it’s my birthday!

I think I’m going to make today’s focus: self-care.  Might as well since I’ve got physical therapy this afternoon, and I need to get my eyes checked…and maybe I’ll buy some new lip gloss to apply AFTER I devour some yummy birthday cake.  Wish I could go to the garden, but it’s closed on Mondays…maybe the Cloisters?  Lots of places will be closed today.  But there is one “secret” destination I’ve been meaning to reach for months now…ah, a plan is forming in my mind..

Halloween comes to Brooklyn

I missed out on the cupcakes, but did score some mini chocolate bars in “the green room” (for artists only!).  More importantly, I met some super nice people and at least one woman bought a copy of Wish for her niece…I gave my copy to the security guard who sees me in the garden all the time but didn’t know I was a writer…and I took some great photos of the other authors and illustrators in attendance:

Illustrator Greg Christie got stuck at the table next to mine but patiently allowed me to pester him with questions and complaints….

Fabulous, friendly author/illustrator Nina Crews on the sunny side of the Book Barn

I call Deborah Gregory “the Empress” because she’s built an empire out of her books and characters!

Super-couple, illustrators Sean Qualls and Selina Alko

new review

I just discovered a new review—Wish is one of October’s ALAN’s Picks:

A Wish after Midnight by Zetta Elliott
CreateSpace, 2008, 230 pp., $11.99
Civil War/Relationships/Racism
ISBN: 978-1441474247

Genna is a sixteen-year-old African American girl living in Brooklyn, New York, during the 1990s. Her life is not easy. Her single mother struggles to put food on the table, while Genna struggles to find friends that accept her—even though she cares about school more than clothes. Genna struggles with maintaining friendships, even with her siblings, until she meets Judah, a Rastafarian who understands her soul. The love seems like a
fairy-tale, until Genna wakes up in Brooklyn, New York, in 1860. It’s during this trip back in time that Genna comes to learn about herself, her race, and her history.

Zetta Elliott creates a beautiful, realistic story about the trials and tribulations of one girl— Genna—whether she lives in present day America, or that of the Civil War. Elliott does not talk down to her target audience, young adults, but instead writes about things they will relate to—drugs,  sex, racism, and love. Both teens and adults will relate to the fascinating
characters that Elliott creates. Elliott isn’t timid about creating situations that might cause the reader discomfort, which should only be applauded. The subjects discussed in this novel would be perfect to further delve into in either the classroom or the living room.

Reviewed by Jaime Williams, Acworth, GA

show some love

I know it’s the end of the week already, but can I just ask everyone out there to show teachers some love?  Write a note, shake a hand, give your kid’s teacher a pat on the back because as a group, teachers are one of the most under-appreciated professionals out there.  I gave my talk at UFT headquarters last night, and it was fabulous—each teacher went home with a copy of Wish and a copy of Bird, and during my talk I could see heads nodding and some folks were even taking notes!  I had a lot of fun, and am so glad my anxiety around public speaking has mostly subsided.  Now, if my Powerpoint presentation had failed for some unknown technical reason, I would have been up a creek…but everything went as planned, I felt relaxed, and the audience welcomed me with a unique introduction: my bio was cut into seven lines, and members of the audience stood up and read one line each (ending with “She currently lives in Brooklyn” and lots of cheers from other Brooklynites).  On Wednesday, I delivered sixty books to a literacy coach and I *knew* some of the money she gave me came from her own pocket.  The school doesn’t have money for books, so the students have to buy their own…and when some students fall short, the teacher picks up the slack.  I can’t understand why our schools are so poorly funded.  Why some schools have a dozen smart boards, and others don’t have a single computer.  I’m going back to do some free workshops for that teacher, but ultimately, that doesn’t change the situation.  What will?  Not spending half our national budget on the military would help…anyway, for another great tribute to teachers, swing by Neesha’s blog to read about the amazing educators who helped shape her life.  My favorite English teacher emailed me this morning to inform me that she recalled finding an error while reading Wish (sigh); will now have to comb the manuscript for the place I used “laying” instead of “lying.”  Good looking out, Nancy!  After the talk was over, I went upstairs to get my belongings and met a UFT employee who claimed to be my neighbor; when I asked where he lived, he said, “Across from the botanic garden on Eastern Parkway,” but as we continued to talk, we discovered that we BOTH lived in the same building on Crown Street—he grew up there in the ’40s, and I lived there briefly in 2001!  Unbelievable…another educator felt she’d seen me before, and later came up and said, “Did you ever live on Washington Avenue?”  And I had!  It’s a small world, but teachers work so hard to shape the future…please do all you can to make them feel appreciated and supported!

wired to teach

Four of my five uncles are ministers (one’s a theologian), and two of my four aunts married ministers, so almost ALL of my 25 cousins are PKs (preacher’s kids).  I’m sure there are things about that kind of upbringing that my cousins can relate to that I can’t; both of my parents were devout Christians but chose teaching as their profession instead.  Having teachers for parents means you don’t get away with much when you’re a kid; my folks were pretty strict, yet they didn’t do some of the things you might expect: our house wasn’t full of books and no one checked each night to see that our homework was done.  We each had our own library card, however, and my mother was an avid reader, and I’m sure there would have been consequences had we brought home anything less than straight As.  I’m giving a talk this Thursday before the UFT—our local teachers’ union—and being at the Teacher Resource Center this morning reminded me how much the field of education feels like “home” to me.  Being around teachers, stepping into a classroom—the smell of chalk, the scrape of chairs, hands shooting up into the air…I feel like I’ve been around that all my life.  And I have!  I spent lots of time in my mother’s kindergarten classroom, helping her take down or put up displays, typing her report cards, minding the kids while she stepped out to speak to the principal. After the divorce, we moved to a different school district and so my holidays didn’t always coincide with my mother’s.  Rather than leave me at home, she’d take me to school and put me to work.  I’m not sure how my big sister wiggled out of this, but it was good preparation for the work I’d later do in after school programs and community centers.  And I’m always proud when a stranger will look at me and correctly guess that I’m a teacher.  Yet my parents never really talked about what inspired them to teach.  Maybe that’s why I love talking to educators now.  Anyway, I’m working on my presentation, which will include lots of photographs.  I was struck by Jill’s remark in her review of Wish that I’m a “beautiful swan,” yet somehow know how it feels to be an ugly duckling.  Well, that’s b/c this “swan phase” is fairly recent!  And I think your self-image somehow crystallizes at fourteen, which was a difficult moment for me.  I decided to show through photos just how it is I know about teenage girls with self-esteem problems…I’m starting at Grade 7 and going all the way up to Graduation–the photo taken AFTER my hair fell out.  Do I dare post those horrific photos in here?  Well…why not!

