event photos from my first book, George Upside Down

Before my first book came out, I had avoided any public speaking since my 10th grade speech class in high school, which was a nightmare. Needless to say, I was nervous! Speaking in front of people is scary enough but speaking in front of people about my book which took years to create was far more intimidating!

The first event happened to be on the same Saturday as a BIG war protest. Over 100,000 people paraded RIGHT by the entrance to Barnes and Noble, making it hard for people to attended. Literally, you'd have to fight your way past a thick, angry mob which streamed by B&N endlessly, for a good half an hour or more.

Miraculously, a number of people showed up! Thanks to all of my friends who helped me get through my first event. And thanks to all who came!

Since doing my first few events, I have gotten more comfortable in front of a crowd. I've done a few events for my book Show Dog and I even spoke at a college for an hour––I never thought I'd be able to do that!

Below are a few pictures of the war protest. I did join in after finishing my book reading.

Above are a few photographs from my very first book event. Kids made a George paper doll.To make your own George doll, click here!

Below are photos from the event at Barnes and Noble in Huntington Long Island. It was the largest so far! Two groups of 100 kids each were bussed in. It was a bit overwhelming but the kids were great, very well behaved, and enthusiastic!

The right top and bottom left are pictures of kids coloring in the George activity pages, which I blew up extra big. The kids where invited to come up and find the upside down things in the picture. The activity was a success! Perhaps though, it worked a little too well and I should have saved it for the end because that's all the kids wanted to talk about for the duration of the event.