I am deep in writing mode, and so this post will be short. Above are two brand-new pieces of top-notch Order of Odd-Fish fan art I’ve received. On the right: a graceful Sefino, resplendent in his exquisitely tailored “fifteen-piece suit,” courtesy of Diana Todd, also known as Loki God of Tricks on DeviantArt. I love the jaunty manner in which Sefino doffs his hat, the insouciant way he grips his walking-stick, the subtly stylish flare of the trousers . . . and best of all, he looks like a true, honest-to-goodness cockroach! Back in 2010, Diana had graced me with three other fantastic pieces. It’s a delight to see how her style has evolved. Thank you!

And the piece on the left, above? It’s a gorgeously colorful illustration of Ken Kiang riding the Schwenk! This comes from Isaac, one of the kids at Aaron Zenz’s Bookie Woogie blog, which just gave a wonderful positive review to The Order of Odd-Fish here.

Not to be outdone, Isaac’s sister Lily did a similarly awesome drawing of the scene where Jo, Ian, and “Nick” are riding squids in the flooded underground cathedral:

And his other sister Gracie drew a hilarious picture of when Mr. Cavendish’s head is flying around the Dust Creek Cafe:

The maniacal expressions on everyone’s faces make this picture so awesome. I love them all!

Longtime readers of the blog will remember that it’s the Bookie Woogie blog that did this flat-out incredible shadow-puppet 90-Second Newbery video of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, which went on to win the School Library Journal’s Trailee award. Lily also went solo and made another 90-Second Newbery, this time of Lloyd Alexander’s classic The Black Cauldron, and it always gets a great response from audiences—a true 90-Second Newbery classic.

Good gravy, is there nothing THE TALENT FAMILY can’t do? But I wouldn’t expect anything less of the children of Aaron Zenz, whose books you must check out. Do it!

The last time we heard from Kristen Atwood, I had shown off her charming comic strip that told the Ichthala’s legend of how the universe began. Now Kristin is back with a monstrous illustration of the nang-nang—the spastic, fingernail-devouring creature that gets loose in the Municipal Squires’ Authority. Wonderfully done! I like how this mirrors the ostriches-with-necks-tangled-up chapter emblems on the book, too:

Thanks, Kristen! I’m proud to share this with everyone. And even prouder to link to Kristen’s piece of Order of Odd-Fish fan fiction! It’s called “The Ritual of the Rising Moon” and you can read it here. Ever wondered about other Odd-Fish specialties, such as “ridiculous headgear” or “whimsical dances”? Or an eyewitness account of one of the ancient disasters of Eldritch City told about in the tapestry? Kristen’s got you covered. She promises more fan fiction on the way. Her writing chops are excellent. I foresee great things for Kristen Atwood.

We started out today’s post with Ken Kiang mounted on the Schwenk. So let’s wrap it up with Ken Kiang dancing his very own EVIL DANCE, courtesy of Emily Bricker, also responsible for plush-doll Sefino and much other gloriousness:

Ken Kiang’s manic twitchiness makes me want to get up and move. I’ve got to get back to work! But thanks everyone for all the creative work you’ve sent my way. I am very appreciative, and I’m impressed by your talents.

I’m still reeling from my lightning April tour. A tour that started thrilling and surprising, and ended kind of weird and melancholy. Not in a bad way!

I started out at Abington Friends School in Pennsylvania, whose movie of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon was featured in our 90-Second Newbery Film Festival last year. Felix Chen and the other teachers made me feel right at home, and we even got to do a costumed Dome of Doom insult-dance-battle with the fifth graders!

Then I popped over to Tredyffrin Public Library, whose adaptation of Holes was also in the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival. I was the guest of the librarian Angela Newman, who showed me a great time and delivered a real turnout. Thanks, Angela!

