By Audrey Wood

August 2001

Issue #22

Dear Friends,

This month our newsletter will be (most appropriately) chock full of news, complete with screaming headlines!

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NEW WOOD BOOK RELEASED AT LIBRARIAN’S CONVENTION!

In late June, the Wood family, Audrey, Don, son Bruce and new daughter-in-law Nicoa, attended the American Library Association’s annual convention, held this year in San Francisco. We were at the largest book convention in the land in order to celebrate the release of ALPHABET ADVENTURE, a new book written by Audrey, and illustrated by Bruce Wood.

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FIRST FATHER/SON PRESENTATION FEATURES “LIGHT FIGHT”

by Don Wood

A pre-conference gathering of wired librarians provided a forum for Bruce and I to give our first father/son presentation. Bruce had just arrived from his home in Hawaii, so we huddled in a hotel room for our only rehearsal. What advice did the seasoned professional pass along to the coming generation? “It’s the lights, son. It’s always those wretched lights.”

Because we are both illustrators, we must use visuals when we speak, and that means slides. Of course slides require darkness and there’s the problem. Lights in conference rooms don’t like to be turned off. And the fancier the hotel is, the more likely it is that the lights won’t work at all. Thanks to our generous publisher, Scholastic, we were staying and presenting in the Saint Francis, one of San Francisco’s most exclusive palaces, therefore I feared the worst.

As usual, other presentations preceded ours, so we arrived at 7 AM (4 AM Bruce’s Hawaiian time) to set up our slides and check the projector. Everything was fine, and, to my delight, the audio-visual man showed me the lighting controls – just four simple switches low on the wall behind the podium. There was no locked panel requiring the presence of both a security guard, fumbling through reams of keys, and a maintenance man; no complex panel requiring a degree in engineering. We could control our own lights. It would be a cinch.

Mid-morning we began our presentation to a full house of 400 or more. Visuals were not planned for our first portion and Bruce was great. In fact, we were both great. We knew our subject thoroughly, had important information to impart, and my usual excitement was heightened by the “proud poppa” factor, standing up there next to my son.

Then Bruce said, “Lights please,” and I casually stepped down from the podium, bent low and confidently flipped the four switches. Blessed darkness.

Two minutes into Bruce's slide show, his images began to fade . . . no . . . they weren’t fading . . . it was the lights gradually coming on again. I jumped back down to the switches. They were all off. Experimenting, I learned that if I switched them on, and then off again, the lights dropped. Whew! One minute later it happened again, and then again. Finally I ended up kneeling by the switches, ever alert, ready to flip-flop them at the slightest change in the room’s illumination. Meanwhile Bruce, who has always been good at extemporaneous business, riffed on the awkward interruptions and transformed them into comic relief.

Scholastic had planned to give away a number of ALPHABET ADVENTURE’s after the presentation, but they hadn’t arrived, in fact we were informed that they might not even make it for the entire convention.

As we concluded our speech, Jackie Harper of Scholastic rushed through the door carrying several boxes. She opened one and triumphantly waved a copy of the book over her head. Like the calvary coming over the hill, the slow boat from the printers in Singapore had arrived just in time.

Looking back, I consider this one of the best presentations of my career. We later learned that we had been in a “light fight” with a neighboring room. They wanted their lights on, we wanted ours off, but each set of switches controlled both rooms. I’m sure we won. It was a unique new angle on an old problem and a perfect initiation for Bruce.

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NEW BOOK DEBUTS, HUB-BUB ENSUES!

Authors and illustrators are performers of sorts, and, like all performers, are extremely sensitive to the response of their audience. When a new book is released (and this was the first time any of us had even held the book in our hands) every reaction of every reader is meaningful, exaggerated sometimes to the strength of omens.

The Wood family was therefore gratified to see a wave of interest, manifest as both movement and an excited whispering, pass through the crowd when we announced ALPHABET ADVENTURE’s timely arrival. The members of our audience couldn’t wait to get their hands on a copy, and this soon resulted in a good, old-fashioned crush. There’s nothing authors and illustrators love more than a good, old-fashioned crush.

There was other evidence of a hub-bub. Later, I was riding in an elevator with three librarians, and, of course, eavesdropping. They didn’t know who I was, and (Can you believe it!), they were discussing ALPHABET ADVENTURE. Someone had told them about it, and they just had to have one. Random encounters like this are treasured in our profession.

At our first ever Mother/Father/Son signing held at the Scholastic booth, Bruce and Audrey’s new book outsold our other backlist titles three to one, with many patrons purchasing multiple copies. This is very unusual and extremely encouraging for a new release.

