Betty Birney’s Blog

It is 11:00 and almost 100 degrees. The temperature on our patio was 104 yesterday. Thank goodness that a week ago, the weather was absolutely perfect for celebrating the grand occasion of our granddaughter’s 3rd birthday! I’m not sure how many adults and kids there were - maybe 40? 50?

Remy’s mom and dad supplied the entertainment including a long, low table with little chairs and tons of materials for crafts which was very popular. And they hired a “bubble lady” who did all kinds of wonderful things with wading pools and bubbles. There was some real science thrown in, and bubbles of all shapes and sizes. The high point (for the adults) was seeing the kids put inside giant bubbles. Not that many opted to try it but I’m glad Remy did. She’s the girl in the bubble, above. From the kids’ point of view, I think the most popular event was getting to make their own big bubbles from a series of wading pools.

It was a great tryout for the new door to my office. (I have to get a picture to replace the one on the home page.) The little house is a real attraction for three year-olds. One boy called it “The library,” which it looks like with its book-lined walls.  It took awhile to wash off the chocolate and strawberry handprints on the door, way down low but I didn’t mind.

 Today I’m staying in my air-conditioned office and writing. Desi the dog is in here, too. I’m trying to limit her time outside, though she prefers to be outside.

And if it gets any hotter, I might just crawl into a great big bubble of my own!

School is over for the summer … at least for me! My last school visit was a week ago at the Third Street School in Los Angeles. On my way home, I recalled the little saying we chanted on the last day of school:

School’s out, school’s out,

Teacher let the mules out!

No more classes, no more books,

No more teacher’s dirty looks!!!

The end of school always included a district wide school parade, followed by a day at the wonderful old Forest Park Highlands amusement park. The memories are flooding in so I’ll have to do a separate post on the Highlands. The district took it over for the day. You could buy food there or bring picnics. And if your family wasn’t going, bus transportation was supplied. It was a rip-roaring close to the school year. The Highlands are long gone and so is Reavis School.

I loved school but I loved summer, too. More time for reading, bike-riding, swimming, jumping rope, playing hopscotch, playing board and card games and building imaginary worlds.  (I had a lot of those.) But I was always glad to go back to school in the fall because I missed my friends and I did like school.

 Even though I have plenty of writing to do this summer, I hope to get more reading done and enjoy working in my new kitchen.

Carole Koneff, the librarian at Third Street Elementary, wrote an epic poem that’s a lot better than the one about the mules. What a lovely introduction!

The Seven Wonders of the World inspired a lovely book

And lots of us decided to take a closer look

About a boy named Eben who went upon a quest

To find some local wonders and try to pass a test.

His dad threw down the gauntlet and in the space of just a week,

He had to decide the things that he would seek.

He had to scour the neighborhood and overcome some fears,

And on the way must endure the teasing of his peers.

And as he delved a little further and stuck to the task,

The wonders started happening, and then came thick and fast.

A doll that saved a person, a bookcase in the rain

A saw that scared the locusts, a table helping pain

A ship inside a bottle, a blind woman’s magic loom

A perfect miniature of the town that washed away the gloom

This book of seven wonders made us smile and want to cheer

And we are very happy that Betty Birney’s here

To talk to us of Eben and delightful Humphrey, too

And now I am just thrilled to introduce her to you!

It wasn’t a tour, exactly, but it was a mystery - a big question mark that’s been on my calendar for months. And once the mystery was solved, it turned out to be a magical trip after all.

Last year, the Penguin marketing team came up with the idea of a Humphrey Drawing Contest. Last week, after over a thousand entries were looked at, a smaller group (about 15) were sent to me and after a lot of long, hard thought, we had a winner.

Since the grand prize was having me come to the winner’s school to speak (as well as free books for the entire class and a gift certificate), I didn’t want to know where each entry was from. After a rather strenuous travel year (away from home 8 weeks in various bits and pieces), I probably would have selected Los Angeles! So where was I going? Nebraska? North Carolina? Alabama? All were in the finalists.  But it was a little north of Alabama because the winner was (fanfare here):

Richard Roberts, Cliffwood Elementary School, Cliffwood, New Jersey!

