Lisa Yee's Blog: Hug a Librarian, Chinatown and "Maybe" Winners

Well, the Goodreads Giveaway for signed copies of ABSOLUTELY MAYBE is over. There were over 1200 entries . . .

Here are some Maybe lookalikes from the book launch party . . .

(Can you find YA/Children's Book Luminaries Cecil Castellucci, Michael Reisman, Jay Asher, Jill Murray, Betty Birney, Dan Santat and Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy?)

That has me thinking . . . hmmmmmmmm . . . maybe it's time for another Bodacious Book Contest soon . . . like next weekish?

In the meantime, this past weekend, in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I spoke at the Chinatown Library in Los Angeles as part of the OCA APA Children's Book Tour . . .

They had lots of things from my books on the walls, and Peepy and Dan Santat (doing a truly fine Flat Stanley imitation) and I enjoyed looking at them . . .

(Peepy even saw her friend Ivy Ling from my American Girl novel, GOOD LUCK, IVY. It's a historical fiction based in the . . . 1970s!!!)

We had a blast talking to our enthusiastic audience . . .

Afterward there were refreshments, including these cinnamon rolls, taken from the recipe Bobby's father in BOBBY VS. GIRLS (ACCIDENTALY) uses in the book! Plus, Peepy was beyond pleased, because she was presented with a gift bag of goodies!!!

But what I think is the coolest thing of all, is that every child there got one of my books FOR FREE!!!! Thanks to the OCA, Chinatown Library and Southern California chapter of Families with Children From China for a great day!!!

While we're on the topic of libraries, last week our South Pasadena Middle School Librarian was honored. Several kids from the high school returned to give her a well-deserved recognition award.

Congrats to Sharon Cockroft! (The S. Cockroft Memorial Library in SO TOTALLY EMILY EBERS is named after her!)

(That's her in the black.)

And here she is getting a group hug from the kids.

THIS is what we should be doing . . . recognizing, rewarding and hugging our librarians, NOT laying them off. When the economy is in dire straights we need our libraries and librarians more than ever!

And finally, I shared this on my facebook page, but in case you're not on facebook, here's a baby hearing his mother for the first time. I saw a wonderful documentary called SOUND AND FURY about Cocklear implants. I know they are controversial, but the baby's response here is so heartwarming . . .