Virtual School Visit in Dubai, UAE

In August 2006, I went to my first SCBWI conference, in Los Angeles, and met a young woman who lives in Dubai. She had asked a question about multicultural stories at one of the sessions, and I zoomed in on her afterwards. Funny, as this is rather untypical of me. We exchanged email addresses, and later on, found ourselves attending one of Uma Krishnaswami's online workshops. We've always kept in touch, since, and a few weeks back, Maha sent me an email saying that she had just read Amadi's Snowman with her 4th grade class. I was thrilled, of course. Another stop for Amadi's global travels. I asked her if she would like me to do a Skype author visit ? Maya responded with a resounding YES! She set up a Skype connexion at her school, and we both did some research. Elizabeth Dulemba offers great information on her website, and I also visited the Skype An Author Network. Once we had figured out the time difference between Dubai and India (only 1 hour and half), we did a Skype test a couple of days before. We were ready!

Here is an account and some pictures of my first virtual visit -- at the Bradenton Preparatory Academy in Dubai, January 27, 2010.

Hyderabad, India, 10:28 AM : My desk is ready. Computer is on. Skype is on. And I have my big writer's file, the dummy and the book close by.

At 10:29 AM, I call the school's number, and almost immediately, the children at Bradenton Prep appear on my screen. Out of curiosity, I checked the distance between Hyderabad, India, and Dubai, UAE. It is 1588 miles (2555 km), but thanks to Skype, I had the whole class with me, in my office, and they had me, right in their classroom in Dubai.

I worried about technical or connexion glitches, but there were none. The children did have to get up and stand closer to the class computer for me to hear their questions clearly, but other than that, no frozen image, no loss of sound or noises that force us to stop or call again.

And here is what it looked like on the other side:

Thank you to the 20 pupils for their interesting questions and comments. And special thanks to their teachers, Maha Shehadeh (who is also the author of a picture book titled Raya's Globe, published by Jerboa, and about to be translated into Arabic) and Kingsley Griffin for making it happen, and sending me the pictures. It was FUN !

Amadi gets his own podcast review

What a nice surprise - and a new experience for me, also... hearing people talk about the book, explain why they like it, only I can't see them. Listen to Andrea Ross and Mark Blevis at Just One More Book as they talk about Amadi's Snowman.

Thank you, Andrea and Mark.

Reading in Hyderabad

When we first moved to Hyderabad, we often drove by a lovely building surrounded by a garden, and I always longed to walk inside. 

I finally did. My daughter took a couple of pottery workshops, there. And then, I attended a reading by Scottish author Margaret Donald in the lovely amphitheater at the back of the cultural center. 

If someone had told me, then, that three and half years later, I would be sitting under that frangipani tree, reading my book to an audience of children and their parents, it is quite likely that I would have laughed out loud, even as I secretly wished such a dream could come true.

Well, it did, on Friday evening.

My  youngest daughter here is doing her own reading, before everyone arrived.



Thank you to everyone who came to share that moment with me.

More Nigerian children read Amadi's story

I first met Kelly Jo Bahry online, in November, during Amadi's blog tour. She lives in Yola, where Ramesh Raparthy shot this lovely video (as a reminder, Ramesh is a Film Instructor at the American University of Nigeria, in Yola, but he's from Hyderabad !) and sent me an email, saying she was coming to India in December. Of course, I invited her to visit us. In the end, she didn't come to Hyderabad, but we did meet her in Delhi, and we spent a couple of days together. Our children loved Kelly Jo, who is the kind of human being one wants and needs around at all times : warm, funny, independent, smart, and down to earth. Kelly Jo also happens to be the Director of Study Abroad and Service Learning, for the American University of Nigeria, in Yola.
She brought back several copies of Amadi's Snowman to Nigeria, and has been sharing Amadi's story with children, over there. She sent me some photos.





I'm so happy that children in Nigeria get to see and read the book. Thank you, Kelly Jo!

Amadi in Italy

Please, visit Valentina Acava Mmaka's blog, Kabiliana, for an uplifting and fun report on the workshop that several children attended, in Italy, to celebrate Amadi's Snowman. 

Thank you so much, Valentina ! I really enjoyed looking at all the pictures, and drawings, and reading the letters that the children wrote to Amadi.

DAY 1 OF AMADI'S SNOWMAN GLOBAL VIRTUAL TOUR

Kedu ! Hello everyone!

