Introducing Michael Arndt!

Back in the spring of 2014, I was at the NYS School Library conference and a guy threw M&Ms at me.  I know. I know.  Maybe not the best introduction for all, but certainly a good one for me.  I'll take free chocolate, especially M&Ms any day! They were muted yellow, white and that blueish-grey M&Ms specifically in the colors of his debut book, Cat Says Meow: And Other Animalopoeia.  The guy was Michael Arndt, who crazily lived in Castleton for some time and all of his siblings attended CES before they moved to Columbia County.

Today he has his second book birthday! I'm excited to celebrate it with my K/1 students and be the first ones to wish him a happy virtual book birthday.  Can you believe we were his first school visit way back when!  And after today, Michael tells me he has THREE new books coming out in the next TWO months!  

Mark your calendar:

Today, May 12

My Heart Grows

June 30

An adult book that this Queens girl will love, Minimal New York City

July 14

One Yellow Sun 

(another die cut board book on counting and colors)

And next Spring a picture book, Thoughts are Air written in verse by Michael and illustrated by Irena Freitas. Wow!

How exciting! 

Michael is a graphic designer by training so he would be great inspiration for older kids, too.  How do you do that?  Where do you get your ideas? How can that shape become something else? Michael is also a big proponent of school librarians (who isn't lol?). A few years ago, he made a wonderful poster about his love for librarians that we still have hanging behind our circulation desk.  

So...Introducing Michael Arndt! Tell everyone you heard about him first here!  Oh, and come to the book birthday party at 12:30.  It's not too late! 

Walk of STARS

Because our whole school, well at least 4th and 5th grade, is all abuzz about the hopeful release of the movie, So B. It (it is being premiered at the LA Film Festival in June!) we began our own Hollywood Walk of STARS at our gala last week.  Some of my Dewey Duty kids posed by the stars with books by our visiting authors and illustrators.  And we don't even have a star for every author/illustrator that has visited!  WHAT?! And what if we added our Skypes? Seriously, we would have a walk of stars all the way down the hallway! We NEED more STARS!

So now I am thinking everyone needs to come back to CES and sign them!  I don't have a problem with that--do you?

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Our first SIGNED star!