know most writers run around and get pictures of themselves taken with everyone they meet, but I like to talk to people and always find that distracting!)

But my favorite letters of the alphabet are SCBWI … a fantastic organization that’s a MUST for any aspiring  or published children’s book author or illustrator.

I have events this week at The Mirman School, Children’s Book World (at Overland Elementary School) …. then comes  Thanksgiving, immediately followed by a trip to NY – and that’s  immediately followed by 4 days in the Bay Area. Meanwhile, I’m writing Humphrey book 9 (title to come). Back to work!

Humphrey’s popping up all over L.A. I just can’t keep him in his cage. It must be that lock-that-doesn’t-lock.

Last week, I was at St. Felicitas School in San Marino for a fun morning talking about Humphrey.

Humphrey showed up Sunday on the Kids’ Page of the L.A. Times in a terrific  review by a fan … with a GREAT-GREAT-GREAT illustration!

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-1016-kidsun-20111016,0,3310129.story

He’ll be on display in Redondo Beach Friday night, October 20, as the SCIBA (Southern California Independent Booksellers’ Award) nominees are on hand for a Meet and Greet at a brand new bookstore, Mysterious Galleria. Address is: 2810 Artesia Blvd., Redondo Beach, CA 6:30-8:30. Summer According to Humphrey is a nominee.

And on Saturday night, the SCIBA banquet will be held in Long Beach, CA. Pretty tough competition (sweeping sagas, dystopian novels) for a little hamster but I’ll be there in Humphrey’s name.

Meanwhile … there are new books in the UK to talk about and another new book in the works. You just can’t keep a good hamster down!

              Last week, I headed down to Laguna for a speaking engagement and ended up on the beach! Thus is life in L.A.  Unfortunately I also ended up smack in the middle of the blackout with no traffic lights working and major traffic jams. But I was with my Aunt Katie and that made it so much better. The traffic just gave us more time to catch up.

I’m heading out of Southern California on a book tour tomorrow, sponsored by my publishers, Penguin. I actually start the “tour” here in L.A., visiting two schools and signing books. Then I hop a plane for San Francisco for two nights and more schools. Next stop: Minneapolis where I’ll spend less than 24 hours. I’ll end the trip in Chicago where I’ll have a public event:

Anderson’s Bookshop, Downers’ Grove, Friday, September 16 at 7 PM! I’m very excited about visiting this fabulous indy bookstore. Illinois readers have been big fans of Humphrey and The World According to Humphrey is currently on the state’s Bluestem Award list.  So y’all come!

I actually lived in Chicago for seven months too many years ago to mention. A fun, fun city. It has a beach, too.

I’ve had quite a lengthy hiatus from blogging but Humphrey does keep my wheel spinning busily! To catch up a bit, here’s the latest Humphrey news:

School Days According to Humphrey will be released in hardcover June 30. It’s already out in the U.K. as School According to Humphrey. For a preview of the first chapter (with British punctuation and spelling), here’s the link to Tesco’s Book Club, which features a sneak peak. Click on the cover at this link:
http://kidsbookclub.tescomagazine.com/

I’m thrilled that School According to Humphrey has been shortlisted for the IBW Award in the children’s category. IBW stands for Independent Booksellers Week and I love indie bookshops!http://independentbooksellersweek.org.uk/award-page/

Humphrey is now on the Illinois Bluestem Award list at http://www.islma.org/pdf/BluestemMasterList2012.pdf
This list is a little different from other state lists. The award is designed for students in grades 3-5 who are ready for longer titles than found on the Monarch list, but not quite ready for the sophistication of some of the Rebecca Caudill titles. Named in honor of Big Bluestem which is the state prairie grass, the award may include both timeless classics and current titles, as well as books that have appeared on Monarch and Rebecca Caudill lists. Some of my favorites are on the list with The World According to Humphrey. Humphrey has won seven state awards, a Christopher Award, two Children’s Crown Awards and has been on 22 or 23 state lists – I’ve kind of lost count!

Trouble According to Humphrey was named an Honor Book for this year’s Children’s Crown Award. The World According to Humphrey and Friendship According to Humphrey previously won. Adventure According to Humphrey is on the list for the coming year. http://www.childrenscrownaward.org/

Yippee! Summer According to Humphrey, which recently came out in paperback,  is a bestseller in the Scholastic Book Club. http://kidscreen.com/2011/06/16/scholastic-lists-this-months-bestsellers-5/  But wait! there’s more!

One of the brand new Humphrey’s Tiny Tales books, My Pet Show Panic, is a Richard and Judy book club book this summer! This is huge in the U.K. and the books will be featured at all the W.H. Smith Stores. People in the U.K. really love Richard and Judy’s choices and the fact that The World According to Humphrey was on their first children’s list really got it off to a blazing start there. You’ll find it at this link, at the bottom of the page. http://www.richardandjudy.co.uk/childrens-current-reads/Summer-2011/98

And just a few weeks ago, Humphrey’s Tiny Tales: My Summer Fair Surprise was released in the UK. Next up will be Humphrey’s World of Pets, a pet care guide coming out in U.K. in October. And the next Tiny Tales book is called My Creepy-Crawly Camping Adventure – my favorite so far!

More good news : I am constantly asked in emails and snail mail if there will be more Humphrey books. I’m HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY to say there will. And I’m equally pleased to say I’ve finally got the time to do some serious work on a non-Humphrey book – a goal I’ve fallen behind on.

Next up: updating the website!

Answer to last post’s mystery question: it’s a magnolia tree seed pod. The tree is actually in our neighbor’s yard. We frequently see the pods themselves but I’ve never seen those red M&M looking seeds before. Except for the skunks (and mosquitoes, etc.) nature is pretty grand.

Especially the owl I hear at 3 and 4 in the morning when I take Desi out in the front yard. It’s usually off in the distance but was really close night before last.

But there’s more drama than skunks and owls. Sitting in my quiet little office in the back of the backyard, I heard the loud crash of an avocado bouncing off the roof from the nearby (giant) tree. Actually, we have a very poor crop coming this year because we had the tree trimmed last year. But there was at least big one. I went to my (new) door and was face to face with one of our big, fat, smart squirrels. They really are the hugest squirrels I’ve ever seen, so avocados are definitely fattening.

He took the measure of me, decided to risk everything and check out the fallen avocado. And for the first time, I saw a squirrel carry a very large avocado up the tree. Here’s the sequence:

Squirrel hears the avocado fall

Squirrel sees me, sizes up the situation

Squirrel goes for it anyway

Squirrel gets the prize

By the way, my apologies to those who are iced in. This is Southern California in December but we’re supposed to have cold temperatures (highs in the 50s) the next few days and much needed rain!