See the boy on the cover above? That's ME ! Amadi, from Igbo Land in Nigeria. I'm so happy to be here that my legs and my arms and even my heart want to bound and bounce all around. Problem is, it makes it hard to type on a computer keyboard at the same time. So I will sit still long enough to tell you that we are going to spend the whole month of November together. 

Yes! This is the global virtual book tour for "Amadi's Snowman" and Mama Katia - the author, Katia Novet Saint-Lot - says we will travel around the world to celebrate the release of my story as a picture book. We will visit schools in the US, and in Nigeria, in Haiti, and in India.

Oups, Mama Katia is dictating these words to me, now, and she's talking too fast. I think she's really excited, too. She says that we will participate in a global conversation about books, reading, and what they mean for everyone, children as well as grown-ups.

We will visit many, many blogs, we will learn about sustainable libraries in several countries around the world, and we'll spend some time with Mama Dimitrea Tokunbo, the illustrator.

There will be trivia questions, quizzes,  and prizes to win.

We'll also have a feature called "Where in the World is Amadi?" with pictures of children reading the book in different places, and some video clips, and a lot more.

We'll have a blast, and do you understand why my whole body wobbles from wanting to bound and bounce?

Do come back, and enjoy our journey. Send comments, and feel free to participate so we can all rejoice in the magic and power of books. (these are Mama Katia's words. Then again, she's right. Books ARE magic. I know that now.)

Kodi ! Bye !

Signed : your friend from Nigeria, AMADI

___________________________________________

Hello, I'm Katia Novet Saint-Lot, your host for this global virtual tour, and after Amadi's introduction, I only need to add a few words. I do hope that you will enjoy this journey as much as we enjoyed preparing it. 

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS AMADI?

With this feature, we intend to follow Amadi and the book, as they show up in different places around the world. So, wherever you are, do send me pictures of your child (or children) with the book at katianovet@gmail.com, and I'll publish them as I have done, here, and here.

Today, we have Peter and Patrick, in Enugu, still wearing their school uniform from The British School of Enugu. This is really special, as Peter is the same age as my daughter Kora, and they used to attend the same class. Patrick was still a toddler when we left Enugu, and look at him, now. Finally, their mother, Dr. Theresa Madubuko, was my invaluable contact in Enugu, and tirelessly conducted research for me, asking all sorts of questions to anyone and everyone on my behalf, including her patients at the hospital where she works.

Dalu, Peter and Patrick!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates loot on Treasure Island ,and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life." Walt Disney

___________________________

Come back tomorrow. We will post our first trivia and visit the Bees Knees Reads blog.

After Booklist and Kirkus, the School Library Journal !

Excerpt from the review written by Susannah Richards, Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic.

"Amadi's experiences are genuine and come across naturally in the narrative. The vibrant illustrations depict the setting and bring richness and depth to the story. An important addition to any library, this offering fills a necessary niche for current-day stories from other cultures and focuses attention on reading as an important and satisfying accomplishment."

I received my first email from a reader, today

I'm the kind of person who always worries about annoying people. Definitely not the type to stare at an actor in a restaurant or in the street, and I would rather die than walk up to a famous person to ask for their autograph. Not that I'm anything famous (Ha!), but it felt so funny to write autographs for the children at Vidyaranya, recently. They were so serious and eager about it. I loved it, frankly.

Well, today, I got an email from one of them, with the title " Reading is Power." Seems the message stuck. Yeah !!!

It was very short, and so sweet, and I was so happy to answer.  Thank you, Uddhav.

Another wonderful review on Saffron Tree

Saffron Tree aims to "bring to you an eclectic mix - children's books from India and the US, and pretty much all over the world that will help children connect to their cultural roots and appreciate other cultures..." 

Follow the link below to read their review of Amadi's Snowman. As I said in the comment section, I had shivers running up and down my back as I read it.

http://www.saffrontree.org/2008/10/amadis-snowman.html

Two great reviews for Amadi's Snowman...

One in none other than the Kirkus Review website!

"Snowmen are not often found in small towns in Nigeria, but Amadi discovers one in, of all places, a book! The elementary-grade boy can do his sums but hates his weekly reading lesson. He wants only to be a trader, an honorable job for an "Igbo man of Nigeria" as he thinks of himself, but his small-businesswoman mother knows that the world is changing and everyone needs an education. Hoping to escape his tutor in the marketplace, he spots Chima, an older boy, actually enjoying a book with a picture that Amadi can't identify. What could be so white and round and have a carrot for a nose? Know-it-all Amadi starts to change his attitude when he realizes that there are things outside of his village life that he wants to learn about. Tokunbo's palette contrasts the bright colors of people's clothing, both contemporary and traditional, with the light-brown muddiness of the village roads and houses in her vigorous paintings. Purposeful, yet without the heavy didacticism of some books on the topic of literacy, this tale shines a welcome light on cultural differences. (Picture book. 5-8)"

And the other one in Foreword Magazine.

