Some illustrators I know post videos of themselves drawing their artwork. It’s fascinating to watch. So I thought you folks might be interested to see how MY creative process works…

BOOKS ARE DEAD. NOBODY READS ANYMORE. WE’RE ALL STARING AT OUR PHONES. That’s what I keep hearing. So why is it that Barnes & Noble is opening 60 new stores this year? How come 500 indie bookstores opened in the last year, and now there are 3 times the number of indies there were 10 years ago?

Mersana is 9 and lives in Iran. She says “Your books are exciting and I get immersed in reading them. It is as if I am in that environment.” Mersana reads My Weird School in Persian. They’ve also been translated for kids in Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Korea, Italy, & China.

You may have noticed that I like to seek out weird places to visit when I’m on vacation. If you feel the same way, google “Roadside America-Guide to Uniquely Odd Tourist Attractions” and “Atlas Obscura: Curious and Wondrous Travel Destinations.” That’s where I go to find these places.

KEEPING PORTLAND WEIRD: Who needs hiking, biking, and rafting? My last stop in Oregon was “Peculiarium,” a wonderfully wacky museum/store full of oddities. It was a fun trip. Home tonight.

We came to Oregon so we could experience the state’s natural beauty—like the largest fork in the world, and The Vacuum Cleaner Museum.

Live near Portland, Oregon? I signed all my books yesterday in the Barnes & Noble stores at Clackamas Town Center Mall and Cascade Station. Go get ‘em!

Handy grammar tip: placing a colon in a sentence can dramatically change its meaning. For example… Jane ate her friend’s lunch. Jane ate her friend’s colon. See the difference?

Guess where I am?

READER OF THE WEEK is Finn, a 7-year-old from Minnesota who has 83 My Weird School books! The kid must be a speedreader! His favorite is the newest one--“Mr. DiPilla Is a Gorilla!”

Ebook fans! HarperCollins has 4 of my books on sale during July. Go grab ‘em: www.harpercollins.com/pages/childr... ·Flashback Four #1: The Lincoln Project! ($1.99) ·Bummer in the Summer! ($2.99) ·We’re Red, Weird, and Blue! What Can We Do? ($2.99) ·Miss Child Has Gone Wild! ($1.99)

Audio fans! “Lucille Ball Didn’t Have Eyebrows?” is 60% off (just $3.60) until July 30th. Plus, get 2 more audiobooks free. Can’t beat that deal. Did you know that Lucy could pick up radio signals with her teeth? You’ll learn weird facts like that & more. Go to: www.audiobooks.com/promotions/p...

If you missed the review of the “My Weird School” movie in The New York Times the other day, here’s the link: www.nytimes.com/2026/07/03/m...

Hitting the beach this summer? Bring along some children’s books (like MINE!) for the kiddies. Hey, they can’t swim ALL the time. And they need something to keep them occupied on the drive there and back. Just ask Milo from Alabama.

Did you know there’s a fun 30-second trailer for the My Weird School movie? Neither did I! But it’s on YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMz3...). And if you haven’t seen the movie yet, it’s on Apple TV and Prime Video. @HarperKidsBooks

On July 4th, I posted a photo of George Washington’s watch with his tooth attached to it. It got 47 likes. The next day, I posted a photo of Washington’s life mask, & it got 7,300 likes. What’s up with THAT? Well, here’s a pic of Washington’s eyeglasses & a lock of his hair. Let’s see how this does.

Q: Why did Vincent Van Gogh become a painter? A: He didn’t have an ear for music.

Happy 250th. This is George Washington’s face! French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon put a layer of grease & a layer of plaster on GW. After it hardened, the mold was removed & plaster was poured into it to make a life mask. It was used as a model for the marble statue at the Virginia Capitol.

This gold pocket watch has something unique attached to it—George Washington’s tooth! Happy 250th! (seen at The Museum of the City of New York)

Happy semiquincentennial! No, happy bisesquicentennial. Or sestercentennial. I mean quarter millennium. Well, whatever you call it, happy 250th birthday, America!

I can handle it, as long as there are rainbows.

Happy 250th! Writers complain about editors, but even the Founding Fathers needed them. Jefferson’s first draft of The Declaration was edited. It was Ben Franklin (right) who suggested “We hold these truths to be self-evident” instead of Jefferson’s “We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable.”

I missed Mel Brooks’ 100th, but he has always been one of my heroes. Besides his many other accomplishments, he co-created my favorite TV show. My birthday wish: whoever owns the rights to “Get Smart,” PLEASE put it on Netflix or SOMEWHERE so the next generation of kids can enjoy his genius.

READER OF THE WEEK is Lilah, 7, from New York state, who came up with this idea for a My Weird School book. Her parents told me “her passion for reading can be directly tied to your writing and your characters. Her fluency has soared. It has also helped to transform her confidence. Thank you!!!”