Then it was off to Springfield High School and Junior High, thanks to superstar librarian and blogger Joyce Valenza. I got the treat of seeing a play written by Jelli, one of the Springfield High students, and hang out with their “Somewhat Virtual Book Club” (that’s them in the picture at the top; Jelli is directly behind me) after speaking at the high school and junior high that day. The junior high school students thoughtfully greeted me with props they made from The Order of Odd-Fish:

After that it was off to Washington, D.C., where I spoke at the Sidwell Friends School, whose Claymation version of Island of the Blue Dolphins has also been a favorite at the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival. Heck, let’s show it again now—it has the distinction of being simultaneously the most violent and most relaxing 90-Second Newbery movie:

Weird story: Many people know Sidwell Friends as the school where Presidents’ children often go. Amy Carter went there, Chelsea Clinton went there, and now so do Sasha and Malia Obama. I’m such an idiot, I didn’t realize that I was doing my presentation to the President’s daughter! In my defense, I hadn’t seen pictures of Sasha before I spoke to her class. But when I saw a Secret Service agent standing around between presentations, I concluded one of the daughters was in the next class, so I said to my host teacher Becky Farnum, “My presentation involves a lot of lurching around and bellowing— should I change that so I don’t get tackled by that Secret Service agent?” and Becky was like, “Uh, you just spoke to Sasha’s class.” Nice, Kennedy.

I also got to speak at the Field School near Charlottesville, Virginia who had submitted several of their own videos for the 90-Second Newbery. It was thanks to their teacher Jen Wilson, and their write-up of the visit pretty much sums up what I do: “literally running around the room, shouting and gesticulating (maybe even spitting).” I am what I am, people.

At last, I spoke at St. Catherine Laboure in Wheaton, MD—which is where I actually worked as a science teacher from 1995-96 (yikes, that’s a long time ago . . . ) It was my first “job” out of university, but I wasn’t actually paid. I’d decided to be a volunteer science teacher for the Archdiocese of Washington, DC. They had me living in a convent with actual nuns, which is the wrong place for a 22-year-old man to be, and teaching science to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders—about 150 kids a day—a task I was not prepared for, and that I must admit, I was terrible at. This is the job in which I actually blundered into killing a live snake in front of the 7th-grade class. (I taught for just a year and quit. This is consistent with my usual pattern of dithering.)

It was a real time-warp crazy feeling going back to St. Catherine Laboure—indeed, back to D.C. at all. Luckily, I have friends living there whom I was able to stay with an hang out with, but returning to D.C. always makes me feel wistful and weary. It’s not you, D.C., it’s me!

Then again, while I was walking down the street, I unexpectedly saw the Space Shuttle piggybacking on a 747, and it was jaw-dropping! So let’s end with that:

Lots of news to talk about, but WAIT WHAT IS THIS?! Yes: a plush doll version of Sefino from The Order of Odd-Fish. A very, very, very kind birthday treat for me, by one Emily Bricker, a.k.a. “GlobalSoft Pirka.” She had previously done some awesome Odd-Fish fan art here and here and here (this one even includes an animated music video) but this just might be my favorite! I’m blown away and humbled and honored that she made a doll of my cockroach butler.

Look at him! The bespoke purple suit-jacket! The ominous-yet-cute clicking mandibles! The kawaii eyes! Emily, I’m just not worthy of this. THANK YOU so much for making it—it shall take a place of honor in my heart next to the plush chibi doll versions of Waitress Jo and Aznath Jo.

This might be my last time blogging for the next two weeks or so. No doubt about it: the next two weeks are going to be intense. After Easter in Michigan with the family, I’m embarking on a 9-day mini-tour visiting Abington Friends School (who made a great Where the Mountain Meets the Moon for the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival), Tredyffrin Public Library (who made a similarly ace Holes), and Springfield Township High School and Junior High in Pennsylvania; then zipping over to Washington, D.C. to visit Sidwell Friends School (who made an unforgettable 90-Second Newbery Claymation version of Island of the Blue Dolphins and many more) and St. Catherine Laboure School; and the Field School in Charlottesville, VA (who also did five very enjoyable 90-Second Newbery videos).

But before I go—behold the power of this next piece of Odd-Fish fan art, retelling the legend of how the universe, and the All-Devouring Mother, came to be (click image to enlarge so you can read the words):

Another hit! This one is by Kirsten Atwood, who is herself an aspiring writer (I’m enjoying reading the start of her book Kindle-Sun). I love the goofy joviality of the All-Loving Mother, the bickering chatter of the gods stuffed in her belly, and of course the epic god-vomit. Thank you, Kirsten! (Double threat: writer and artist . . . something I’m afraid I could never pull off . . . my almost-three-year-old daughter is already drawing better than me.)

One more before we go! This picture is by Emily, whose school I visited a couple weeks ago. It’s the scene where Jo has followed “Nick” into the sewers of Eldritch City, and “Nick” and Ian have just jumped down the hole, leaving her alone and scared:

Another bullseye, Emily! I like the ominous green shimmer coming from the hole and Jo’s gasp of terror. If you want to see more of Emily work, check out this cool opening sequence for Teenage Ichthala that she made. Go Emily! Well done on both counts.

