Tricia Brown Books

It seems I’ve just returned from Southeast, and I’m packing again to head back north. This time, I’ll be traveling to Anchorage, the Mat-Su Valley, Fairbanks, North Pole, and as far as little Salcha, Alaska.

First on the schedule is the annual READALASKA BOOK & CRAFT FAIR, a Thanksgiving holiday weekend tradition held at the Anchorage Museum for many years. On Nov. 25, 26, and 27, you’ll find me signing and selling my books at the Tricia Brown Books table upstairs in the atrium.

I’ll be joined by four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King, who’s selling his newly released second edition of Cold Hands, Warm Heart, a wonderful collection of his adventures on the trail (which I edited, by the way). He’s added three new stories to this expanded edition, along with dozens of new photos.

Another big event scheduled for Sat., Nov. 26, is POLICE NAVIDAD, a free, family-oriented gathering at Anchorage’s Dena’ina Center on 7th. There’s Breakfast with Santa, entertainment, games, food, and lots of kid activities. Jeff King and I will break away from ReadAlaska for a reading at Police Navidad. We’ll be on stage from 10:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., so please make it a date!

Jeff and I also will be reading later that day (at 1 p.m.) at the Anchorage Museum auditorium. The Museum Gift Shop is hosting our reading and will supply lots of books for the signing that follows immediately after the reading.

In the weeks that follow, I’ll be visiting schools and libraries all along the railbelt. I hope we get a chance to meet during my winter book tour! See you soon!

Ready to Visit YOUR School or Library

This summer, I’ve been busy working on some book editing projects for a couple of publishers, but I’m also working on new books for coming seasons.

I’m excited about three fresh-off-the-presses books to share, and I’d love to visit your favorite bookstore, school, or library for a reading or signing. I have multi-media presentations for each of these books:

The World-Famous Alaska Highway: A Guide to the ALCAN and Other Wilderness Roads of the North (Fulcrum Publishing, 2011). For those of you who are planning a trip up the Alaska Highway this summer, it’s not too late to pick up the 4th edition. And now is the time to begin your planning for a trip in 2012.

Patsy Ann of Alaska: The True Story of a Dog (Sasquatch Books, 2011). This is a fun read-to-me book for pre-K to 2nd- or 3rd-graders. It’s a wonderful tale of a dog that belonged to a whole community in Depression-era Juneau.

Musher’s Night Before Christmas (Pelican Publishing, 2011). I’m setting up Fall visits now all over the country for this new version of an old classic.

So drop me a line and let me know when you’d like me to come. Things are shaping up now for September through December!

We just got some good news on this already favorite book! The Alaska Association of School Librarians has selected Patsy Ann of Alaska as a Battle of the Books choice for K-2 readers in the 2011-12 school year. If you want a head start on your reading, it should be in bookstores in about another month, and it’s available for pre-order today, so you can reserve a copy now.

Also, do contact me if you’d like me to visit your school or library, please! I’d be happy to share this or any other of my children’s books with your students. 

I got another good report along with that news of Patsy Ann. One of my other kid books, The Itchy Little Musk Ox, was picked as a Battle of the Books alternate! I’m always happy to hear from teachers, parents, and grandparents, who report how often they’ve read the story with their favorite children. That one was beautifully illustrated by Debra Dubac of Anchorage.

HELLO, SANTA CLAUS HOUSE!

Last week I had a fruitful time visiting three elementary schools in the Fairbanks/North Pole area, I and read Alaskan Night Before Christmas to more than a thousand children during three busy days. The kids needed very little prodding to get them into the spirit of the season, and a few assemblies burst into “Jingle Bells” at the end of my presentation. What a fun time!

On Tuesday afternoon, I stopped by Santa Claus House, where I bought a few special gifts for the family, and paused for a photo with Santa himself. While the two of us smiled for the camera, the big guy was talking through his teeth, asking about my parka and saying his wife would be needing a new one in about a year. “It’s a Laura Wright Parky,” I answered, and told him how and where to get one for his lady. I get more comments on that coat! And having kids mistake me as Mrs. Santa is a treat, too. But sometimes it backfires.