Here’s to you, Arkansas! I had a great week visiting your wonderful state, and I hope to come back sometime to see all the sights I missed. Home tonight.

One last Arkansas experience—The Walmart Museum in Bentonville. Surprisingly cool! We were so inspired, we had to go find Sam Walton’s gravesite.

This ain’t my first rodeo. Actually, it was. I had a blast at Rodeo of the Ozarks the other night in Springdale, Arkansas. The skill and daring of the cowboys (and cowgirls) is as astonishing as the athletes in other sports. They are incredible.

Q: What did Tennes-See? A: The same thing Arkan-saw.

I autographed loads of books at Barnes & Noble in Rogers (left) and Once Upon a Time bookshop (right) in Bentonville. If you live in northwest Arkansas, go get ‘em!

Spent five wonderful hours here yesterday. My wife Nina gives tours of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. So when we heard this world-class museum was in small town (Bentonville) Arkansas, we had to go.

Live near Fayetteville, Arkansas? I signed all my books for Lydia at Barnes & Noble (left) and Molly and Logan at Dickson Street Bookstore (right). Go get ‘em!

Hot Springs, Arkansas was the birthplace of Spring Training. Many teams brought their players here each year to soak in the hot springs and relieve their aching muscles. And that’s what I did yesterday!

Carson and Sienna want to sell you some autographed books, which I just signed at the Barnes & Noble store in North Little Rock, Arkansas! So go grab ‘em!

I’d heard of “The Little Rock Nine,” but I had no idea what those brave teenagers went through just to go to school in 1957. Their struggle played an important role in the Civil Rights movement.

Live near Little Rock, Arkansas? I just signed a bunch of my books at the Barnes & Noble on 11500 Financial Center Pkwy. Go get ‘em!

READERS OF THE WEEK!

Thanks to Andrea Maher, a teacher at Nantucket Elementary School in Massachusetts, for making these cool baseball cards for her students.

The Picasso Curse doesn’t come out in paperback until January 5th, but you’ll save 25% if you pre-order the book NOW from Barnes & Noble. Premium members save an extra 10%. Sale ends Friday. Use code PREORDER25 when you order here: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-picass... @holidayhousepeachtree

Some folks like to get away, take a holiday from the neighborhood. Hop a flight to Miami Beach or to Hollywood. Well, tonight I’m leaving for a vacation in…Arkansas! That’s right. I’m getting out of NYC and going to Little Rock, Hot Springs, Fayetteville, and Bentonville. I'll be back on July 1st.

My friend used to be a farmer, but he decided to give up farming and become a DJ. He changed careers because he had a bunch of sick beets.

The north pole reaches its maximum tilt toward the sun today, and you know what that means. Summer’s here and the time is right for…READING! Here are two books that would be perfect for summer reading with the kids. Oh, and happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there.

If there’s a greater living guitarist than “Kingfish” Ingram, I haven’t heard him. I first saw him in concert when he was a 19 & he blew me away. He’s 27 now, and I saw him perform last night. It has been so much fun watching Kingfish grow up and mature as a musician. Why isn’t this guy more famous?

Last week was the premiere of “Dream of Violets” a movie completely made by AI. Big deal. I wrote that in 1998. This is about a kid who uses a computer to create a virtual actor—a “vactor”—& he gives it so much intelligence, it figures out how to come through the screen to exist in the real world.

It has been so inspiring to see New York City come together this week in joy rather than tragedy or anger. I didn’t go to the parade today. The crowds were just too much for me. But hey, Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass didn’t go either, and they’re Knick fans right?

Amazon Prime Day is coming and they’re offering a deep discount on two of my series box sets--the Baseball Card Adventures and My Weirdest School. The sales run until June 26th. Grab ‘em for summer reading! @HarperKidsBooks

LIBRARIAN OF THE WEEK is Dan Ryno. He taught 4th grade for 15 years, and for the last 8 years he’s been the librarian at Brown School in St. Louis. Dan told me that he has used my books for read-alouds so much that he memorized them. His dogs seem to like my stuff too. @holidayhousepeachtree

TARGET SHOPPERS! Target is having a Buy Two, Get One Free sale on books this week, and they have almost all of mine. The sale ends June 21, so grab ‘em while you can. Go to: www.target.com/s?searchTerm...

ANGRY EMAIL OF THE WEEK:Jim & I pretended to go on vacation & let AI finish “Mrs. Marge Is In Charge!” It was a JOKE, & I explained that. But this guy didn’t get it. Even if a reader doesn’t see the explanation, the story is so silly I can’t believe anyone took it seriously, much less an adult.

A friend of mine applied for a job, and he was asked if he could perform under pressure. He told the interviewer that he didn’t think so, but he could hum most of Bohemian Rhapsody.

It’s TODAY. I’ll be at Barnes & Noble in Hamilton, New Jersey with authors Carina Finn and Mike Steele. Pick up some autographed books for summer reading! The store is at 425 Marketplace Blvd.