(I ended up having to travel coast-to-coast after all. But I didn’t really mind)

 I have to say, Richard’s teacher, Susan Kyvelos, librarian, Susan Rardin (yes, there were lots of Susans there), the principal  (whose name has escaped me even though she is the Most Important Person at Cliffwood Elementary) and the whole staff at Cliffwood pulled out all the stops! The library was turned into Humphreyville with all the streets listed in TROUBLE ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY. There are so many talented artists at Cliffwood - I loved all the big drawings of the characters from the books.  Great food, the newspaper there to take photos, and Richard’s enthusiastic parents and grandmothers were on hand as well.

So, how did we determine the winner? It was tough, I have to tell you. Once the finalists were chosen, I looked and looked and looked and my eyes kept going back to Richard’s. While many entries illustrated the scene where Humphrey hits Clem with the rubber band - and they were all very cute - his drawing showed an exact moment in the book and it was action packed. The rubber band has just that second hit Clem’s nose. Read the chapter and you’ll see Richard captured it all with verve and imagination. When I talked to him about it, Richard said that he had done a couple of drawings before it but wasn’t quite satisfied. That’s so much like writing, when I rewrite and rewrite and rewrite some more. And it’s always worth it.

 I like the little cartoon bubbles. Fanny is saying “Blub,” Humphrey is saying “Take this, Beast” and Clem says “Ouch!” There’s the rubber band mid-air, too!

Still it was a tough decision! Especially since Sasha Quattlebaum from Omaha, NE had a wonderfully imaginative take on Aldo and the hallways of Longfellow School at night. And Mary Beth Judge from Waxhaw, NC also captured a colorful scene between Aldo and Humphrey. They both received First Prize Awards.  Honorable Mentions went to Glen Nolte of Anniston, AL, a truly talented artist, and Lexi Rose Reynolds, also of Waxhaw - I loved Clem’s big nose as seen through Humphrey’s eyes. There were two other Waxhaw students in the finalists. Rea View Elementary is a very special place.

I’ll try to get those up on my photo gallery soon. They deserve to be looked at.

By the way, Richard’s 9th birthday was the day before I came to his school but I didn’t find that out until later. So Happy Birthday, Richard!

  Our recent house repairs and renovations have turned up plenty of wildlife. Some unwelcome furry critters, some nasty old termites and last Thursday, we looked outside my office window and saw this on our back wall.

This is the second bee swarm we’ve had. At our last house about 40,000 bees (estimated) swarmed our barbecue grill and built a substantial hive in a few hours. I can’t bear the thought of killing such useful insects (unlike termites) so we found a beekeeper to come and remove them. I recently had a friend tell me she couldn’t find anyone to take away live bees but we looked in the yellow pages and found someone who came out in an hour.  Bees have alarmingly disappeared recently, endangering such crops as almonds, so I was relieved to recycle them to a bee farm.

We recently had our electrical panel redone and apparently they left a few small holes. The queen got in and the work began. The beekeeper told us to stay inside (didn’t have to ask me twice) and we watched as he located the queen and put her in a box. The vast majority of bees follow because without their queen, they’re nothing! But many remained and so he released some smoke, which helped encourage some others to move on.

However, a group remained. We were told that they were the bees out collecting nectar who returned to the spot and wondered what the heck happened to their queen. We called and were told that they should be gone by Saturday - that they’d find a new queen - but to call if they weren’t. Actually this is Tuesday and there are no 10 bees remaining, but we haven’t called because they aren’t really bothering anything. 

We do have a busy group of bees working in the garden on the side of our house - lavender and roses there.  And there’s a lot (too much) clover in our backyard. That would be some yummy honey.

As for the birds, I had news from my friends at the Shaw School in U.K. They email from time to time and I visited there in March, where I met their hamster named Humphrey.

