. . . it was time to head to the South Dakota Festival of Books. I was set for another boring plane ride, when look who I bumped into in Minneapolis -- we were going to the same place!
Yes! That's Sherman Alexie. When we last saw Sherman he was doing this . . .
We were both jet lagged, but I don't think it was too noticeable . . .
Even though he was tired, I woke Sherman up and asked him to sign something for Son's teacher and others. I also asked him to sign a check for me, but he refused.
The South Dakota Festival of Books takes place in various parts of the state. We were in Brookings to speak to the 4th graders at Camelot Intermediate School. Look how big they are!
Oh, wait. That's not a student, that's the principal, Dave Fiedler. (So cool when you have a fun principal!)
Here's a before and after of speaking to the 4th graders . . .
Later, Dave gave me a tour of his wonderful school. I'd never seen sinks OUTSIDE of the restrooms, but was told that it speeds things up, thwarts goofing around, and you can see who washes their hands. Makes sense to me!
As I was touring the campus, I found myself in a math problem!!!
That evening it was off to hear Sherman kick-off the festival. He spoke IN AN ARENA . . .
Here's Sherman with Pam Merchant and me backstage. Pam was kind enough to drive me all over South Dakota because I get lost easily. For that reason alone, vote for Pam!
The next day it was off to Sioux Falls, which is a different place than Sioux City, not that anyone I know would confuse the two. Ah hem.
(Above is the goodie bag that greeted me in Sioux Falls.)
You've heard of Men in Black, right?
Well, I got to have dinner with their literary dopplegangers -- Men in Plaid. It was wonderful seeing Newbery/National Book Award-ish Gary Schmidt (on right) again! The last time we saw him he was with BatPeep. And who's that other plaid clad fellow? Why, it's none other than Rolling Stone critic/NPR commentator/author Will Hermes . . .
After eating at an Italian restaurant with schnitzel on the menu, we headed to the authors' reception to be recepted . . .
We were so fascinating that we made the news . . .
Twice . . .
NEXT BLOG: Peepy (and Lisa) on South Dakota Public radio, sparring with Roy Blount Jr. and more from South Dakota. Plus, Will Hermes gets the interview of his career.
Oh wait! One more thing. What's that? Why it's a handwritten letter I wrote for The Rumpus - Letters For Kids.
Yes, your kid(s), or you(s), can get two actual letters in an old-fashioned thing called "the mailbox" each month from actual KidLit authors. CLICK HERE to find out more.
And finally, speaking of writing, I had a caption contest over on my facebook wall. Here's the photo of Eight-Books-Out-This-Year-Alone Dan Santat and NY TIMES #1 Besteller Loren Long . . .
(I'll post the winning caption, along with the fabulous prize, on the next blog.)
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