Thank you, everyone, for your splendid Odd-Fish art! I can’t tell you how pleased and thrilled I am when I see stuff like this. The complete gallery of all the Odd-Fish fan art I’ve received is here, though unfortunately I haven’t updated it in a while—I’d better get cracking on that.

Last time on the blog, I talked about how much I enjoyed doing author visits in the Mississippi Delta in March. But there’s one thing I didn’t mention, because it deserves its own post. I finally got to meet Mallory Woods, a.k.a. DarkshireWarlock! There we are in the picture above.

Mallory is the first person to have made Order of Odd-Fish fan art after the book came out. Here’s when I posted about it, from way back in November 2008. I’ve repeated the art below: on the left, Jo dressed in costume armor as Aznath, the Silver Kitten of Deceit, and on the right Fiona dressed in costume armor as Ichthala, the All-Devouring Mother:

Mallory lives only two hours or so from Indianola where I was presenting, so she drove in and I got to meet her in real life. It was a treat for me! Mallory sometimes threatens to make an Aznath costume. To that I can only say, YES MA’AM BRING IT ON. Such a development would probably be enough to make me throw another Dome of Doom fan art show / costumed dance competition party so she could show it off.

Mallory also brought to Indianola surprise treat: an Odd-Fish OC (original character) she created. The name: Cassia Hemingway, of the Order of Wormbeards. Mallory gave me the art and sent me the character description later. I was so pleased and impressed with this I got Mallory’s permission to reprint it all on the blog. Enjoy—this is a brilliant and well-thought-out addition to the Odd-Fish universe!

Mallory, take it away:

Her name is Cassia Hemingway; I figured she’d be one of the older characters, somewhere between 15 and 17. She’s a Wormbeard, but she doesn’t get into the whole vs. Odd-Fish attitude because she simply doesn’t see a point in it.

She has artisan sewing skills and, on a good day, can sometimes hand stitch as fast as a machine. This is her primary skill among the Wormbeards, as she’s often sewing dueling costumes for the other members, though on occasion she gets commissions from Eldritch City civilians. When Cassia started sewing outfits for Fiona, the latter insisted she attend her Dome of Doom battles. Cassia found herself somewhat enjoying the “colorful” atmosphere and became a regular attendee as a result, even when Fiona wasn’t dueling. It was here she met Dugan, and while the two did not get off to a good start, they had a silent agreement to not cause trouble for one another, and they eventually got on better terms with one another. Cassia was also noticed by Oona Looch for one of the outfits Cassia had made for herself to wear at the Dome, and was quickly appointed to be Oona’s personal designer and seamstress (a paycheck Cassia couldn’t disagree with and a client even the dumbest tailor wouldn’t think of refusing).

Though sewing is Cassia’s primary skill, her true passion is making perfume, with a dream of opening a shop that sells scented items such as perfume, soap, and candles. However, she has limited space in her room to work on both hobbies, so she usually has her perfume-making supplies tucked away, unable to touch them for months at a time.

Cassia for the most part has a very dry, sarcastic personality. She comes off as antisocial, and on some level is. As hard as she is to approach, Cassia can be friendly and helpful to whoever needs it, though her kindness is often hidden behind a shell of apathy. She’s just noted for having a very serious work ethic, and since she’s usually working most of the time, her personality’s never had the chance to waver into anything short of diligent and no-nonsense.

Her parents are Brandon and Azalee Hemingway, also members of the Wormbeards. Azalee’s family specialized in flower arrangements, a profession passed down from several generations since before the founding of the Wormbeards. Brandon is a highly skilled calligraphy artist, and is responsible for most of the signs seen around Eldritch City.

Brandon is very protective of Azalee and Cassia, and when he was younger he was known break noses and declare duels if anyone was dumb enough to upset Azalee (though he has since then mellowed out, mainly because people have learned not to mess with his loved ones by the time Cassia was born). Azalee is a very soft-spoken, kind individual who is most known for never getting angry and being a doormat, but she doesn’t seem to mind as long as people are somewhat respectful. She is not entirely weak, however, as in order to obtain the more exotic flowers for her business she occasionally has to travel far into the wilderness, and has gained the ability to navigate difficult terrain and fend off predators with ease.

