Part 4 (Miami, FL): Books & Books, Silver Ridge Elementary, Sunny Isles Beach K-8 Plus One More Reason I Love Aaron Reynolds

BOOK TOUR NAVIGATION: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3  - Part 4  - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Back to main Sea Monkey & Bob Bonus Page

It was dark when I arrived at my hotel in Miami, so I didn't notice the view until I woke up the next morning. Palm trees, woohoo!! Palm trees may be the norm for where YOU live, but they always strike me as exotic and a clear sign that I am NO LONGER IN TORONTO.

Thanks so much to Laura Deutsch at Books & Books Miami for arranging my visits with Silver Ridge Elementary and Sunny Islea Beach K-8! I had a wonderful time.

Image courtesy ShayneBenowitz.com.

It was great to see my friend Dorian Cirrone at Silver Ridge. Dorian, by the way, is the author of THE FIRST LAST DAY, a wonderful middle grade that came out from Simon & Schuster/Aladdin last year. You can read Dorian's advice for young writers and more in the interview I did with her on Inkygirl.

Thanks also to Dorian for taking some photos at my Silver Ridge presentation, like this one:

Photo: Dorian Cirrone.

My media escort on this day had some navigation issues but thankfully both schools were able to accommodate the altered schedule. I also had some motion sickness on the way to Silver Ridge (I was trying to help my escort by reading the directions from her Google Maps printout) but happily, my nausea cleared up partway through the presentation and I started having fun again. :-) The students were SO great, especially considering the late start.

Photo: Dorian Cirrone.Special thanks to Elaine Arnold, who helped me get set up (in a hurry, too) as well as all her other help with this visit. Hopefully our paths cross again. Would have loved to linger and chat. And take a photo! Darn it, there was no time.

Next stop: Books & Books Miami. What a fantastic indie bookstore! I had already enjoyed visiting their Coral Gables location when I was at SCBWI-Miami and looked forward to checking out the Miami Beach location. Thanks to Laura Deutsch and other staff for the warm welcome, plus being so organized. Thanks also to Laura for this photo of me signing pre-ordered books in the store:

We were still running late so unfortunately I didn't have a chance to look around the bookstore but I really want to come back someday, especially after hearing so many wonderful things about this place. You can find out more about Books & Books at their website, on Facebook and on Twitter.

Thanks again to Sunny Isles Beach for rearranging their schedule for me. I was pretty stressed by the time we arrived at the school (I hate being late) BUT when we arrived, Jenny Levinson was so welcoming and friendly, reassuring me that everything was ok and that the two sessions had been rescheduled. After setting up, I even had time to relax a bit and chitchat before the Kindergarten classes arrived. Thanks to Laura Deutsch for taking this photo:

With the awesome Jenny Levinson at Sunny Isles Beach K-8.Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of my presentation at Sunny Isles. If anyone out there has some, I would LOVE TO SEE THEM!!! Jenny suggested that I might want to check out the beach/ocean, which was apparently only a few minutes' walk away but ARGH there was no time; I had to leave for the airport and flight to Nashville. Yet another reason I need to come back someday. :-)

In lieu of my presentation photos, let me share one from Aaron Reynolds. One of the many reason I love Aaron: he tagged me whenever he posted something about his Sea Monkey & Bob school visits that he thought I would enjoy. Like this fun photo:

Hundreds of SEA MONKEY & BOB masks that greeted Aaron Reynolds at Borchardt Elementary

 An aside: You can download and print these Sea Monkey & Bob themed masks for your young reader(s) on my Print-Ready Freebies Page for the book.

Tip for children's picture book authors: Do tag your book's illustrator when you are posting something fun about the book that is potentially shareable. Because Aaron tagged me, it was easy for me to find the posts and retweet via my iPhone, even when I was hurrying between schools. Aaron and I made a good tag team while we were both on our Sea Monkey & Bob book tours (and again, THANK YOU, SIMON & SCHUSTER!!!). I love his work and hope to work with him again! And to meet him in person someday. :-)

Balloon based on one of the characters from SEA MONKEY & BOB

In case you missed it, do read the interview for young readers that I did with Aaron Reynolds about how he created Sea Monkey & Bob.

Thanks again to Laura Deutsch at Books & Books, Elaine Arnold at Silver Ridge Elementary and Jenny Levinson at Sunny Isles Beach K-8 for all their help during my Florida visit! 

Here's one of my favorite photos from this day, of Laura Deutsch as we were leaving Sunny Isles to head to the airport. Despite the unexpected changes in scheduling, Laura remained steadfastly calm, friendly and positive throughout. She is amazing:

***** Continued in Part 5 (Nashville, TN): Parnassus Books, Battle Ground Academy, Julia Green Elementary, student art and celebrity sightings.