After spending the weekend in Lahaina, I drove back along the beautiful coastline and up through the central valley of Maui to spend Monday morning visiting Iao Middle School. I spoke with two groups of students in the library who were in the process of making their own books. They gave me a gorgeous orchid lei and another lei made of little macadamia nut packets. I was especially grateful for the mac nut snacks later when my friend took us on a hike up the Waihe`e Ridge Trail. We were very hungry when we got back to the car! I dried the orchid lei, and still have it hanging in my art studio as a reminder of my visit to Maui. The students asked some good questions about the book-making process. I hope the information will help them do a good job on their own projects. I spent the afternoon at the Maui Ocean Center, where I painted some gorgeous fish in my journal, then I drove to the airport to pick up my husband, Gabriel. As we drove back along the coast to Lahaina, we watched the sun set into the ocean, and I thought this might have been one of the best school visit days I’ve had in a long time!

Who could pass up the chance to visit Maui in the winter? My husband and I took a break from the mainland before Christmas to visit a close high school friend whose grandparents live in Kaanapali. Since my most popular book, A Swim through the Sea, is about the ocean, I worked out a couple of school visits. I spent a whole day at Waihe`e Elementary School, which is tucked into a lush, untouristy part of the island, on the north side. The students presented me with a gorgeous orchid lei, as you can see in the picture. I was thrilled to see that the kids knew many of the species in my ocean book – especially the humpback whale! I even learned the Hawaiian words for some of the animals. He`e means octopus, for example. Mrs. Heyd (my teacher contact) even took me to see the beautiful Iao Valley after school. Thank you for the hospitality, Waihe`e School!

One thing for which I am grateful this Thanksgiving is the opportunity to talk with the students and teachers at San Ramon Valley Christian Academy in Danville, California. This school visit fit in well with a Thanksgiving reunion with my husband Gabriel’s family in the Bay Area. SRVCA has a fantastic powerpoint setup which made it very easy to show the students the colorful artwork in my books. Thank you SRVCA!

I just got pictures back from my visit to the Community School in St. Louis, Missouri. I was invited to be the guest speaker at this wonderful school’s annual Book Show, which was catered by Borders. What a fantastic time we had! This year’s theme was the ABC’s, so the day started with an all-school assembly where the first, third and sixth graders performed lots of alphabet songs. Then, I talked for a few minutes about how you can use the alphabet to save the rainforest. Throughout the day, I met with all the different grades (PK-6) to answer questions and talk about the book-making process. The students asked very intelligent questions, practiced good listening skills, and did a great job singing. And the teachers & parent volunteers all made me feel so welcome. Thank you Community School!

I moved to St. Louis, Missouri from Michigan in the summer of 1988. I don’t get to go “up north” as much as I’d like, these days. Lake Michigan has become the secret place I visit in my imagination before I start making art. The Mississippi River , this enormous, powerful, muddy spine of America, runs right past St. Louis. This is not the pristine, inspirational north country. It is a real-life city, where things are easy for some people and hard for lots of other people. It’s not a big city like Chicago, or a small town like Alton. It’s just in the middle of everything. Accordingly, you can’t see two inches into the governing body of water that drives this town.

A hundred years ago, it was a different story. St. Louis threw the biggest party the Euro-centered world had ever seen – the 1904 World’s Fair. For a brief moment in history, people came from all over the world to St. Louis to see the latest technology, the coolest new toys and the most famous art. At the 1904 World’s Fair, ice cream cones, cotton candy, iced tea, Dr. Pepper, hot dogs, and air conditioning were introduced for the first time.

While there are plenty of good things about St. Louis today, I can’t say that it has hung on to that reputation for cutting-edge wonderfulness. You just have to know where to look, I guess.

So…

Imagine my surprise at discovering Kayak’s Coffee, having seemingly sprung out of nowhere – overnight. Perfectly. It was as if someone had used a giant pair of scissors and snipped this place right out of Jackson Hole, Wyoming or Glen Arbor, Michigan and pasted it here in St. Louis, Missouri. This place does NOT have the look of a business that just opened a month ago. I am totally astounded.

