A Busy Saturday: Part 1: Storytime at Books Inc, Berkeley

Saturday morning I headed to Books Inc in Berkeley for Storytime. I brought live snails from my garden, a real (not live) Stink Bug encased in plexiglass, The Amazing Snail of Seymour Snail, and Cinder Rabbit. Oh, I brought a CD of the Bunny Hop, too. Everything was set up and ready to go.
All I needed was the audience of children. At first there were no children. It was a beautiful sunny day. The children must have been outdoors playing. But these cool cushions were ready for storytime...
It's a beautiful store there on 4th Street in Berkeley. Above is the fun Storytime carpet. The cushions are even more fun and exciting with children wobbling and falling off of them! Children arrived shortly after I took this pic and one little guy was particularly talented at wobbling, belly floating, and falling stunts. Then it got busy with stories, snails, stink bugs, questions, and a whole lot of Bunny Hopping. So busy in fact, I forgot to pull out the bunny ears for the kids to wear during the Bunny Hop. Oh well. Luckily for me, Books Inc folks, Sarah and Ben gave the ears a try.

Thanks Sarah and Ben!

Forecast: More authors and Storytimes at Books Inc, Berkeley. And more exciting wobbling on those fun cushions, too!

Hop on over to Books Inc Berkeley and check out the kid's section. Tell Sarah and Ben that Lynn says "Hi!"

Hop on Over to Books Inc in Berkeley on March 13th at 11:00 a.m.

Dear Imaginary Readers,
Hop on over to the new Books Inc store in Berkeley on March 13th. I'll be reading from Cinder Rabbit and The Amazing Trail of Seymour Snail. Shall we do the Bunny Hop? Draw some snails? Race some real live slow-moving snails? (Bring your own snail. I'll bring a couple of mine!) Bring the kids. All ages welcome. Of course, adults and fellow authors welcome, too. I hope to see you there.
1760 Fourth Street in Berkeley.

Seymour Snail on Twitter--How Silly is That?

Seymour has his own profile on Twitter--
That's Silly, I Know!

Plenty silly, in fact. But then, Seymour is a funny and creative snail.
Seymour will share his sense of humor and unique worldview as he ventures slooooowly onto the high-speed web.
You can follow Seymour at: http://twitter.com/SeymourSnail (Or his author, Lynn) at: http://twitter.com/LynnHazen


Do you know any children's book characters on Twitter? Please comment below with their Twitter ID's. I'd be curious to see what these characters have to say. Seymour and I will start a list. Thanks for helping us.

Forecast: More Seymour Snail Silliness at NOT the typical Twitter pace! (He's a snail after all)

Seymour Slimes His Way!

Seymour Slimes His Way from Lynn H on Vimeo.

Is Your Beret Ready?

I hope you can make it to the Double Book Launch Party on Sat. May 16th at Cover to Cover.
Saturday May 16th
10 a.m. to noon
Cover to Cover in San Francisco
1307 Castro St (between 24th St & Jersey St)
San Francisco, CA 94114
(415) 282-8080

And of course if you have a beret (or other fun hat), please wear it!
Be like Seymour, And Monet, Be creative, And wear a beret.

My friends Ryoko & Shannon went with me recently to the Berkeley Hat Store in search of the perfect beret. Take a look at some of the wonderful hats we found. Come to the book Launch Party to see what we ended up with!


















Forecast: Hat Fun! And stay tuned for the vid of Seymour as he slimes his way around and around Cover to Cover's window display. What fun!

Bad Poetry Friday--May Challenge--Rhyme Badly with May

Hello Imaginary Readers,
On this last Friday in April I'm bravely posting my own bad poem and a silly challenge for you for the 31 days (and 5 Fridays) in May.

First, the Bad Poetry Friday Challenge for all brave bad (and so-bad-you're-good) poets--

For May, please compose your poems to include at least one rhyming couplet with words that rhyme with May. A quick peek at your rhyming dictionary or at RhymeZone.com's selection of May rhyming words will give you a clue of how silly and fun this will be. Bad poetry writing opportunities abound!

Rhyme Zone has organized hundreds of May-rhyming-words from one syllable to ten syllables just for you and your Bad Poetry Friday Muse. How could you not be inspired with such words and phrases in English and French as:
dismay
souffle
toupee
dog sleigh
rate of pay
yap away
exponential decay
alphanumeric display
and of course--
jean baptiste pierre antoine de monet...
plus hundreds more--take a look!

So send your Rhyming-with-May Poem ( 8 lines or less, related to writing, publishing or reading children's books in some way) without delay--today (or any day of the week) to BadPoetryFriday@gmail.com

I'll post the best or worst every Friday on The Imaginary Blog. Don't forget the amazing imaginary prize opportunites! Here is how to play.

And now--
To celebrate the arrival of a boxful of my new books (my author copies of The Amazing Trail of Seymour Snail just arrived!!) and for today's Bad Poetry Friday I am posting my own poem.

Be Like Seymour
by
Lynn E. Hazen

Be like Seymour
And Monet
Be creative
And wear a beret!

For Imaginary Readers in the San Francisco Bay Area, please come to Seymour (and Harriet's) Double-the-Fun Book Launch Party on May 16th 10:00-noon at Cover to Cover. For more fun, please wear your beret!

Misplaced your beret?
Here is a good place to find all kinds of berets--every possible color, all styles imaginable, wool or cotton, with sequins perhaps(!!!) and of course the Che beret (complete with red star and fake hair). Take a look!
http://www.berkeleyhat.com/basqueberets.html


Forecast: More bad poetry fun, of course. Plus creative artists, writers and poets all wearing berets! I wonder who will show up at Seymour's launch party sporting a sequinned beret?