The incredible success of both of their professions come from the same source, which results in a mysterious trip the duo would take every few months or so, and they started bringing Cassia with them once she was old enough, though the where they go was a complete mystery to everyone except the Hemingway family.

This mysterious place is a town called Navalla. It is a harbor city and is located one and a half days away from Eldritch City if traveled on foot. Navalla is estranged from Eldritch City because its residents, the birdmen, did not believe in the story of Eldritch’s 144,444 gods, and as such the two cities have refused to have any alliance or negotiations with each other.

Brandon and Azalee stumbled upon Navalla in their younger years during a traveling period of their lives. While the birdmen were reluctant to have humans in their city, Brandon and Azalee’s tolerance of their society’s views and culture lead them to quickly become accepted by the town’s residents.

It was here that Brandon finally found the mythical rainbow squid, a species of squid whose ink comes in one of the seven colors of the rainbow and, when mixed with a special solution, the ink never fades. Azalee also took advantage of the city’s fauna to take and use for her arrangements. During their first stay, they became friends with the Cazador Corvo, a squid merchant, and his wife Seda, a fabric weaver. The Hemingway family stay with the Corvo’s whenever they visit Navalla, and their son, Shinzo, is just a few years older than Cassia. Shinzo is very quiet, calm, and a diligent worker, but he sometimes shares his father’s hardheadedness. After the Itchthala’s rebirth, the birdmen saw the truth in the 144,444 gods and helped rebuild Eldritch City after the attack, and the two cities have more or less been brought to good terms with one another.

What an epic! A worthy and inspiring addition to the Odd-Fish world. I want to hear more about this Navalla in particular . . .

Thanks so much, Mallory! I’m glad I finally got to meet you for real.

The last time I checked in, I had just arrived in Indianola, Mississippi after a 12-hour drive from Chicago. I spent a wonderful three days in the Mississippi Delta, appearing at the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, and at the Drew Public Library, doing theatrical readings from The Order of Odd-Fish and leading a “Dome of Doom” writing hootenanny / costumed dance party freakout. I collected some pictures of the fun in the collage above. I loved the enthusiasm of the kids—they really got into the costumes, the writing exercise, and the dance-fighting. They made me feel so welcome! I’d go back to the Delta in a heartbeat!

And oh, oh, the food! Shrimp and grits! Catfish! The best steak I’ve ever had in my life at Doe’s Eat Place! My host and guide throughout my stay was Mary Ann Stone, whom I met at the American Library Association conference in New Orleans last year. When she floated the idea of me visiting the Delta, I leaped at the chance. I’d never been there before; I had no idea what to expect. She said I’d have the time of my life and she was right. There’s Mary Ann on the right, when we were hiking up some ancient burial mounds. On the left is me with a squirrel that she had nursed back to health.

When I texted the squirrel picture to Heather at home, she showed it to my daughter Lucy who said, “Why is that cheeky squirrel crawling on Daddy?” Cheeky? Where does she pick up such terms living in Chicago?

I never knew Jim Henson was from the Mississippi Delta. The beginning of The Muppet Movie, when Kermit is playing the banjo in the swamp, makes total sense now. I learned this and more when I got to go to the Jim Henson museum:

There was so much more: going to blues bars, meeting the hilarious and inquisitive kids, and long car rides which went by in a flash as Mary Ann told me stories (for instance, such as when the river flooded and her house was mostly underwater, and she had to take a boat to work.) I couldn’t have asked for a better guide or host.

Thanks, Mary Ann—and thanks to everyone in the Delta who made it so much fun! After Easter, I’m heading out east for another leg to my springtime author frolics—this time, to Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., and Charlottesville. Including the school at which I used to be a science teacher from 1995-96, St. Catherine Laboure! More to come . . .

March 9 was my birthday. That makes me thirty-nine years old now. When I was a kid—say nine years old—what did I think I’d be like when I was thirty-nine? Honestly, I don’t remember. But I never suspected how happy it would make me when Heather and I had kids. I mean, I knew I’d be happy, but I’m unreasonably happy. There’s Lucy and me to the left, when she painted both our faces. And of course Heather and Ingrid to the right.

But right now I’m about 700 miles from them all! On Wednesday morning I jumped in the car and drove 12 hours, from Chicago to Indianola, Mississippi. Why? Because on Thursday I’m appearing at the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center as part of their “Spring Fling” program. I’ll be doing theatrical readings from The Order of Odd-Fish and leading a “Dome of Doom” writing hootenanny / costumed dance party freakout. Then on Friday I’ll do the same thing at the Drew Public Library in Drew, MS.