Apparently Humphrey recently got out of his cage (it is suspected he had a little human help) but after 24 hours they found him and he’s doing fine. They also had some baby birds hatch in a nest outside a window - they had a video camera so the students could watch the eggs’ progress. When they hatched, the children named them Betty and Birney. I have never been so honored! I’m sure they’re well out of the nest now. Bon voyage, Betty and Birney!

I do love birds. In fact, I talk to the birds in the yard outside my office. Some of them - like the mockingbirds - talk back.

When I’m out of state and I talk about our wildlife in the backyard (skunks, possums, squirrels, r___s - and twice I’ve seen coyotes in the front yard), people say, “Oh, so you don’t live in L.A.” But I do. L.A. is not all concrete. It is lush, verdant, mountainous and we are at the bottom of a canyon with two wildlife preserves at the top. We have avocados, lemons and limes. Our neighbors have oranges, apricots, avocados and figs. The house behind us has a banana tree. Animals love these things as much as people. 

Our backyard is a paradise and completely private. But we live on a busy street. Nobody really understands L.A.!

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!

Well, I botched that last post so try, try again. Just ignore the previous version!  I did have a wonderful birthday on Saturday. My biggest present: being home for the first time in a while! And a very nice  stack of presents from my husband and other relatives. But no time to relax because it was off to UCLA for the annual LA Times Festival of Books. Unbelievably, 70,000 people plus come each day- all in celebration of books. Originally, I wasn’t too happy about my timeslot right at the Festival opening. But it was unbelievably hot and I ended up being very grateful I wasn’t signing at 2:00. There was already quite a crowd at 10. I got to sign with fellow LAYA, Michael Reisman, who just had his first book published to great success - starred reviews, movie deal - all well deserved! The book is Simon Bloom, The Gravity Keeper and there will be more. LAYA Paula Yoo (her almost brand new book is Good Enough) also stopped by - I didn’t get her picture, darn.

We browsed a bit, then returned home for a lovely, long call from son Walshe and his girlfriend, Ania, then off to Beverly Hills for dinner with Becca, Gary and darling granddaughter, Remy. Becca and Gary took us to a favorite restaurant, Kate Mantilini’s. You can see that Remy was a lot more interested in helping me blow out that candle than with photography. When we returned home, I saw that Desi had a little celebration of her own. Desi is a 12 year old puppy - and I do mean puppy. She doesn’t play with her toys a lot but that night, she pulled her entire toy basket out of the corner of the den and scattered toys everywhere. I wish I’d had a hidden camera filming that! Whoopee!

So another year has come and gone and it was a very, very good year, for which I’m grateful.

 I did have a wonderful birthday on Saturday. My biggest present: being home for the first time in a while! And a very nice  stack of presents from my husband and other relatives. But no time to relax because it was off to UCLA for the annual LA Times Festival of Books. Unbelievably, 70,000 people plus come each day- all in celebration of books. Originally, I wasn’t too happy about my timeslot right at the Festival opening. But it was unbelievably hot and I ended up being very grateful I wasn’t signing at 2:00. There was already quite a crowd at 10. I got to sign with fellow LAYA, Michael Reisman, who just had his first book published to great success - starred reviews, movie deal - all well deserved! The book is Simon Bloom, The Gravity Keeper and there will be more. LAYA Paula Yoo (her almost brand new book is Good Enough) also stopped by - I didn’t get her picture, darn.

We browsed a bit, then returned home for a lovely, long call from son Walshe and his girlfriend, Ania, then off to Beverly Hills for dinner with Becca, Gary and darling granddaughter, Remy. Becca and Gary took us to a favorite restaurant, Kate Mantilini’s. You can see that Remy was a lot more interested in helping me blow out that candle than with photography. When we returned home, I saw that Desi had a little celebration of her own. Desi is a 12 year old puppy - and I do mean puppy. She doesn’t play with her toys a lot but that night, she pulled her entire toy basket out of the corner of the den and scattered toys everywhere. I wish I’d had a hidden camera filming that! Whoopee!

So another year has come and gone and it was a very, very good year, for which I’m grateful.