The Amazing Trail of Seymour Snail--Kirkus Review!

I like this. It's Seymour's second review, this time from Kirkus.

Yay, it's still:

So far, so gooooooooo...good.

You might recall Seymour's first review from Booklist a while back. If not, click here to take a look.

And here is what Kirkus has to say about my favorite snail...

"Seymour Snail is an endearing artist..."

"Cushman’s anthropomorphized bugs from the art gallery are a hoot..."

"Creative wordplay abounds..."

"Engaging characters and winning art create a solid addition to the field of transitional literature."

KIRKUS REVIEWS April 1, 2009

"Budding artist Seymour the Snail gains experience by working at a local gallery. Employed by the demanding Mr. Stink Bug, shy Seymour struggles with mundane tasks and hears rumors that there is an inspiring artist in town. When the artist’s identity is revealed, Seymour’s world changes dramatically. The brief chapters assist readers transitioning from beginning fiction to longer selections. Detailed, shaded drawings fill each page and provide emotional depth. Seymour Snail is an endearing artist; with his tilted beret and paintbrush in mouth, he paints with passion. Cushman’s anthropomorphized bugs from the art gallery are a hoot; their sunglasses, beaded necklaces and high heels portray their fast-paced lifestyle. Creative wordplay abounds: Slow Seymour works as the Speedy Art Gallery, and jokes often serve the older reader. The spider with the business card shares, “I’m onto something big. It’s called the World Wide Web.” Engaging characters and winning art create a solid addition to the field of transitional literature. (Fantasy. 5-8)"

If you'd like to purchase a signed copy of Seymour, ooze on over to Cover to Cover Booksellers in San Francisco. Just give them a call at 415-282-8080 (and tell them Seymour sent you).

Imaginary Readers, if you are a creative or teacher-talented-type of person, I seek your assistance. I'm looking for art and nature projects related to snails to post (or link to) on my website and blog. If you know of any good snail-themed projects or come across any links to such, please let me know. Thanks!

Forecast: More happy slime & gooey good projects!

And dust off your beret!! Please come celebrate Seymour with me at a book launch party on Saturday May 16th at Cover to Cover.

© 2009 by Lynn E. Hazen of Lynn E. Hazen's Imaginary Blog. All rights reserved.

Lynn E. Hazen's Imaginary Blog & Amazon Connects

Hello Real and Imaginary Readers,

If all goes well, this brief test post from the Imaginary Blog will show up on my books' pages on Amazon via Amazon Connects.

So here is some news:

• Kirkus praised my new young adult novel, SHIFTY, as "a realistic story that resonates.” SHIFTY was also chosen for VOYA’s Top Shelf Fiction, as a CCBC Choice, and as a Smithsonian Notable.

• I was interviewed recently on Cynsations by Cynthia Leitich Smith.

• I'm co-teaching a two-day class on Writing the YA Novel at U.C. Berkeley Extension (in San Francisco) in May 2009.

and....

My new young chapter book, THE AMAZING TRAIL OF SEYMOUR SNAIL, illustrated by the wildly talented Doug Cushman is being published this May with Holt.

Seymour's first review from BOOKLIST says in part:

"Seymour Snail hopes to be a great artist someday, but he feels shy about showing his work. He is thrilled to get a job in an art gallery, but he is bullied by his new boss, Mr. Stink Bug. At last, though, Seymour’s slimy glitter art is recognized by Mr. Stink Bug's client, Lady CocoLaRoche, and the snail becomes a star...
young grade-schoolers will enjoy all the talk about slime and goo, as well as the puns about a friendly spider, who is working on something big––the World Wide Web. Children will also cheer for the small creature, who oozes along at a snail’s pace but triumphs in the end."
--Hazel Rochman

Find more news on my websites:
www.LynnHazen.com
www.ShiftyTheBook.com
and blog at www.LynnHazenImaginaryBlog.blogspot.com

So Far, So Goo...Seymour's First Review on Booklist

Yay! Seymour is slowly sliming his way to a bookstore near you...

In the meantime, here's an early review of The Amazing Trail of Seymour Snail by (yours truly) Lynn E. Hazen & illustrated by the wildly talented Doug Cushman.

From BOOKLIST (March 1, 2009 issue)
May 2009. 64 p. Holt, hardcover, $16.95. (9780805086980).

"Seymour Snail hopes to be a great artist someday, but he feels shy about showing his work. He is thrilled to get a job in an art gallery, but he is bullied by his new boss, Mr. Stink Bug. At last, though, Seymour’s slimy glitter art is recognized by Mr. Stink Bug's client, Lady CocoLaRoche, and the snail becomes a star. Some of the humor in this early chapter book, illustrated with lively cartoon drawings, may be more for adults who know the pretension of the “creative” world and the meaning of escargot. But young grade-schoolers will enjoy all the talk about slime and goo, as well as the puns about a friendly spider, who is working on something big––the World Wide Web. Children will also cheer for the small creature, who oozes along at a snail’s pace but triumphs in the end."--Hazel Rochman

If you'd like to pre-order Seymour, please click here to order on Amazon. Otherwise, Seymour should be at your local bookstore or library on May 12th. Please ask your school and public library to order it.

If you'd like to purchase a signed copy of Seymour, ooze on over to Cover to Cover Booksellers in San Francisco. Just give them a call at 415-282-8080 (and tell them Seymour sent you).

Imaginary Readers, if you are a creative or teacher-talented-type of person, I seek your assistance. I'm looking for art and nature projects related to snails to post (or link to) on my website and blog. If you know of any good snail-themed projects or come across any links to such, please let me know. Thanks!

Forecast: More happy slime & gooey good projects!