Ohhh, if you have bat confetti, combine that with Amy's idea and use the mini-bats to mark out the map.

I'm profoundly irritated.

This was the email I got:

Before I put you on the schedule I had a few questions. I'm assuming that you would like to sell your books. Have you thought about how you would like to do that? Also, do you plan on doing something besides reading aloud? It might be a good idea to have some sort of activity to engage the kids in as well.

Have I thought about how I would like to sell books? Sure. You are a bookstore. You buy some books. I read to the audience and answer their questions. They get a book, bring it to the register, and PROFIT!

You should be, that's a dickful email.

Between Amazon refusing to sell the book, and no actual reviews of the book, I'm just going to sit here and be sort of embarrassed.

Expecting you to be an educator or a kid wrangler is way crazy, Allyson. You're an author. You wrote a book for kids. You could hate them or be bad with them--it doesn't mean your book shouldn't sell. Why are they conflating all these responsibilities?

You should reply to that email like this:

"You're a bookstore, so I assume you have books on how not to be an idiot."

Why are they conflating all these responsibilities?

So they don't have to?

That is a ham-handed email for sure.

I like the idea of kids making maps of all the places they've been, like Sam.

Thanks for the referral, Ginger. I saw that shirt jacket before. I think the shoulder/elbow patches rule it out for my dad. At that price I may consider it for myself, though. The JC Penny order arrived yesterday. It's a St. John's Bay grey/blue plaid quilted flannel and it looks really great. I'm bummed they didn't have one in my size. I think he'll be pleased with it.

King Arthur Flour is offering free shipping with $50 purchase. They make loads of great stuff including gluten-free flour for those who want to try some GF home baking. [link]

WTF, cow-orker!? Do you have any concept that other people might find a) playing music at work, and b) singing along with it to be annoying?

To be fair(ish) to the bookstore, they're probably looking for as many things to list on any posters or publicity items as possible. A lot of kids won't just sit to be read to -- they want an activity or something extra, and so do their parents, because that keeps them occupied longer.

Kids also love to be able to *get* something, and taking home a small project is that sort of boon.