I’ve been visiting a lot of schools and libraries this spring. If I’m lucky, sometimes the students I speak to give me Order of Odd-Fish fan art like this one below from Alyssa. It’s of Sefino in full butler mode. Great job, Alyssa!

ITEM! Remember how the German translation of The Order of Odd-Fish came out last October? It’s called Der Orden der Seltsamen Sonderlinge (that literally translates as “The Order of Weird Nerds”) and it’s been fun reading the reviews. I can’t read German, so I just use Google translate, which comes out rather nuttier than perhaps intended. I loved this positive review from nahaufnahmen.ch, in which the reviewer has one reservation. Google Translate, take it away:

“The only thing that gives reason to frown, the author of the affinity for cats, or better, dead cats. Again and again it is important that kittens should be murdered or to have a villain, the blood of cats.”

Well, that’s a pretty fair assessment, actually. Here are other Google-translated German reviews from literaturemarkt.info and media-mania.de).

Speaking of the German edition: Sondra Eklund of the book blog Sonderbooks (who’d written a great review of Odd-Fish here) has started a strange and fascinating project: a line-by-line comparison of the English and German versions of Odd-Fish! This is intense. In each installment, Sondra unearths new delightful German phrases for us to learn while reading along in the book. Here’s the first installment, the second installment, the
third installment, and the fourth installment. Each Sunday she adds a new episode.

Click over to learn marvelous words like “Flusskrebs” (crawdad), “Schaltern und Schiebereglern” (dials and switches), or “Papperlapapp” (balderdash). Papperlapapp! Delicious. In some places the translator, Wolfgang Thon, even outdoes the original text: “dangerous companion” translates to “Gefährlichen Gefährtin,” and Sondra says “this is a case where the translation trumps the original by at least ten points.” I have to agree, that’s a lovely and quite Odd-Fishian phrase. But the best part is the discovery that the Belgian Prankster is translated as “der Belgische Scherzkeks.” Which basically “Belgian joke-cookie.” BELGIAN JOKE-COOKIE! I love it. Thanks for doing this, Sondra!

OK, I’ve been driving for 12 hours and I need to sleep before tomorrow’s hoo-hah. Good night!

Last Saturday we screened the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival in Portland, OR at the Central Library in the Multnomah County Public Library System. It went off beautifully! And just as at our New York screening and Chicago screening, there was an overflow crowd (over 150 people!). But I think everyone who really wanted to get in, got in. I know all the young filmmakers did.

I couldn’t have done it without the fine folks at the library, such as Sarah Mead, Cynthia Strasfeld, and Violeta Garza (my old friend from my JET days). The whole thing was suggested by Alice McKee, who also got me in to speak at Laurelhurst School, whose classes did these delightful versions of The Witch of Blackbird Pond and When You Reach Me. Clown Heather Pearl helped out at the screening too, which I appreciated. My friends Joe Fusion and Madeleine Steele were kind enough to let me stay at their house for the week (only a few blocks from Klickitat Street of the Ramona books!). And thanks to Erin Fitzpatrick-Bjorn for taking all these pictures.

But the person I relied on most when I was onstage was my co-host, YA author Laini Taylor, who was always ready with a bit of Newbery trivia or embarrassing anecdote about my past to trip me up. She’s the one with the pink hair:

The afternoon was kicked off with librarian Joel Craft’s Newbery theme song, and there was some music in the show by teenaged Portland band The Great Train Robbery. Thanks, gentlemen!

Special thanks to Portland author Dale Basye, of the popular and amusing Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go series, who (along with this audience participant) brought the funny for our “$20,000 Newbery Pyramid” game show segment:

From Portland we received two versions of Lois Lowry’s 1994 Newbery Medal winner The Giver, from the Troutdale Library and the North Portland Teen Council, which I haven’t yet featured on the blog. The filmmakers were at the film festival in force, and the thing I like most about these videos is that they both seem to have endings that I don’t remember from the book: in Troutdale’s version, it ends by everyone suddenly getting their memories back and descending into a good ole fashioned community freakout, and in North Portland’s version, it looks like poor Jonas just freezes to death in the cold (actually, re-reading the ending, that’s a possible interpretation of what actually happens). First, Troutdale:

This is one of the more aggressively bonkers versions of The Giver I’ve received. The kid who plays the Giver is the most goofily lackadaisical, I-just-don’t-care Giver ever. “Figure it out.” Loved. It. All the actors were great, actually. Such joyous energy from everyone! But the best part was the insane ending. “Uh-oh, someone crossed the border! The memories!!! They’re back!!!!” And everyone shrieking and crying, “WHY WOULD THEY DO THIS?!?!” was off-the-rails, to-the-moon, what-the-who-the-hey madness.

