Monday, February 11, 2008

The Hamlin School Book Fair

A very nice woman found Here You Are in a bookstore a few weeks ago. She called to invite me to the annual Book Fair at the prestigious Hamlin School in San Francisco. A publicist's dream come true. Here You Are really has a life of its own. I am just a humble servant.

Over twenty copies sold the first day, which doesn't sound like much. Not to me, but then one of the main organizers told me that they didn't sell 20 copies of any other title by far, except for a middle school chapter book of an author who had been visiting the classrooms that week. The room was full of the most beautiful children's books, each one recommended by a Mom, teacher or student. The Moms came in with shopping lists in hand, busily trying to find their little one's books of choice. And still, Here You Are brought the usual tears to Moms eyes and was bought in multiples of two to six copies each.

In the evening as I sat on my couch looking out the window, knowing that quite a number of children in that sparkling city across the bay were reading Here You Are for a bedtime story that night, felt wonderful. I had written their names into the books all day.

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