Ten writers for children. All with something to say.

6/17/14

A mini gathering of potatoes

My last two school visits of the year took me to Washington state. I turned the trip into a vacation with my friend Gary, and while he was visiting his cousin on Whidbey Island, I was able to have lunch with Mark, who graciously showed me his beautiful home and took me to a deli where I had one of the best meals of the trip. Although I had only met Mark in person for the first time less than two months earlier, seeing him again felt like seeing an old friend. In our short time together, as we sat by the ferry on Puget Sound, we got to talk about our current writing projects, as well as the hope for future spud retreats.

And congratulations to Lauren and Stephanie for having books on the prestigious Kids' Indie next list (DEER DANCER and SHIPWRECK ISLAND), and to John, Lauren, and me for having books listed on the 2014 Bank Street's Best Children's Books list (HOOP GENIUS, WHEN STRAVINSKY MET NAJINSKY, and HOW MARTHA SAVED HER PARENTS FROM GREEN BEANS).

Go Spuds!

6 comments:

Lauren said...

What a lovely photo of the two of you! And what a great trip, David-- mixed with school visits, friend visits, and spectacular scenery-- and delicious meals.

Did you figure out our next retreat?

Christy said...

Love this photo! David, I'm glad you got to see the beautiful NW and make it a a satisfying trip in so many ways. How great that you and Mark could continue to build your relationship and encourage one another in work.

Stephanie said...

So glad you got to Whidbey to hang with Mark! Love the pic:)

Edie Hemingway said...

Whidbey Island looks and sounds amazing! Maybe that's where we need to have our next spud retreat. And congratulations on great books news for our spuds!

betsy woods said...

David, Mark, I love this picture of you two! The power of the potatoes!

mark said...

Our time to visit was too short, David, but I'll take what I can get whenever a fellow spud comes to town!

I hope the Olympic Peninsula was enjoyable.