They're not really sleeping, I swear!

OK, I know that in the post below, it might _look_ as though the front row of students fell into a coma during my classroom visit at Sacred Heart School in Bethlehem, PA yesterday.  But really, the student in the photo was just leaning to the side to avoid blocking the photographer’s view.

Honest!

Anyway, this was my first visit since the release of AFTER EVER AFTER, which just came out on Monday.  I was so excited to talk about the new book!  It’s gotten great press from both the usual book-review periodicals, including the nicest review I’ve ever gotten:

(http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=3796017).

It’s also gotten written up glowingly in several important blogs:

http://readingjunky.blogspot.com/2009/12/after-ever-after-by-jordan-sonnenblick.html

http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2009/10/after-ever-after-by-jordan-sonnenblick.html

http://abbylibrarian.blogspot.com/2009/10/book-review-after-ever-after.html

http://proseandkahn.livejournal.com/47312.html

Anyway, it’s really nice to be appreciated.  Between the magazines, the bloggers, and that obviously fascinated boy in the front row, I am thrilled by the reception AFTER EVER AFTER has gotten already!

For those of you who are techies, use your RSS reader to subscribe to my blog. I recommend Google Reader, but any ol’ RSS reader will do.

I just got back from my first-ever official book tour (see my publisher’s blog here for details: http://feiwelandfriends.typepad.com/feiwel_and_friends/2008/05/jordan-and-dodg.html ).

While I was gone, DODGER got a rave review in the Kirkus ALA/BEA Big Book Guide:

“Dodger and Me is a love letter to my late father, my dear

son and our almost sacred love of baseball,” says Jordan

Sonnenblick. The book is also a magical tale of affection,

family and a boy’s imaginative (imaginary doesn’t do it justice)

friendship with an inspired, demented blue chimpanzee,

Dodger. Willie has a few wishes, a couple ill-considered:

That that girl Lizzie would leave him alone, that his

mother would trust him with his own safety and that he

would be a baseball star. “I can relate,” says Sonnenblick,

“not to the chimp part, but to baseball and the desperate

wish to succeed on the field. I was a miserable little leaguer;

I just could…not…hit…a…fastball.” Dodger has

lots of smart patter and perhaps a few wishes to grant. With

cool style and throat-tightening panache, Sonnenblick

sends a screamer Willie’s way.

Thanks, Kirkus!

Also, I just got the details of my first-ever official multi-city book tour:

http://us.macmillan.com/Tour.aspx?id=84&publisher=feiwelfriends

Please come and visit if you live in Seattle, Portland, Denver, or Chicago, OK?

I am really, really excited about these books — now I can’t wait for the first one to come out so I can start telling everyone in the world about the second one.

In other news, I’m currently doing heavy research for my next young adult novel for Scholastic Press. I can’t spill any beans about the plot, the title, or anything. However, I will tell you that the research for this book has entailed interviews with a child-abuse expert, a criminal-defense lawyer, and a gravedigger.

Hmmm . . . I think I’m getting mysterious in my old age!

Oh, one last thing.  The Italian translation of NOTES FROM THE MIDNIGHT DRIVER recently won a big children’s literature award there: The Premio Cento.  AND there was a cash prize in Euros, which means a family trip to Europe is in my future.  The Italian version’s title is UNA CHITARRA PER DUE (A Guitar for Two).  Cool, huh?  The translator, Roberta Magnaghi, was awesome.  She contacted me several times during the process to ask me subtle questions about my intent.  Her hard work really helped me out, obviously — mille grazie, Roberta!!!

So I’m traveling far and wide to promote the release.  You can see my calendar page for the details, but basically I’ll be visiting at least 11 states between now and the end of June, including FIVE different trips to Texas.  Yikes, that’s a lot of frequent-flyer miles.  Of course, it’s also a lot of carbon emissions, so I’ll be planting a ton of trees to offset the pollution.

I also have another book coming out in the spring.  It’s called DODGER & ME, and it will be published by Feiwel & Friends.  I’ll write more about this project as the release date gets closer, but for now I’ll just say that I am REALLY, REALLY proud of it.