Now, North Portland’s version:

Another winner! I liked how they switched from black and white to color . . . and, er, is there a Twilight reference with the way the apple is held? Poor Jonas: as I said, the ending kind of seems like he just dies somewhere in the snow! Maybe that’s how the book should’ve ended . . . ?

We also played the “Is it Snooki or is it Newbery?” game show again, as we had in New York and Chicago. But we didn’t realize until halfway through the game that our volunteer kid didn’t even know who Snooki was! (a revelation which inspired an actual cheer from the audience, along with someone roaring in the back, “That’s Portland!”):

All in all, another fun and satisfying (and exhausting!) 90-Second Newbery screening. Thanks, everyone, for coming out. And thanks especially to the young filmmakers who made it all possible!

I’m looking forward to coming back to Portland for another one next year!

CAN YOU FEEL THE NEWBERYCITEMENT? No, you can’t! Because that isn’t a word. But even still, I, for one, am looking forward to our 90-Second Newbery Film Festival screening in Portland tomorrow! It’s at the Central Library from 3-5 pm. Special guests Laini Taylor (author of Daughter of Smoke and Bone) and Dale Basye (author of the Heck series). Many strange surprises in store! Better get there at least a half hour early: this nonsense is going to fill up quick.

Today I want to feature three more videos that I’ve received from the Portland area. They all have one thing in common: they don’t use actors, but various kinds of animation. Above you can see a 90-second version of the 2002 Newbery Honor book Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath, as adapted by Alexandra Ruff. It’s fantastic work! Alexandra is truly a quadruple-threat powerhouse: adaptation, illustration, narration, and piano all by one kid. I love the pictures and animation, and especially the way Alexandra enthusiastically chirps the word “perpendicular.” And that has to be the cutest hamster-burning scene ever! (Alexandra’s film was even featured on Polly Horvath’s blog).

Alexandra writes, “The story in the book happens in Coal Harbor, British Columbia. We used to live in real Coal Harbor. Now we live in Portland.” That’s great to have the local angle! Thanks, Alexandra, and I’m looking forward to meeting you on Saturday.

But that’s not the only animation I’ve received from Portland. Here’s Eleanor Estes’ 1945 Newbery Honor book 100 Dresses as adapted by DC Bonavoglia and Greg Sweeney:

Good work with the paper cut-out animation and the silent movie style. I haven’t read One Hundreds Dresses (yet!), but DC and Greg’s version makes me want to. (I also appreciate that they picked an older, more obscure title to adapt . . . We need more of those for the film festival.)

Now here’s Neil Gaiman’s 2009 Newbery Medal winner The Graveyard Book, adapted by Gabi, Kendal, and Audrey from Robert Gray Middle School (see all of the videos from Robert Gray Middle School here):

Well done! I liked the choice to use puppets (and how they took the time to make both “young” and “old” versions of Bod and Scarlett.) Fun to watch, and a good retelling of the book!

I’ll see everyone on Saturday at the Central Library in Portland, 3-5 pm. Again, a word to the wise: the event is probably going to fill up, so you should get there early if you really want to get in . . .

The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival in Portland is swiftly approaching! This Saturday, March 3, 3-5 pm at the Central Library. My co-host Laini Taylor did a nice write-up of it on her blog. Did I mention that Dale Basye of the Heck books will also be a special guest? And Portland band Great Train Robbery will provide some music. How will we fit it all in 2 hours?

I’ve been having a great time the week I’m here. On Monday night, my friends and hosts Joe and Madaleine (and her delightful sister Martha) invited over for dinner Anina Bennett and Paul Guinan, whom I met after I reviewed their book Frank Reade: Adventures in the Age of Invention in the Wall Street Journal. Also in attendance was my co-host for Saturday’s screening, Laini Taylor, with her artist husband Jim DeBartolo and their very cute daughter Clementine; and author Sara Ryan and graphic novelist Steve Lieber. A rollicking group! And on the same day, I took a walk and found myself randomly on Klickitat Street (where Beverly Cleary’s Ramona and friends live). Portland is a place of wonders!