On this trip to Fairbanks, I joined my sister for her Christmas-tree shopping. We were leaving Alaska Feed as a father and son were coming in. The dad had already entered the store when the little boy stopped and gaped at me in my parka. He said in a hushed voice, “Mrs. Santa!” I didn’t answer, “No, no, that’s not me!” Instead, I just asked, “Have you been good?” Instantly, I wished I hadn’t. The boy’s smile disappeared and his eyes dropped to the floor. (“Oh, no!” I thought. “Why did I say anything!?”) And then the tender-hearted child was gone inside the store. I wish I could have told him that I know he’s a good boy, because only a good boy would have responded that way. But my opportunity had passed.

I hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas, surrounded by family and thankful for the best Christmas gift ever: God’s Son come in the flesh.

-20 IN FAIRBANKS

But the temps didn’t seem to bother Coco at all. She and her handler Opal Welton came over to my sister’s place for a visit, and we took turns taking pictures, of course! Coco started digging in the snow and snacked on some of that tasty grass.

The experience turned bizarre and wonderful when Coco came into the house for a walkabout. The reindeer knew just where the ends of her antlers were, and nothing was knocked over. Opal said just make sure she doesn’t see any mirrors or her window reflection, or Coco’s natural curiosity might get a little too aggressive.

Sometimes Opal brings Coco for school visits. This reindeer is tame and smaller than you might imagine. She just hops into the minivan, and she’s ready to go.

Did you know that reindeer ankles (and caribou’s, of course) make a fascinating clicking sound with each step? I could hear Coco’s clicking when she was just walking around the kitchen and living room. Those who’ve been fortunate to witness a caribou migration are blown away by the sound. For our part, we just sing, “Up on the house top, click-click-click!”

Alaskan Night Before Christmas

(or how one selfish caribou almost wrecked Christmas for all of us!)

If you’ve read this Christmas story, you know about how Kotzebue the Caribou lands on the naughty list—for a short time, at least—for making Christmas an “all about me” proposition. It’s also the story of how Star the reindeer shows the spirit of Christmas better than Kotz. Alan Stacy painted the illustrations for this cute story of one crazy Christmas Eve in Alaska.

Right now, I’m packing for a flight to Fairbanks/North Pole and a series of school visits that are bound to be fun. This year, I’ll be stopping by University Park Elementary, Ticasuk Brown Elementary, and Nordale Elementary. I’m looking forward to meeting all those great kids!

Meeting my readers is a pleasure that I can’t describe. Most often, I write alone, and read and reread alone. (There’s a lot of mulling over in writing a children’s picture book.) But when I get to read to a big group of kids, their interest and energy feeds me and inspires me to get busy on a new batch of stories. I love visiting schools! Let me know if you’d like me to come to your school this winter, or next spring. Meantime, Merry Christmas to all!

Coming Soon!

I’ve been busy lately reading page proofs on a couple of new books due out this Spring.

The first is a story that captured my interest years ago when I wrote about a special dog named Patsy Ann for LitSite Alaska and the Alaska Digital Archives. (The grant-funded project allowed me to write online content to support/explain a fraction of the archival images in the collection.) As I wrote the piece for adult readers, it occurred to me that this would make a good children’s book.

Patsy Ann was an independent sort who refused to belong to any one household. She roamed Juneau and often stayed at the Longshoremen’s Union Hall. She was deaf from birth, but always sensed when a steamship was approaching Juneau, and she hurried to meet each one. She was so popular among the townspeople and the tourists that the mayor named her “Official Greet.” It’s a sweet story of a dog whose presence was so missed even fifty years after her death, the Friends of Patsy Ann installed a bronze statue of the dear girl on Juneau’s docks. So she’s still getting lots of petting. The first edition will be published by Sasquatch Books of Seattle, Washington.

BOOK RELEASE NUMBER 2!

The 4th edition of the World-Famous Alaska Highway, published by Fulcrum of Golden, Colorado, is slated for release this Spring, too. Like the Patsy Ann book, it’s already available for preorders, while I’m about to begin proofing the first round of page proofs. It’s so heavy with detail that I’ve appreciated my editor’s help tremendously. She has a good eye.

I hope the new edition inspires many of you to make a plan. Pack up the TV or the car and head north. For fun, I’ve included many stories of early travelers on the road, and some great historical photos . . . plus a good selection of those wildlife photos that I wrote about while we were traveling. Check it out and start scheduling.

Meanwhile, I’m available for school visits, and I’d love to come to your favorite elementary school to read any of my children’s books. Let’s talk!