Help, I'm Lost!

Howdy, PBnauts! Whatcha doin' in January? Registration opens today (1 PM, EST) for the SCBWI Annual Winter Conference in New York City. I'm planning to go! For the very first time! For those of you who really know me, this is huge for two reasons:

1. I have absolutely NO sense of direction. None. I get lost at our local mall.
2. New York City is a whole lot bigger than our local mall.

The fact that I'm ready to battle the above is enormo for me. (Oh, kidlit, how I must love thee!) I will undertake substantial mapping research prior to departing. (And, it probably wouldn't hurt to hang a tag around my neck that reads, "Please look after this writer. Thank you.")

Any of you going, too? Any other first timers? Come be lost with me! The more, the merrier!

Dunno about the weather where you live, but there was a major cold, rainy storm in this orbit today. Perfect day for PB oatmeal! (Of course, I think that every day, but today was a "you might agree with me" day!)

Realized that I've seriously neglected to post about a whole category of kidlit love here in the Space Station--the audio book! Now, in addition to the "IN MG/YA UNIVERSE" box where I post my "big kid" reads, we have the "BOOK ON THE GO" box for audio books! What are we currently listening to while we jaunt around in the Space Transporter (the 2001 four-wheeled hatchback model)? The brilliant Lenore Look's "The Alvin Ho Collection: Books 1 and 2: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things and Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters." It's voiced by the fantastically funny young actor, Everette Plen (pictured here) who is PERFECT in this!

Speaking of young talent, found some promising young writing talent--in my Space Station's living room! Check out the debut story from Monkeykid (reprinted with permission, royalties paid in jellybeans):

THE BOY AND THE MOVING ANIMALS

Once there was a boy named Edward. He had a model airplane kit. He put the model airplane together.
That night, Edward put the airplane in his room.
That night, when Edward was sleeping, the airplane flew around his room.
In the morning, before the boy woke up, the model airplane landed right where the boy had put it.
The next night, all his toys came to life.
On Thursday night, the model airplane crashed into Edward's lamp.
Edward woke up, and saw all of his stuffed animals running around like crazy! Edward tried to calm them down, but that only made it worse!
Edward's favorite animal, his pterodactyl, was flying around the room. It was racing his model airplane. Edward tried to stop them, but he couldn't. They were too high!
Edward's stuffed pig was running around his room. Edward tried to stop it, but it was too fast!
The pig started chasing the stuffed mouse.
The pterodactyl was also chasing Edward’s favorite stuffed kitten. And the kitten’s mother wasn’t too happy about it! She chased the pterodactyl away.
So every night, Edward and his animals played all night.

******

Hey, not bad for a first attempt by someone who hasn't even lost a baby tooth yet! (Just like Peter Pan!) Maybe she'll really get into writing! Maybe she'll want to come with me to the Conference! Hey, maybe she could navigate!

'Til next time, PBnauts! Wherever you go (or, if you're like me, wherever you end up), have fun!