Not that much difference, right?  So in the 6 years between Grade 8 and high school graduation, I managed to grow my hair out, perm it, grow it past my shoulders, and then lose it all through mismanagement and a malicious hair stylist who didn’t care that I left her salon with a bleeding scalp.  The worst part is that even after it fell out and I had to cut my hair to Grade 8-length, I KEPT ON PERMING MY HAIR!  Just nuts.  I’m going to go see Chris Rock’s documentary soon, and then I’m sure I’ll have more to say on the topic of black women and hair…anyway, if you’re a UFT member in the NYC area, I hope you’ll come down and hear my talk—they’re even giving away free books!

New Tu You

Do you know about Tu Publishing?  If not, stop by the publisher’s blog and while you’re there, read a great interview with LaTonya Baldwin, fabulous founder of Color Online.  It’s also Teen Read Week, so do what you can to put a book in a young reader’s hands…

Ghouls & Gourds in Brooklyn

If you have some little goblins running around, bring them to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden this Sunday—I’ll be in the Book Barn along with a dozen other amazing authors and illustrators from 12-4… Ghouls and Gourds Sunday, October 25, 2009 Noon–6 p.m., rain or shine Kids Under 12 Free New York’s most madcap Halloween event for families returns! Revel in BBG’s annual rumpus at which boisterous bands, weird workshops, larger-than-life puppets, a kids’ book barn, and other oddities abound—all against the backdrop of the Garden’s gorgeous fall flora. Enjoy musical performances by renowned family-friendly groups Billy Jonas & the Band, Elizabeth Mitchell & You Are My Flower, and more. The afternoon will culminate in one of New York’s most celebrated family Halloween traditions: a costume parade with visiting ghouls and goblins of all ages marching to the beat of Brazilian percussion group Maracatu NY, carousing with colossal puppets, shimmying with stilt dancers, making raucous rhythms, and showing off their costumes for all to see! For a full schedule of events, visit bbg.org/ghoulsandgourds. All events are free with Garden admission. Brooklyn Botanic Garden 900 Washington Avenue | Brooklyn, NY 11225 718-623-7333 | bbg.org Subway: 2/3 to Eastern Parkway or Q to Prospect Park Parking available for a nominal fee.

The End

The wedding is over, and now their married life begins…lots to blog about, but will just post this photo for now and call it a day.  The photographer, a friend of the groom, is Juan Fernando Rojo Marroquin; you can find more of his amazing work at his website.

kith & kin

Don’t tell my mother, but I think the “special” birthday cake she made for me is making me ill…woke with a migraine today, and so am sipping chamomile tea and munching on dry toast.  Had to cancel my appointment downtown at the movement disorder clinic; my mother has a large family, and nearly all of her eight siblings have varying levels of dystonia, which causes head tremor, diminished voice, and facial spasms.  Diabetes is also rampant in that side of my family, and so I find that when I come “home,” I’m more conscious of my own health and the future slowly unfolding through my genes.  I’m lucky I don’t get the severe migraines my aunt and cousin used to get—honestly, I could never plan a wedding b/c I’m sure I’d pass out from the stress.  But my cousin is taking it all in stride, and I’ll see her tonight at the rehearsal dinner.  I shopped for three hours yesterday and, of course, at the very last store found a suitable top to go with my skirt.  No crushed velvet, unfortunately; holiday clothes aren’t out yet up here, and that’s what I get for not shopping in NYC.  I think I’ll look like a cross between a witch and a flapper…long string of beads, black satin, Victorian-style skirt to the ankles, and Mary Jane heels.  Nice.  Forgot my camera, of course, so will have to rely on my mother’s disposable…at any rate, think I need another lie down and my mom’s out at the church coffee hour, so I’d better make the  most of this rare moment alone.  I’m such a spinster already!  I swear I’m going to wind up like one of those crotchety old guys from the Muppet Show—who sat up in the balcony heckling everyone else…

a lotta love!

Wow—this has been quite the week so far!  If you’re not sick to death of seeing my name on the web, check out Color Online’s new series: Women Writers of Color.  I’m the featured author this week…

I’m heading to Toronto tomorrow for my cousin’s wedding, so I probably won’t post for a while; I’ve got a long Victorian-style skirt (no bustle!) and a pair of suede shoes.  I will *not* attend the wedding topless, but that means I have to shop as soon as I arrive…ick!  Going to Canada always puts me on edge, but I’m hopeful that the joy surrounding my cousin’s nuptials will take the edge OFF of everything else.  Still, say a little prayer for me…

Here’s a photo of me with my cousin, Bethany.  If that little turquoise dress still fit, I’d wear it to the wedding!

And here she is, the beautiful bride-to-be!