Home again

Hi everyone,

After a fine three weeks of goo foffing, we arrived home yesterday and were picked up at the airport by grandson KRIS, who also brought food for our dinner from son-in-law TIM. What a delightful way to come home!

Thanks for the picture, Nate Papes, Springfield News-Leader

We had our mail held so today we should have quite a box of accumulated pieces to go through. Two packages were already waiting, both containing great surprises. One was a new paperback edition of RUM PUM PUM, the picture that JANE YOLEN and I wrote together about a lonely tiger who finds a lost drum that changes his life. I’m SO happy to see this. At $8.99, it’s a bargain and I hope to see buyers taking advantage of it. The artwork by ANJAN SARKAR is wonderful.

The other box held two copies of a new HarperColins anthology, STORIES FOR 4 YEAR OLDS, Fifteen Stories from Favourite Authors to Enjoy and Share. The editor is JULIA ECCLESHARE. It’s published in England and includes stories about Paddington Bear and Rapunzel.

Quick picture taken on the seat of an office chair: sorry.

I was curious about Julia so I Googled her and learned that “Eccleshare is currently children’s books editor for The Guardian newspaper, and also regularly appears on BBC Radio 4‘s Open Book and Front Row programmes.^[8] In 2014 she was appointed Head of Policy and Advocacy for Public Lending Right. She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to children’s literature.^[9] She was an awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt, Hons) by the University of Worcester in 2014. She is married and has four children, and lives in London.^[7]“

Way to go, Julia, and thank you for choosing my story to go in such fine company.

RUM PUM PUM reviewed in Florida Literacy Journal

Hi everyone,

My thanks to NILE STANLEY, poet and Chair, Department of Childhood Education at University of North Florida, for reviewing, RUM PUM PUM in the latest issue of The Florida Literacy Journal. JANE YOLEN and I co-wrote the story, richly illustrated by ANJAN SARKAR, and published by Holiday House in 2020. Nile is a former editor of the Florida Reading Quarterly and founder and chair of the annual Poetry Olio of the Conference of the International Literacy Association.

In his review, he states, “This is a book that children will want to experience again and again. The book lends itself naturally to storytelling because the plot is engaging, simple, and fast-paced…I found the experiences of teaching the book to children equally satisfying through the techniques of visual storytelling, read aloud, and literary storytelling. I eagerly introduced the book to a large group of aged 3 to 5 preschoolers with a picture walk through the book.”

Thank you, Nile. I hope our paths will cross again one of these days, at a conference or elsewhere.

RUM PUM PUM off to a roaring good start

Hi everyone,

Many thanks for your comments and good wishes about RUM PUM PUM. Many of you listened to our recorded visit among the create team who made the book — Grace Maccarone (editor), Jane Yolen (co-author), David L. Harrison (co-author), and Anjan Sarkar (illustrator). The recording is posted on Holiday House Facebook at (https://www.facebook.com/HolidayHouseBks) so we hope you’ll go there and tell others who might be interested in the conversation for use in classrooms. No one has left a question or comment yet, but there’s a place to leave one if you like. Just click on the link and do a bit of scrolling. Later in the day Jane and I learned of a contract offer to present the book in a recorded format so that was added frosting on the book’s birth day cake.

RUM PUM PUM comes out today

Hi everyone,

Today is the birth day of RUM PUM PUM. I am delighted about that. Today at 1:00 EST, Holiday House will post on its Facebook page ((https://www.facebook.com/HolidayHouseBks ) the 4-way chat recorded yesterday with our editor, Grace Maccarone, posing questions to co-authors David L. Harrison and Jane Yolen and our artist, Anjan Sarkar. We had a lot of laughs making it and I hope you’ll take a while to watch. You can post questions if you like.

Also, today I posted a new picture on FAMILY at https://www.facebook.com/ozarksfamilyvoicesVOICES that I hope you’ll go see. Don’t forget I always want more pictures featuring small children and books. Send to me as jpg to davidlharrison1@att.net.

Thanks, everyone.

1 editor + 2 authors + 1 artist = RUM PUM PUM interview

ANNOUNCEMENT: Emily Mannon from Holiday House tells me she will post the video at 1pm EST tomorrow on their Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HolidayHouseBks). “People can head over there to watch and if anyone comments, feel free to respond! I’ll promote it on our twitter and repromoted it later in the week as well. After that, it’ll live on our website on the book page (HolidayHouse.com/Rum-Pum-Pum).”

We have now finished the conversation and had fun doing it. I hope you’ll listen in tomorrow.

Hi everyone,

Today at 9:00 CST time I’ll participate in a chat with co-author Jane Yolen and artist Anjan Sarkar, narrated by our editor Grace Maccarone, about our new book, RUM PUM PUM, which will be released tomorrow on September 15.

As soon as I learn the particulars about how you can watch it, I’ll let you know. It should be an interesting conversation.