THURSDAY NIGHT, November 17th, at 7 p.m. at the Seaside (Oregon) Public Library, I’ll be reading from my newest book, “It’s Christmas!” and talking a little about the process of putting a collection of stories like this together.

“They say” that speaking in public is the number one biggest fear of Americans, but I love to read aloud. For 30 years in my classroom, I read stories to my students every day. I love to make the words come alive by employing timing and tone, and using the dramatic pause and character voices to enliven the selection.

I’ve even put my book “Just Joshin’, A Year in the Life of a Not-so-ordinary 4th Grade Kid” on a CD. I proudly consider reading aloud one of the things I do well.

But reading to adults in a live forum like the Seaside Library? Hhmm… Even though I’ve written all the stories I’ll be reading on Thursday, I still worry about stumbling over the words, my tongue refusing to work correctly.

And the answer to that concern is… “So what?” So what if I occasionally trip over a word or two? The world will most likely keep on turning. No big deal. The focus is on having FUN, and that’s what I’m going to have. “And a good time was had by all,” means ALL, including me!

Hope to see you there!