Ada and Coalgate

Today I was at one library that I have visited every summer since we don't remember when, Ada, and one library I've never been to before, Coalgate. The first two pix are from the Ada show, the second two from Coalgate. I'm keeping it short because tomorrow we have another early departure and I need to get to bed!

Ada + Super Flea Part I

I performed today at the Ada library. It wasn't quite the same without Janet Lee there. She has been the children's librarian for as long as we can remember, and we've been visiting Ada every summer for many many years in a row. She has retired, and we'll miss her! When Evalyn was a baby Janet gave her a stuffed buddy, and "Purple Monkey" has always been one of Ev's special favorites. She likes to bring him back to visit his place of origin. She brought him today, but was disappointed he didn't get to see Janet.

In a moment, some cool artwork from Evalyn. 

First, Lisa took a few photos during "Pop U p / Sit Down" at today's show...

"Sometimes it helps me feel laid back and loose..."
Evalyn is ready to "pop up"...

In the car today Evalyn started working on a comic book version of my new song, "Super Flea!" Here is the first page for you to enjoy, followed by the song lyrics it is based on. Click the picture for a slightly larger, more legible version.

Panel 1

Who's faster than a lightning strike?

Panel 2

More powerful than dynamite?

Panel 3

Yet smaller than a bumble bee?

Panel 4

It's Super Flea to the rescue!

Panel 5

And with his sleepy sidekick, Mighty Mutt

Panel 6

His mission is to rid the world of every evil nut.

To be continued... 

Miami, Afton, Ada, Wetumka

These past two days have been great! Evalyn is really enjoying her performances of "Oklahoma Annie." Here's what she had to say about performing: "I love it, love it, love it!" And her song has been one of the most mentioned as a favorite after the show, by kids and adults.

We all enjoyed visiting a couple of favorite places: the Miami library (see the photo) and the Ada library. We've been to each more times than we can count, and it was great to see all the familiar faces once again! Evalyn particularly loves the children's corner at Miami, which is painted with a scene of McGreagor's garden from the Peter Rabbit books. She gave all the little characters names and put them in a her own story in which she floated down a flooded stream on the back of a giant ladybug.

We also got to visit two new places: Afton and Wetumka. Lisa made the observation today that here in our seventeenth summer of traveling the state, we were still finding ourselves on a highway or two we'd never driven down before. Pretty cool! Both of these were small libraries where I performed among the shelves to small groups of kids and parents without the sound system. Both shows went really well; both groups were full of sharp kids and great participators. Evalyn seemed to have a lot of fun running around with a couple of boys who were hanging out at the library in Wetumka before the show.

In anticipation of the seventh and last Harry Potter book that's coming out later this summer, we've been passing the hours in the car reading to Evalyn. We're on book five right now, The Order of the Phoenix. We've been very impressed with how well she follows the stories. It's great to see her mind at work, asking questions and speculating about what's to come.

Speaking of what's to come: We get a break from the road tomorrow, but next week it's nine shows over five days, then two more four-day weeks in a row. I think the toughest part about this week for Evalyn was not having her regular play time with toys or friends. But overall she's been very happy, so hopefully this will continue to be fun for her!

See you at the library!