Today is a very good day :)

Review on Booklist

Amadi's Snowman got a great review in the July issue of Booklist!

Booklist, 7/1/08, American Library Association
Amadi, an Igbo boy in sun-drenched Nigeria, sees no point in learning 
to read, until he sees a picture of a snowman in a book and is curious 
to find out more. He wants to learn about the far-off country where 
frozen rain falls from the sky - a world so different from his own - 
and the chance to read about it fills him with joy. Children will enjoy 
reading about Amadi's life in the village, depicted in the earth-toned, 
intimate scenes. It's a nice reversal that young children will be able 
to grasp - what looks exotic and faraway to one person is a place where 
someone else lives.

Book Review on PaperTigers' blog

Papertigers has a lovely review of Amadi's Snowman by Janet Brown.

My first interview ever.

Well, I was just given my first interview ever. I mean, not an interview of someone else where I thought up the questions, no, no, an interview where little me actually answers the questions asked by the person doing the interview!

Annette Gulati is a writer - her stories are appearing in Highlights for Children, and just wait, because I can bet you that I'll soon have the opportunity of posting an interview of her in this blog, too - who left a comment on my blog, last year, and we then met each other in Uma's online class. She writes about the many tribulations of the The Writing Wild Life, in her blog, and you'll find the interview by clicking on this link :

http://thewritingwildlife.blogspot.com/2008/06/author-interview-with-katia-novet-saint.html

Thanks so much, Annette. You just made me feel almost famous, for a few minutes. I think I could get used to this :))

The book is now officially out !

Hurray ! Everyone listen very carefully, as this is Ifeanyi Amadi talking, well, writing. My dear authorly mother is out there living her life, and I couldn't resist sneaking in to shout out the news to the whole world. It is my story, after all.

Finally, today is the big day ! The book is out. Go and get it. Come on! Well, no, wait until you finish reading this post, and then, do rush to the nearest bookstore to buy Amadi's Snowman, yes?

You'll see that the cover of the book is gorgeous. I really love the way Dimitrea, my second mother the artist, worked with colors. It's sunny and warm, just like back home. And the way she painted that snowman up in the sky is so much like what I imagined when I tried to make sense of things, in my very unique way. I'm not saying anything more, because, well, because you have to buy the book, of course! How else will you find out what that snowman is doing up in that Nigerian sky, and what he means to me in the story ?

Oups ! Mom just arrived and caught me at the computer. She doesn't mind. She's smiling. She even asked me to say thank you to all who where involved in the creation of the book : the publisher, Jennifer Bunting, the editor, Audrey Maynard, and her assistant, Karen, the lovely publicist at Tilbury Publishers, Sarah McGinnis, and of course, Dimitrea Tokunbo, for bringing the book to life with her colorful art. She also said to not forget the people to whom the book is dedicated : her husband, Michel, with very special thanks to her friend back in Enugu, Theresa Madubuko, who read several millions drafts and answered just as many questions, and Uma Krishnaswami, who is her favorite teacher in the whole writers' universe.

I'm glad to report that she ended this sloppy thank you moment with a big kiss to me, because after all, if it weren't for me, there would never have been a story in the first place, and no story, no book.

Now, it is my turn to thank my authorly mother for making me famous. Imagine, me, Ifeanyi Amadi, hero of a book that will hopefully be read by many children all over the US, and I hope, back home, and who knows, maybe even all over the world. Isn't that something? Of course, as a pretty exceptional Igbo man of Nigeria, I deserve nothing less, but no matter. I'm totally thrilled to have my own book, and so, I say : "Dalu, mama imela." It means "thank you, Mother, well done," in my Igbo language.

So, please, if you live in the US, run to the nearest book stores - no, scratch that, run to ALL the book stores in your vicinity, and also those not in your immediate vicinity, and look for my book, and make sure you turn the cover so it faces all the prospective buyers who happen to walk by the shelves. And if you don't live in the US, the book is available for order on amazon.com and barnes and noble.com.

You can leave comments on this blog for me, if you'd like. I promise to reply.

