My children’s school district sponsors author visits a few times a year. This week, they were visited by children’s book author/illustrator Brian Lies. My son enjoyed the visit so much, he insisted we stop by our local bookstore to see if they had any of his books.

As we parked in front of the bookstore, I looked across the street and I saw this:

It’s Brian Lies’ bat car for his current book tour (which, by the way, is an AWESOME idea). He had stopped by our bookstore to sign some more copies of his books. So not only did we get a Brian Lies book, we got one with a personalized inscription for Aidan.

We were able to talk to the author/illustrator, and he was very nice, warm, and easy for children to talk to. I even got to talk to him a little about SCBWI and children’s book writing. Aidan and I were so amped leaving the store, it was all we could talk about all evening.

Brian Lies’ latest book, Bats in the Band, is about bats who love being musicians. A few of them fancy themselves rock stars, and I began to think about my reaction to this writer. It is the same reaction I have to other published children’s books writers- awe, respect, and admiration. Perhaps after many years of working on my own craft, I have a personal appreciation for the hard work and persistence required to actually get published. Add in the impact that children’s book author’s can have on children’s lives, and I can completely understand the adrenaline rush in meeting them.

I have been fortunate to meet many children’s book writers, and several of them have inscribed books for my children. I hope this book has a special place in their collection along with signed books from Jane Yolen, Mo Willems, and Julie Andrews.

Best wishes to Brian Lies on a successful book tour – and that he gets to enjoy his rockstar status a little (even if he doesn’t know he is one).