As you will recall, I was recently awarded THE gold sticker to end all gold stickers: the coveted MILLERBERY MEDAL. No doubt you read about it here, in my blog, or in other important MILLERTOWN publications. Yes, there were some OTHER big awards handed out recently (way to go, Brian Selznick and Laura Amy Shlitz...) but none of them have the cachet of the MILLERBERY.

As you can see in this picture of me with most of the judges, including the esteemed dignitary, Jennifer Miller (otherwise known as the Mayor of Millertown), awarding the medal was serious business. They read, they debated, they listed their favorite authors (never before have I had the opportunity to sit - on a list or otherwise - between Roald Dahl and J.K. Rowling... too cool!) and they narrowed things down. In the end, the choice was clear: NINETY-THREE IN MY FAMILY had won.

I was, of course, incredibly honored. Not many people know how many of my days are spent agonizing over one of my work-in-progress picture book texts, or fretting over when my next book will come out, or hashing through revision number 817 of one of my novels. But in Millertown, it is easy to forget all that. The flashbulbs pop and the kids elbow each other to strategically pose their webkinz next to my book and, well, there's that fabulous gold sticker. It reminds me of why I do what I do and why I love it so much.

So, thank you very much, MILLERBERY committee!!!