Audrey and Bruce gave a presentation later in the convention at the prestigious “Literary Luncheon,” an event featuring a series of brief presentations by the creators of Scholastic’s glittering fall lineup. As they were introduced, and the book was described, a spontaneous low murmur of intense interest and excitement rose and fell like a wave in the massive ballroom. The hub-bub was spreading. It was music to my ears.

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BRUCE WOOD MAULED BY FRENZIED LIBRARIANS AND TEACHERS!

by Audrey Wood

Well, not really -- but after both of his presentations a crush of impressed and determined librarians and teachers surrounded Bruce offering him their cards, and imploring him to contact them for speaking engagements at their schools and libraries. They were convinced that their children would greatly benefit from seeing what they had just seen, Bruce’s presentation on “three- dimensional computer illustration.” We had no idea that this would happen, so Bruce was not prepared to give anyone information on how to book him for appearances. If you would like Bruce to visit your school or library, contact Stephanie Wimmer at Scholastic Books - swimmer@scholastic.com.

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WOOD FAMILY SEES STARS!

by Audrey Wood

We returned from the convention extremely pleased by the launch Scholastic had given ALPHABET ADVENTURE. Then came the call from our editor, Bonnie Verberg. ALPHABET ADVENTURE had received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly.

A starred review means that not only the reviewer loved the book, but also the magazine’s entire editorial staff agreed, and believes the book to be significant. Few starred reviews are given and it is considered the equivalent of an award, especially from Publisher’s Weekly, arguably the most important source of reviews in children’s books. See review below.

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PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY STARRED REVIEW

The mother-son team behind The Christmas Adventure of Space Elf Sam presents 26 bold, athletic-looking lower-case letters called “Charley’s Alphabet” in this unorthodox ABC. After working hard all summer with their teacher, “Capital T,” they are on their way to the first day of school. But they’re held up when the letter i loses her dot. Audrey Wood’s straightforward text and quirky premise keep the story moving apace: “Hurry! School begins soon.

We must find her dot, or we’ll be late!” says Capital T. The letters come up with a plan, and race around to find a substitute for Little i to wear – s offers a star, h a heart – but at the last moment the mischievous dot returns (anxious about being replaced). Observant youngsters will note the dot’s various hiding places in previous illustrations (and throughout the book.) Bruce Wood endows the crayon-colored alphabet letters with personality through their posture and actions, and places them in a hyper-realistic, computer-generated resort where crisp-edged gondolas glide through canals lined with candy-striped buildings and swaying palm trees. The horizontal layout of the book mimics film stills: the text crawls along the bottom of tropically colored spreads like so many subtitles. The climactic scene, a shot from high in the air, shows the letters aboard a stream-lined yellow pencil bound for the classroom, where youngsters finally meet young Charley. A fresh and roundly satisfying excursion for those learning their ABCs. Ages 3-up (Aug.)

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VISIT ALPHABET ISLAND NOW!

If you’d like to get a glimpse of our new book and let your children try some ALPHABET ADVENTURE activities before the book arrives in the stores in September, visit Bruce Wood’s special ALPHABET ADVENTURE page. http://audreywood.com/alphabet_home.html

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SMART PIGGIES WANT TO KNOW--WHY ARE FIRST EDITION PICTURE BOOKS SO VALUABLE?

There is only one time in the life of a book when a publisher sends its production manager “on press,” and that is for the printing of the first edition. It’s a hands-on process. During the first print run, extreme care is taken by the production manager to assure that the pages in the book exactly match the final art which is also at the printers. Subsequent printings are done when needed, and neither the production manager nor the final art is present. Subsequent editions are therefore, not as true to the artist’s original vision as the first.

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SMART PIGGIES GET “EM” WHILE THEY’RE HOT!

Although our publishers do their best to assure that our first edition books are available for purchase, a new book can be in such high demand that it flies out of the stores before everyone can get their copies. To assure that you get your fist edition, call your local bookstore and place your “advance order” for ALPHABET ADVENTURE (by Audrey, illustrated by Bruce Wood). You don’t have to put any money down and you don’t have to pay unless you want the book. If you can’t get to a bookstore, you can place your orders on Amazon.com, or other online bookstores.

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FIND OUT WHO INSPIRED AUDREY TO WRITE ALPHABET ADVENTURE!

Visit Bruce Wood’s new ALPHABET ADVENTURE page and meet two inspiring preschoolers! http://audreywood.com/about.html

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NEW SUBSCRIBERS!

Check out our past Smart Piggy's Newsletters! Enter THE CLUBHOUSE at http://www.audreywood.com and click on the "Parents and Teachers" link, then click on "Smart Piggy's Newsletter past Issues" link.

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Keep your questions and suggestions coming!

Warmest Regards,

Audrey Wood

Info@audreywood.com

http://www.audreywood.com