P.S. Watch this space in the coming months. Mother the author is preparing a virtual book launch on this very blog. It should take place sometime at the end of October and there will be interviews, virtual school events, a tour of other blogs, AND books will be given away ! Hurray!

The book is here !

Last night, my husband brought home the DHL box sent by the printer in South Korea. I just had to record the event for the blog.



Yours truly, still looking as if she doesn't quite believe it.

Of course, I had to show it to my favorite fan in the whole world. Luckily, my daughter was not yet asleep. For months, she's been asking me : "when will you get the book?" And to my diverse answers, she always gave a sigh and added one of her favorite expressions : "I can't wait."



Another month, and it should be in bookstores !

Two more blurbs

Jane Kurtz and Cynthia Leitich Smith have both written a blurb for Amadi's Snowman.

"Katia Novet Saint-Lot has given us an important and moving glimpse into the curiosity, wonder, and knowledge a book can bring—and into the life of children in modern African cities. As Yohannes Gebregeorgis, founder of Ethiopia Reads, says, 'Books change lives.' How terrific to have a story that shows how and why." —Jane Kurtz, Children's Book Author

"Amadi's first-ever glimpse at a snowman--one depicted in the pages of a book--inspires him to transform from a resistant to an enthusiastic student of reading. Children will identify with Amadi's initial reluctance, his mixed feelings about a new challenge, and his attempts to rationalize staying the same. Yet they also will likely be inspired, as Amadi is, by the possibilities of reading, the way it can fill one's heart and shine a light on the unknown." —Cynthia Leitich Smith, Children's Book Author

Thank you, both, so very much.

And so, what happens, now? Not much. The proofs have been sent out to the printer in South Korea. It's going to be another few months before I can hold the book in my hands. So, off to write another one, now. There is nothing better to do, and nothing I'd rather do either :)

A blurb from Andrea Davis Pinkney

Andrea Davis Pinkney is v-p and editor-at-large at Scholastics, and here is what she says :

"Amadi's Snowman is a beautiful tribute to the power of reading and one boy's journey of self-discovery through books. Dimitrea Tokunbo's evocative illustrations underscore the loving interchange between a mother and son. The richly hued paintings invite us to enjoy Nigeria's many splendors and provide the perfect stage for Katia Novet Saint-Lot's imaginative story."

Thank you, Andrea Davis Pinkney !

I will soon post the cover of the book. I need to figure out how to convert it from a .pdf file into .jpg. Anyone out there who is a bit more computer savvy than me - in other words, basically everybody ?

Update on my coming picture book

Much has happened over the past few weeks regarding the publication of my picture book, to be released sometime in May 2008 : Amadi's Snowman.

The illustrations are done and I'm now anxiously waiting to see the proofs - I've only seen the dummy, so far. The good news is that I received a first positive critique from Michael Afolayan, Ph. D. who was consulted for authenticity's sake (the story is set in Nigeria and the characters are Igbo.) Here is what he said :

"This write-up is respectful of the culture in which it is set. It is a breath of fresh air to read of a children fiction set in Africa that does not irritate the eye of the African reader with condescending language and stereotypical depictions. After all, when was the last time we read an African children fiction whose theme is literacy with a good end? For these and some other reasons, I think this is a story book that is worth reading."

Not too bad, hey?

And so, the waiting game continues.

The DUMMY for my picture book is here !

I received the dummy for my coming picture book, Amadi's Snowman.

Oh boy, Oh boy !

I won't say anything more for now. I read somewhere about an editor reminding authors that they read blogs, too. In other words, refrain from disclosing too much.

Still, I can at least share the thrill of opening the envelop and setting eyes on the face of my boy for the first time. Of course, my boy having had to change names, and also to have his face created by another person, means that he's no longer my boy only. Still...

Let me add that the dummy is a bunch of sketches, rather crude drawings. But, it gives me the page breaks, it gives an idea about the artist's vision for my book, and, as mentioned above, it begins to give a face to the characters in the story, to show the settings, the action.

There is much more to come. Colors. The drawings will be refined. Still, it's one step along the publishing process.

It felt weird, surreal, to be leafing through the photocopied, stapled dummy, last night. I'd had it sent to my husband's office address, to make sure it didn't get lost or unnecessarily held up at the post office - our postman delivers mail on a bicycle, and we live all the way up a hill, so who knows on which day he might decide he just doesn't feel up to producing such an effort - so I got it in the evening. My 7-year-old daughter was with me, and she already wants to color it. I think I'll let her.