Oo la la!

So exciting!!! LLAMA LLAMA MAD AT MAMA is going to be on The New York Times Bestseller List AGAIN - for a third time - and this time it moved UP to spot #9!

You know, the pathetic thing is that while this is great, yadda yadda, professional validation, yadda yadda, worked for years to convince publishers to buy my work, so on and so forth, ad infinitum...the thing that REALLY makes me psyched is that I can maybe now hire somebody to put in my kitchen. 

That would mean an actual room...instead of walking out of my studio into a space that has live creatures in it....bats, squirrels, SKUNKS!  I think the woodchuck is gone (he lived under the floor), but the stupid skunk is back, and it sprayed under my studio yesterday.  This is not conducive to a full and happy workday.  Not that I care about skunk smell; I'm one of the minority who don't mind it too much.  But Radish (my doggie companion) spent the morning crawling desperately under the studio, rolling in the skunk detritus.  I found that distracting.  And the cats have been crawling around under the floor, too....let's just say that it is a fabulous place if you like dank earth.  I, on the other hand, do not.  And the idea that I might be able to get REAL CARPENTER MEN (or women) to CLOSE OFF the crawl space and put in insulation and put in heat and make a place where I can make myself lunch, instead of going outside and pulling an apple off the tree to have with my Goldfish crackers (yeah, that's a great lunch)...well, that is such an exciting concept.

OK, off to go work on my new little creature, who is making me very happy, also.  I almost completely forget about the real, live creatures when I am working on this new book.  That is, under I hear some odd thump under the floor....

Comments

[Lee]

I happen to have a herd of llamas in my pasture and am always looking for llama books for children. What a delight when I found yours, there are now multiple copies hidden away in the closet, waiting to be wrapped and given to grandchildren on Christmas.

Thanks for sharing your talent

Lee Beringsmith
Roseville CA

[Mary]

Hi, I work in a library in the Charlotte NC system. I have a little blog that I began in October that has evolved to a Nature and Children's literature blog. I came across Llama Llama Red Pajama at work and decided this week to make you my first 'Miss Mary's Author of the Week' on my blog. I LOVE Llama Llama!! I'm going to feature a little review on my blog this week of that particular book and post a link to your blog. I don't have a big readership or anything, this is just a baby blog, but I wanted to let you know. Also-- your artwork is darling!! Llama Llama really got my attention. Since I daily handle a large quantity of picture books at work, I think I can spot a winner when I see one. Best of luck in your writing/illustrating career, can't wait to see more of your books! Mary t

[Anna Dewdney]

Thanks, Mary! I'll be doing links (someday...) on my website, and maybe we'll "link" up! Your website is totally cute, and made me even less thrilled about the weather - looking at your website made me want to wander in the garden, but if I wandered in the garden now, my feet would freeze to the ground. :(

Best,
Anna