Author Archives: admin

Iditarod musher Aliy Zirkle is on a different kind of trail this week, traveling the western coast of Alaska without her huskies and dogsled. With help from sponsors Marston, ExxonMobil, and the Iditarod Trail Committee, she’s flying in to schools … Continue reading →

              I’ve teamed up with fellow members of the SCBWI (in English, that’s the Society of Children’s Books Writers & Illustrators) to meet our readers at the Saturday Market in downtown Anchorage. It’s not a weekly … Continue reading →

What is it about cats and keyboards? Whether it’s trying to meet a deadline or just paying bills and answering emails, there’s always furry someone in the way. You, too? We lost my sweet kitty Zach this winter and now what I … Continue reading →

Ms. Tanc’s students in Romania learned some Inupiaq Eskimo words before I shared Charlie and the Blanket Toss with them on Skype. Our time together made the newspapers in their city.   As March wrapped up, so did my sixty-day … Continue reading →

This month, I have stepped into classrooms all over the U.S. with Microsoft in Education and their cooperative arrangement with Skype. Most mornings have been devoted to reading to kids in New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia–and evenings with Greece, Sri Lanka, China, Mexico, Canada, and Japan. … Continue reading →

February 16 is an important day all across the country–and the world! This day in February  is dedicated to the act of reading to somebody (or maybe even a pet). I’ve been doing my part during February and March by Skyping … Continue reading →

I shot this photo yesterday when I was flying back into Anchorage’s Merrill Field in a Cessna Caravan. I’d been out in Prince William Sound, visiting the village of Chenega Bay. My part of Alaska has been in the grip of deep … Continue reading →

‘Tis the season! I’ve been invited to read two of my classic children’s books–Alaskan Night Before Christmas and Musher’s Night Before Christmas–at a favorite Anchorage restaurant called Williwaw. It’s at 601 F Street, on the south side of Town Square. On … Continue reading →

Hey! It’s almost time for Trick-or-Treat Street in downtown Anchorage! If you’re headed down on Saturday, Oct. 29, be sure to swing by the 4th Avenue Market Place, where I’ll be reading my children’s books and showing movies of illustrations. … Continue reading →

I’m getting ready to skip off to the 16th Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. next week. (Okay, actually I’m flying, flying, flying for many hours, from Alaska time to Eastern, from 54 degrees to 90 degrees.) And I can’t wait! … Continue reading →