Author appearances

A BIG thank you to the folks at Valencia and Tulita elementary schools, where I visited last week. Both schools really stood out for attentive, enthusiastic crowds and fun and helpful staffs.

Kudos to both school principals who took Skateboard Mom's introductory skateboard lesson and showed the kids just how it's done!

2007 Mighty Mama recap

The 2007 Mighty Mama Skate-O-Rama was a big success! Nearly 40 women and their families showed up at Laguna Niguel skatepark to celebrate Mother's Day and we raised nearly $1,400 for Rosie's Garage.




A HUGE thanks to our many, many sponsors who contributed raffle prizes, goodie bag treats and funds to comp the participants' skatepark entry fees.

Next year's Mighty Mama event will be held on Sunday May 11th. Hope to see you then!

2007 Mighty Mama Skate-O-Rama!

The 2007 MIGHTY MAMA SKATE-O-RAMA™ is coming up on Mother's Day, Sunday May 13 at the Laguna Niguel Skatepark in south Orange County, CA.

The MIGHTY MAMA SKATE-O-RAMA™ features skateboarding women of all ages in a non-competitive, family-friendly atmosphere. You don't have to be a "mom" to participate--all women and their supporters (male or female) are welcome!

Action begins at 10 am, with introductions of the "Skate Moms" at 11 am.

As always, our Rockin' Raffle of skate gear and other cool prizes benefits children's literacy programs--this year's beneficiary is Rosie's Garage, a La Habra-based grassroots tutoring/mentoring organization for kids in need. Our raffle loot includes $5,000 worth of prizes so far! Don't miss out!

Prizes include brunch for four ($300 worth!) at the luxurious St. Regis Resort in Monarch Beach, LOADS of cool decks and completes, hundreds of dollars worth of dinners at local restaurants, a "Skate with A Pro!" birthday package ($750 value!) with pro skater MIKE OGAS, a private tour of ABC BOARD SUPPLY skateboard factory, and much, MUCH more. This just in: GRAVITY SKATEBOARDS has donated EIGHT skateboards (plus wheels, DVDs, tees)!!!

New this year: Thanks to the generous support of FANATIC Skateboards, SANTA MONICA AIRLINES Skateboards and WICKED WAHINES, the first 40 women (age 18+) to enter the skatepark will have their $10 skatepark entry fee comped!

Check out our amazing list of raffle prize contributors!

St. Regis Monarch Beach
Champagne French Bakery Cafe
Pasta Pomodoro restaurant
Whole Foods Market
Wahoo's
Chili's Grill & Bar
Sharky's Wood-Fired Grill
Pro skater Mike Ogas
Santa Monica Airlines Skateboards
Tum Yeto
Vans
etnies Girl
Pro-tec safety gear
DC Shoes
Tony Hawk Foundation
Skaterbuilt Skateboards
Gravity Skateboards
Cool Girls Skateboards
Skatelab
Black Label Skateboards
Sector 9 Skateboards
ABC Board Supply
Two Felons Sk8 Company
JuiceBox Skateboards
Mozambique restaurant, Laguna Beach
Rick's Partners Bistro, Laguna Beach
Hennessey's Tavern
La Sirena Grill
sk8kleen
Curly Grrlz Skateboards
MetroMint mint beverages
Annie's Naturals
First Betty
Skateboarding Explained DVD
RocknRons Skateboard Bearings
Black Hole wheels
Deckcrafters Custom Skateboards
BoardPusher.com custom-screened decks
Identity Boardshop
Sempson Graphics
Derby Dolls Banked Track Roller Derby League
Stunt Teams
Mentality Skateboards
Sk8supply.com
Costa Azul Surf Shop
Wicked Wahine
Old Skull Skateboard Shop
Skateboard Mom!
Lake Tahoe KOA
Furnace Skateshop
Fanatic Skateboards
Black Plague wheels
Cowgirl Punk
Pretty Tough
Go Girl Energy Drink
Jokers Skate Shop
Old Man Army
Sk8tramps
Decent Hardware

And more! (the list grows daily!)

Raffle tickets are $1 each and purchasable starting at 9:30 AM on day of event. Raffle ticket sales will go on throughout event. Drawings will be held throughout the day. All proceeds benefit Rosie's Garage, a not-for-profit tutoring and mentoring center for kids in need in North Orange County!

IMPORTANT: The Laguna Niguel skatepark requires full safety gear, a $10 entry fee and signed liability waiver (if you're under 18, the waiver must be signed by parent or legal guardian). Click here for waiver. The Skateboard Moms highly recommend lessons for beginners! Contact skatepark for lessons in advance by calling (949) 916-7755.