Located at 276 North Skinker Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63130, Kayak’s became an instant hit with the Washington University crowd. The fleece-clad students seem to have it as a goal to cover every rustic table in the place with books, papers and backpacks. (I forgot – the world, like, belongs to you when you’re in college. Duh.)

My husband Gabriel and I had a slightly different reaction to Kayak’s when we first walked in. Right off, we needed to confirm its independence. No, Kayak’s is not secretly owned by Starbucks. Yes, it is an independent coffee house. Next, we marveled at the branding. (Art nerds that we are.) The gold lettered sign and the exploration-themed display window drew us in to the well-thought out, perfectly detailed snowboarding-lodge of happiness that is Kayak’s. Nothing was under construction. Actual used snowboards and kayaks hang from the ceiling. We ordered drinks at the counter. The Chocolate Coyote became my instant favorite. It’s your basic mocha, with chili powder. (Two kicks in the seat of the pants in one mug!) Gabriel is a big fan of the classic latte.

The barista started a KayakRewards Card for us. No paper card with stamps for these guys, though. You get what looks like a credit card with a magnetic strip that keeps track of your purchases and rewards you accordingly. Mine has a dog-sledding scene on the front and instructs me to “Explore our national parks” on the back.

I also ordered a dark chocolate-dipped macaroon. We are not talking about a silly little holiday cookie here. We are talking about a macaroon almost the size of a baseball dipped in dark chocolate. It took both of us to eat it.

Next, we moved down the line past the Habitat for Humanity donation box and the espresso machine covered with snowboarding stickers to wait for our drinks. The “pick up your drinks here” counter is, of course, made out of another snowboard. Our drinks arrived in beautifully printed paper cups sporting the Kayak’s slogan: Everything for the journey. These guys are good. And tasty. We’ve only visited 3 times, and we already have “favorite chairs”: the 2 super-comfy ones right next to the fireplace with the tree stump table between them where you can set your drinks. I swear, the chili powder is the only thing that got me out of that chair when it was time to leave. I sat there wondering who was responsible for Kayak’s excellent branding, where they got the money, when I could go wakeboarding next, and if I was really still in St. Louis.

Did I mention that Kayak’s has free wireless internet access?

Finally! After lots of waiting, it is now possible to purchase autographed copies of my books online. Special thanks to my husband, Gabriel Serafini, for setting up the Pay Pal system that handles the orders. We now accept credit cards and will be shipping orders via UPS.

Yesterday I spoke at the 9th annual Wanyesville Young People’s Literature Festival in Waynesville, Missouri. (About 2 hours southwest of St. Louis, where I am) Hundreds of 3rd through 6th graders are bussed in to East Elementary from all over the surrounding area to hear authors, illustrators and storytellers talk about their work. There are usually about 10 authors that come to the conference, and most of them are from Missouri. It’s a fun day for me because not only do I get to talk with some fantastic students, but I also get to chat with other authors, which almost never happens, as we are all in our studios making our books. This conference used to be held at a school located on Fort Leonard Wood, but changes in security regulations required the coordinators to move it off post. I have been attending this conference since 1999.

Presenting the Rainforest Romper, the first in a new line of products featuring illustrations and text from my books! I hope this will make the reading experience even more engaging and fun. You can purchase XyzAnt merchandise at www.cafeshops.com/xyzant.

Saturday was beautiful here in St. Louis. The oppressive summer heat and humidity – the kind that makes a person think the big muddy Mississippi River has somehow made the air part of its floodplain – is gone. The days are cool and sunny. The best tanning weather St. Louis has to offer, and it’s nearly October. Imagine that. A perfect day for a balloon race, an annual event here in Forest Park. Yes, the sky really was that blue. Needless to say, not a lot of work got done on Saturday.