SCREEN FREE STOP: NEW YORK CITY, BABY!

So great to make a pitstop at home base to read and sign at the TRIBECCA FAMILY FILM FESTIVAL! My friends at WORD Bookstore in Brooklyn supplied the books!

I talked to the kids about my books and then headed over to the story tent.

I signed tons of books and read to some pretty cute kids. Lots of fans and lots of fun. Everyone had a great time.

Well, almost everyone.

SCREEN FREE STOP: DALLAS, TX!

What's TLA? It's the TEXAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, of course!

I was invited to speak and sign my books at the mothership of Texas librarians held in Fort Worth, Texas. It's a place where librarians from all over the great state o' Texas gather to meet, greet and what else- TALK BOOKS!

It's also a place where authors and illustrators are invited to do the same. I knew it was going to be an incredible weekend, so I needed all the strength I could muster to keep up with the activities (I didn't want to miss a thing).

I started with a big breakfast (also known as the most important meal of the day- next to lunch and dinner- oh, yes, and several snacks). I needed my breakfast in a hurry! No need to put it on a plate, buddy. I'll eat it right out of the skillet! Yee-hah!

It's a who's who of children's book authors and illustrators at TLA. I ran into new chum Bob Shea and old chum Tony DiTerlizzi. 

Of course Doug was there!

I also got a chance to chat with my friend Jarrett Krosoczka, who suddenly put on a set of headphones and pushed me into a chair.

Why was he doing this?

Ah! Now I know why. He wanted to interview me for his podcast  Book Report on SiriusXM's Kid's Place Live!

I had a lovely dinner hosted by my publisher Random House with Tabatha Perry, Shelly Lane, me, Marianne Follis, Betty Carter, JK, Julie Duetzel-Glair, Susi Grissom.

Hey! Look who I ran into! Michael Buckley, Tom Angleberger (what? again?) and Tony DiTerlizzi. We were thinking about starting our own boy band, but decided we're probably a little too old.

Whew! What a swell time I had!

Time to saddle up and head on into the sunset to the next Screen Free Stop.

Adios, amigos!

SCREEN FREE STOP: SEATTLE!

My first stop in Seattle was the St Alphonsus School, where I continued to spread the word: UNPLUG!

This was a super bright group of kids who had some excellent questions. One girl asked, "Which is the best publisher to publish with?"

That kid is going to rule the world some day.

It may look like I'm disco dancing, but I'm actually reading DOUG UNPLUGGED. And yes, I know I'm using a screen to do it! But I also talk about how screens can be used as tools and it's all about a BALANCE between being plugged in and unplugging.

So I unplugged and used good ol' marker and paper.

The next stop was Schmitz Park Elementary with Bob Staake, where we got some help with our drawings.

Then it was off to 3rd Place Books with Bob Staake and Chris Raschka, where we read and did a little drawing demo for the kids. 

Now for a well-deserved dinner!

Yes, I know it looks kinda gross, but oysters are dee-lish! Believe it or not, you may actually like them when you become a grown up.

Thank you for a wonderful visit, Seattle.

Ciao, everybody!

Onward!

SCREEN FREE STOP: LOS ANGELES AND SAN FRANCISCO!

Oh man! The Los Angeles Time Festival of Books was FANTASTIC! I was whisked to the hospitality tent for a quick tech check, sound check and snacks and saw the schedule for the day. What a lineup!

I haven't spoken to the Justice League since they asked me to join the team, but I had to turn them down. Fighting super villains left me little time to write and illustrate my books, so they hired their second choice, Aquaman. He was a nice guy and I wished him lots of luck with the League (they have excellent medical and dental coverage), but I have one complaint- he ate the last chocolate chip cookie on the snack table.

I popped by the book store tent and saw a nice display of my books.

Uh oh! Time to take the Target stage!

I am talked to the kids about my new book DOUG UNPLUGGED and SCREEN FREE WEEK. We talked about how we use computers to help us in our everyday lives, but we also need to take some time to unplug.

This was my view from the stage. Pretty cool!

I also read DOUG UNPLUGGED.

Whew! That was hard work, but fun. Time for lunch.

