I had a terrific afternoon at Children's Book Day at Washington Irving's Sunnyside estate yesterday, sitting on a gorgeous lawn between James Preller and Eric Velasquez . James is funny (read his blog), and Eric gave me a valuable piece of advice: If you're going to be sitting on a gorgeous lawn all afternoon, you might want to wear socks (there were some very curious and hungry bugs). I was not wearing socks, as you have probably gathered. I met lots of terrific kids and voracious readers (thankfully none of them were biting), and got to check in with friends including Elise Broach, Judy Blundell, Wendy Mass, Katie Davis, and Tony Abbott. And it was a very pretty drive home. (I don't drive often, so I like to brag about it when I do). All around, a wonderful event - put it on your calendar for next year. Now gearing up for the National Book Festival next weekend. Non sequitur alert: Wondering about the photo? My family has gotten curious about Swedish food latel...