Tomorrow I’ll be visiting Laurelhurst School, the source of this slam-dunk great 90-second version of Witch of Blackbird Pond. It’s all due to Alice McKee-Smith, whose kids and friends are also behind this very good From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

Here’s Laurelhurst’s latest: Rebecca Stead’s 2010 Newbery Medal winner When You Reach Me. Let’s watch:

What a blast! The Einstein quotes were an inspired framing device. And Laurelhurst has a convincingly crazy Laughing Man, which is always crucial. The post-it notes (”book”, “bag”, “pocket”, “shoe”) followed by quotes from the Laughing Man’s letters were a nice way to separate the scenes. I liked the explanation of time travel by Julia, too. Another Laurelhurst winner! I’m looking forward to meeting you all on Thursday.

But that isn’t the only When You Reach Me I’ve received from Portland. This one is from Confederation Park School in Burnaby, British Columbia:

Wonderful! The music cues were apt (the Twilight Zone and the authentic $20,000 Pyramid theme) The plot was very efficiently compressed. I particularly liked the maniacal guffawing of the Laughing Man. (But the best part, for me, is almost certainly when Sal gets run over by not a car . . . but a rolling garbage can. You make do with what you’ve got.) Some of these filmmakers from British Columbia will even be coming down from Canada for the show. Looking forward to meeting you, too!

And here’s one more When You Reach Me from Portland. It’s by Claire Thompson from the Northwest Library:

Lots of nice touches: the way Miranda shouts “Why, Sal, Why?!?” and the Laughing Man’s gesticulations were my favorite parts (he seemed to take inspiration from the Ministry of Silly Walks). The Laughing Man also really seemed to enjoy dying there . . . Thank you!

Indeed, thanks to everyone, and see you at the film festival on Saturday!

I’m in Portland now! I’m staying with my friends Joe and Madeleine, who are being very good to me. I’m in town to screen the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival on Saturday, March 3, at Portland’s Central Library from 3-5 pm. (With co-host Laini Taylor! Special guest Dale Basye! Other surprises! More on that later.) Leading up to the event I’m appearing at schools and libraries in the Portland area; details on my events page.

So all this week I’ll showcase 90-Second Newbery videos I’ve received from the talented folks of Portland. Today’s theme: LEGOS.

Let’s start with the video above, Kieran, Lach, Christian, and Ackley’s adaptation of Sid Fleischman’s 1987 Newbery Medal winner The Whipping Boy. They use a mixture of Legos and live action to tell the story of the kingdom in which it is “forbidden to spank, thrash, or whack the heir to the throne.” A poor boy, Jemmy, is plucked from the streets to serve as “whipping boy,” and his job is to take the physical punishments really deserved by the arrogant and spiteful Prince Brat. I enjoyed this movie! Especially the doleful way in which the whipping boy says “I hate this job” and the resourceful use of Legos for the outside scenes. The story was briskly and amusingly told. Great job! The filmmakers will be at Saturday’s screening, I’m told. Looking forward to meeting them!

The next video is also done using Legos—and it’s of E.L. Konigsburg’s 1968 Newbery Medal winner From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. The attention to detail, and the way they male the Legos “act,” is masterful! Good spoken performances all throughout, and of course the dance at the end was choice.

And like any good film, it ends with someone being eaten by a dinosaur:

This was done by by Molly, Rachael, Matt, Grant, and Miriam; you can check out Molly’s website here. Thanks so much for this video! They will also be attending the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival in Portland on Saturday.

The next one is by Clay, Craig, and Ryan at Robert Gray Middle School in Portland. It’s a Lego-animated version of Jerry Spinelli’s 1991 Newbery Medal winner Maniac Magee:

I thought the “baseball” sequence in here was particularly resourceful. Clearly a lot of labor and ingenuity went into this, and it shows! Well done! (The school has done several more videos for the film festival, too! You can see all the 90-Second Newbery videos submitted by the Robert Gray Middle School here.)

Finally, here’s a stop-motion Lego version Where the Mountain Meets the Moon that is not from Portland, but Utah—and I just realized I had not yet featured it on my website! It’s by the ambitious young Parker Todd. His musical choices (”Eye of the Tiger,” etc.) were quite appropriate, and he did a smooth job of boiling down the plot to a short amount of time—not an easy task! Well done, Parker!

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival this Saturday in Portland! Here are the complete details of the day.