Sierra lends a hand to Steve Denyes of Hullabaloo.

Better than Barney. More creative than Raffi. As much fun as that Peter, Paul, and Mary’s classic “Peter, Paul, and Mommy.”  Sierra and I just discovered Hullabaloo. http://www.hullabalooband.com/

As part of its summer reading program, the Glendora Public Library sponsored a folk concert during its regularly scheduled story time. I hadn’t heard of the group, but I was intrigued by their description as “farm-fresh free-range organic kid-folk in a genre filled with ding-dongs and twinkies.” We found their website, sampled their videos, and in flash, “Dinosaur in my Backyard,” “Polite Pete the Pirate” and “Blah Blah Blah” became daily fare in the Glyer household.

The concert was even better. It takes a special talent to be cheerful and energetic enough to capture the attention of 5, 6, and 7 year olds for a full 45 minutes. Hullabaloo managed it, with room to spare.

Hey, coffee addicts: don’t miss the instant classic “Grown-up Sippy Cup.” It’s addictive.

Oh, BTW. We had a friend visiting from out of town, a man who reviews classical music concerts for a living. He was tapping his toes and belting out “Run, Bunny, Run” with the best of them.

Last week, I was invited to give a talk in my daugher's a second grade class. The students were doing a unit on careers, and I was invited to talk about  being an author. Here are some of their questions, and my answers:

How do you prepare for your career?

Get a little notebook. Start writing every day: describe the things you see, write down your most interesting conversations, copy down great passages from things that you read or wonderful quotes that you hear. Pay attention: look, listen, slow down. Pay attention to what is going on all around you; pay attention to the dreams that God gives you and the ideas that bubble up in your imagination. Don't go anywhere without your little notebook. Pay attention. Write it down.

Would you recommend your career to others?

Yes, I would. I also would say that being a writer is a great second career. Your daytime job might be being a teacher or a mom or a pilot or a lawyer. But you could still be a person who writes great stories.

What is the best thing about your career?

I get to use my imagination, and I get to read and write all day. [Looks around at all the little kids in the class]  I also get to travel a lot and talk to interesting people.

Wow, did you ever get to talk to Eric Carle?

No.

Did you ever get to talk to the President of the United States?

No.

Did you ever get to talk to Oprah?

No. But I published something in her magazine.

At this point, the teacher jumped up to take a picture of me holding a copy of O Magazine,

and absolute mayhem ensued.

*SIGH*

http://www.matchstickmarvels.com/MinasTirith.htm

PW:  The theme of what it means to be/to have a dad in Cosmic is wonderful. Did that emerge on its own, or was it deliberate?

FCB:  No it emerged on its own, rather late in the day. People think that inspiration comes at the beginning but one of the joys of writing is the late moment of inspiration that comes after months of slog. Cosmic was just about cars and laughs and then I woke up one morning and thought, "Oh, THAT's what it's about" and started all over again.