We were NOT bored! Thank you, Jonathan Fenske!

Thanksgiving is tomorrow.  We have a half day.  The kids are boarding the buses.  I should be packing up my things and heading out of school to make more side dishes and "Aunt Stacey's" mac and cheese for my company tonight.  Instead, I must reflect and share on yet another amazing Skype that we had this morning.

Last year Jonathan Fenske's A Pig, A Fox and A Box was on our Geisel list.  I still remember laughing so hard when I read it aloud in my small group.  It's hilarious.  I still laugh every time I read it.  No joke (all puns intended!).  I read it to kindergarten yesterday and honestly, could not stop laughing.

So since Jonathan won the Geisel Honor last year and has a contender on our list this year (Barnacle was Bored), I emailed and asked if he would Skype with our class. He said YES!  And today was the day!  What a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving early!

When he was asked about how it felt to win the Geisel award, he said, "Dr. Seuss is my hero.  To have his face on my book means a lot to me."  Of course, I proudly showed him our copy of the book which does NOT have Dr. Seuss's face on it because we purchased it BEFORE it won!

"When did you write your first book?" "When I was in first grade.  It was about a dog who got to play on the Yankees."  The Yankees fans in the room (including Mrs. Pryde) were ecstatic.  This coming from a guy who grew up in the South and now lives in Denver.  Way to go, Jonathan!

When he read Barnacle is Bored to us and shared the title page, I loved when he said, "Barnacle is Bored. By ME!"  How cool is that?!  We love when authors read their books to us!

Someone else asked about his favorite animals.  "Foxes and coyotes because I see them a lot in Denver and otters just because they are cute and comical."  And we even got to meet his dog, Phoenix (but very briefly).  Jonathan also pulled a painting off the wall for us to see his old dog!  We love meeting authors' pets (and kids--because we got to meet his daughter, too!).

The painting.  Phoenix was too fast for me to snap a photo!

Couple of book birthdays coming up for Jonathan--

FEBRUARY 7:  A Pig, A Fox and Smelly Socks

APRIL 25:  Plankton is Pushy

Mark your calendars, friends.  For at least at CES, we WILL be celebrating!  Get out your stinky socks!

And as if this wasn't enough, Jonathan taught us how to draw Barnacle and Guppy.  We drew them in our Geisel notebooks so we'll have them forever.  Awesome!

Thanks again, Jonathan for a wonderful Skype!  We look forward to welcoming you in Castleton the next time you are in New York.  We don't live far from many homes of the painters from the Hudson River School.  Olana (Frederic Church's home) is only about 40 minutes south of here.  We hope that tempts you.  

"Nothing is more fun than reading and making books for kids."

-Jonathan Fenske

(Well, or being a librarian!)

Leaping with Jonathan!