I grabbed a bite with my children's book chums, the talented and lovely Lisa Yee, the talented and, well, I wouldn't say lovely, but talented and quite funny Tom Angleberger and my longtime pal, Dan Santat. Lisa brought her buddy Peepy who hopped up on the table.

Now off to San Francisco! On my way out of Los Angeles, I saw some pretty cool stuff.

Here I am with fellow Screen Free Brethren, Bob Staake at the popular San Francisco children's book store, THE READING BUG, spreading the word of UNPLUGGING!

I also visited another lovely book store, BOOKS, INC. It seems that they have excellent taste in counter posters.

Sayonara, gang.

Onward!

THANK YOU, PLEASE TOUCH MUSEUM OF PHILADELPHIA!

I took a short break from the SCREEN FREE TOUR to visit Philadelphia's fabulous PLEASE TOUCH MUSEUM!

It's a pretty awesome place. You MUST come here if you're in the area (or not). Incredible architecture and plenty of things for me- um, the kids- to climb on.

My book BOY + BOT won their book award! Here I am with the other winners, Maria Van Lieshout, Ame Dyckman (author of Boy + Bot and odd hair color enthusiast) and G. Brian Karas.

Here I am with Ame in front of a cool display of our book and some vintage toys. Sadly, it was locked up tight, otherwise I would've snagged a few of those robots!

Here we are presenting our book to the kids.

Hey, my stomach is grumbling! I'm hungry. Well, since I'm in Philly...

Why not grab a cheesesteak? I see Pat's Steaks up ahead.

Dee-lish! I got mine with Whiz and onions. Yummy.

In case you didn't know, there's a good-natured rivalry between Pat's and another place for cheesesteaks, Geeno's. In fact it's just a short walk, so as I lick my fingers, I make my way there.

There it is! Mighty Geeno's like a beacon in the distance beckoning me.

Oh, man! This one's good, too! I'm sorry, but I can't decide. I'll have to do a taste test again, but not today!

 Back at the museum I ponder if there's such a thing as too many rubber ducks.

I run into a fan.

And check out the museum shop. Great stuff!

Time to hit the road again. Adios!

SCREEN FREE WEEK STOP: HARLEYSVILLE, PA!

The SCREEN FREE WEEK tour has officially begun!

I was off to a flying start, but not these guys. Why are these pigeons in NYC's Penn Station at the Am Track waiting area? They don't have tickets! Don't they know they can fly?

I arrive at Harleysville, PA and visit Skippack Elementary. What a great school! We all had a blast talking about different ways to unplug.

There's always time for a panini and a little soup.

Then I was whisked to the popular HARLEYSVILLE BOOKS! Here I am with owner, the lovely Shelley Plumb.

How wonderful it was to see the DOUG UNPLUGGED display and read to the kids, but it's time for me to press on and spread the word of UNPLUGGING. Aloha!

HELLO NEBRASKA!

I begin my journey to Omaha, Nebraska to visit the Joslyn Museum of Art to give some presentations about my retrospective exhibit on display there, THE FANTASTIC WORLD OF DAN YACCARINO.

But somehow stepped into the 1980's vision of the future at the airport. Screens everywhere! Energy drinks! Futuristic handheld devises! Somebody point me to the food pill bar.

I see that it continues to be Logan's Run even in the restroom.

I LOVE it when I visit a school and see cool things like this. It makes me feel so welcome.

Great group of kids! We discussed SCREEN FREE WEEK.

And I did a drawing of DOUG from DOUG UNPLUGGED.

There's always time for a quick checkup. Not sure about this guy's medical license. It was hanging on his collar.

I read some books at the Omaha Children's Museum.

And then I met a few friends for lunch at DINKERS, which makes the claim of serving the best burger in Omaha.

Mmmm! It was messy, but very good! However, I cannot substantiate this claim until I've had a burger at every burger place in the city. This may require a second trip.

My buddy finally showed up. So great to see my old college roommate Darth Maul. His old nickname was Skippy (he hated that). Did I ever mention we went to school together?

However some old friends weren't doing so well.

So I bid farewell to Omaha, a cool city and fun place to visit! Thank you for a wonderful time.