So much to catch up on!

Gosh, I am SO far behind on news! So here are a few tidbits, with more to come:

The Saturday after Thanksgiving (November 25) is Small Business Saturday, and I will be spending it at Prairie Path Books, my  local bookshop in Wheaton, IL. We will read PICK A PINE TREE together, decorate a human Christmas tree, and create a Christmas craft. I would love to sign copies of PICK A PINE TREE which make lovely Christmas gifts for the little ones on your list. If you're in the Chicagoland area, please come by!

ALL ABOARD THE LONDON BUS was lucky to be one of four books selected for the shortlist for poetry by the North Somerset Teachers Book Award committee. The prizes were announced on November 18, and the London Bus book did not win, but a spectacular poetry collection did -- REACHING THE STARS: POEMS ABOUT EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN AND GIRLS by Jan Dean, Liz Brownlee, and Michaela Morgan. Because I am so far away from North Somerset, I was unable to attend, but I sent a slightly goofy video and instructed friends who were there to eat cake for me!

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One day later, on November 19, the illustrator of PICK A PINE TREE decorated the giant windows that overlook the Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern Museum in London. Using PICK A PINE TREE as his inspiration, Jarvis created an outdoor scene of a band of "Pick a Pine Tree" players, serenading the crowd at a Christmas tree lot. The first photo below shows Jarvis working late into the evening, and the second shows the finished window. Isn't it brilliant?