PARKING: There is a small parking lot at the skatepark, and a larger one 100 yards away adjacent to the soccer fields. If you still can't find parking, the Federal Building across the street (on east side of Alicia Pkwy.) has granted us a permit for overflow parking in Lot "L." Please use crosswalks! Do not play chicken with the cars here--it's deadly! Do not park directly on Alicia Parkway as your car will be towed.

Fun School Visits

I really enjoy visiting schools, but lately the fun factor has really increased. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Roynon Elementary in La Verne, a cute "small town" east of Los Angeles. I go to a lot of schools, but this one had such a positive energy--from the teachers to the students to the custodian--I found I was smiling long after I left.

One of the perks of my job is getting to know lots of interesting characters. Not just from my books, but the real-life people I meet at schools, libraries and bookstores. At Roynon, Principal Jim Symonds struck me as perhaps the most mellow school principal I've ever met. Here is he gamely participating in a "skateboard lesson" from Skateboard Mom. You're a good sport, Principal Symonds!

Appearances!

Lots of fun events and appearances coming up!

California Readers luncheon (Feb. 24), Family Festival of Books at Chino Fairgrounds (Feb. 25), Roynon Elementary (Feb. 27), Newport-Mesa Author Festival and Lincoln Elementary (March 8), Ekstrand Elementary in San Dimas (March 23) and Murrieta Elementary (March 27).

Looking forward to meeting you!

The First Page

Please join me on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at THE FIRST PAGE bookstore in Newport Beach, CA. I will be reading and signing my latest book, Smash! Mash! Crash! There Goes the Trash! The event begins at 10 am.

For details, please visit www.thefirstpage.net or call the store at (949) 644-5437.

See you there!

My latest children's book, Smash! Mash! Crash! There Goes the Trash! is now available in bookstores and online. Illustrated by Will Hillenbrand, Smash! Mash! Crash! is a rhyming picture book for the young trash truck lover in your life.



The reviews have been excellent.

From Midwest Book Review:

SMASH! MASH! CRASH! THERE GOES THE TRASH! By Barbara Odanaka will prove a delight for any child, urban or rural, familiar with the early wake-up call of the garbage truck. A rhythmic and noisy text filled with appealing sounds follows two garbage trucks on their route - and dogs, pigs, and more who can't wait for them to arrive! Perfect for read-alouds.


From Julie Cummins, Booklist:

Another book about garbage trucks? Well, yes, but instead of focusing on a swaggering, loudmouthed vehicle, as Kate McMullan does in I Stink! (2002), this book stars a couple of pigs. Leaping out of bed early in the morning, the pigs watch two garbage trucks groaning, gobbling, and grinding as they make their noisy rounds. Hillenbrand's textured illustrations, in egg tempera and ink on canvas, depict the machines as giant, mechanical toads on wheels. The midnight-blue background gradually lightens to cream as daylight comes and the garbage workers (also pigs) pick up their loads, including cast-off furniture and dirty diapers. After the big buildup, the end is rather tame, but the rhyming text is as descriptive as the art ("Gooey, gloppy. / Slimy, sloppy. / Truck's a rolling bug buffet. / Flies a-buzzin' by the dozen-- / lapping up that cheese souffle"). The antics of three dogs drooling after the trucks in anticipation of fallout extend the comedy.

From School Library Journal's Joy Fleishhacker:

PreSchool-Grade 1–Rhythmic, rhyming language abounds as two piglets welcome the early-morning arrival of a pair of Rumbling, roaring garbage trucks. All of the offal details are here as the green behemoths gobble up everything from apple cores and dirty diapers to broken furniture. Smiling porcine workers, with Greasy gloves…sticky boots…/stains a-plenty on their suits, feed the beasts while Flies a-buzzin'/by the dozen enjoy a feast at the rolling bug buffet.

After completing all of the Crushing,/cramming,/screeching,/slamming, the vehicles thunder away, leaving the youngsters to re-create the action with their toy replicas. Done in ink and egg tempera on canvas, the vivacious two-page paintings convey the text's enthusiasm and energy. The trucks, shown from the rear and personified with mouthlike hoppers and red brakelight eyes, gleefully munch their way through an array of vividly colored refuse. The pigs are appealing, and readers can follow the antics of their dogs as they rush outside to be part of the fun. Pair this onomatopoeic offering with other tongue-tingling read-alouds, such as Kate McMullan's I Stink! (2002) and Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha's Trashy Town (1999, both HarperCollins), for a crash-bang storytime on a perennially popular topic.