The young adult edition of Garth's novel, Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog, has reached the big leagues! The Children's Choice Book Awards selected it as a finalist for 5th-6th grade book of the year.

The CCBAs are selected and voted upon by their readers. Voting opened this week, so if you know any young readers interested in making their voice heard, they can vote here.

"Theater is a living art, and if you've ever done a play on any level, you know that a first read-through is nothing like the final product.  Still, I could feel the magic in the air as the actors read their lines, already searching for insights into the characters they are playing.  Some actors are playing many characters (the same actor who plays Max, the Evil Twin, plays Judge Van Tighem, for instance); some are only playing one (Denny, Enzo, Eve).  But as they read, I could already see in my mind the way the play would take shape.  A set like a race track, rain curtains, moving props, TV voices, lighting shifts, dream sequences (the zebra scene will be fun!).  I know that all of it will come together in a great play with laughs and high emotion, and a message that resonates with the public today.  

"Tickets can still be purchased at www.Book-It.org.  And while you're there, I encourage you to make a donation to this terrific regional theater--a place where innovation, creation, and inspiration come together with very special theatrical events, like The Art of Racing in the Rain.

"See you there!  The play runs from April 17 - May 13, Wednesdays through Sundays.  Opening night is April 20th."

--Garth Stein 

This January, Garth attended the much-anticipated 24 Hours of Daytona 50th Anniversary Race, where he rubbed shoulders with Patrick Dempsey and the drivers from Team Seattle. Dempsey Racing joined forces with Team Seattle both to race and raise funds for the Seattle Children's Hospital.  

The winner of this year's 24 Hours of Daytona was Oswaldo Negri, Jr., and his team. Ozz is a Brazilian-born driver who found a lot in common with Denny.

"Denny's story has a lot to do with mine; things were not easy. I started racing when I was 9. I use to wake up very early on Sundays to watch go kart race on TV. My Dad could not afford go kart racing but said that if he one day won a lottery prize he would help me start, and I started praying and I prayed and prayed and yes, Dad won a lottery prize and that is how I started racing. 'That which you manifest is before you.'   

"Winning this race was an incredible feeling that is still sinking in. It was one of the toughest races I have done, with an amazing fast pace where I had to deliver my best. I have been close to winning so many other times, but always something happened, like a mechanical problem or a tire cut, and that so-wanted Daytona win would never materialize. So this time, at the end of the race even though we were leading, I was afraid of those Zebras that always seem to show up at the wrong time...this year the Zebras did not show up, or I did not want to see them. With the help from my co-drivers John Pew, AJ Almendinger, and Justin Wilson, as well as the entire MSR crew, we won the race.

"Lots came to my mind, some memories of the struggled time I had in England that helped me in a way to be a stronger and wiser driver as well as the indescribable feeling of having my wife Claudia and my two daughters Ana and Nathalia with me to share this amazing accomplishment. I was overwhelmed with emails and messages from friends, and I realized then, how many friends I have..... I felt very lucky."

--Ozz Negri 

One teacher in Monroe, WA, found a creative way to engage her middle-school students in reading and understanding books. Vicki Berg tasked her students with creating "farcebook" pages for the characters from The Art of Racing in the Rain.

"When I read The Art of Racing in the Rain, I wanted so much to have my students read it. I work with middle school English Language Learners and I loved the message of unconditional love and achievement through perseverance, concepts my students may not experience or believe in. When the youth version came out, I was thrilled and bought a class set, which we finished about a week ago. They were very affected by the book and wrote some amazing essays about the themes. Now their project is to create a "facebook" page for one of the characters using an online tool for education that allows students to create pages they call "farcebooks". My students are having so much fun trying to think how the characters would fill out a page, what they would put as status updates, photo albums, friends' posts on their walls, etc...It is so satisfying to see students who often struggle academically be excited and demonstrate what they learned. Thank you so much for such an awesome book."

--Vicki Berg    

As the list of foreign editions grows, The Art of Racing in the Rain continues to touch readers from a wide variety of nations and backgrounds. Our pets-and the love we share with them-truly do form a universal language.

In Japan:  

Dear Mr. Stein: Yesterday, I read your RACING IN THE RAIN on my Kindle. When finished, I cried--happily. Thank you for the happy tears.  

-Hiro.  

In Australia:  

I just wanted to drop a quick line to Garth if possible regarding The Art of Racing in the Rain. We (my wife and I) received a copy of the book for Christmas, and have both read it already. In a word, astounding. As the owners of two very 'human' dogs, we both had teary and laugh out loud moments over the course of the book.

And now, as most likely the thousands of other dog owners that have also read the book, we look at our two in a whole new light. Please find attached a photo that needs no comment about my relationship with my boy, 'Diesel'. This was not a set-up......

-Dave and Elesa Gardiner

In England:  

I have been meaning to write for a while, a little coda to our photograph of the Old Park Avenue book club in London, that you kindly featured in Garth's newsletter.  One of our members, Pam, unbeknownst to us relapsed from her cancer and had protracted brain cancer, and she was sick the night we had the Skype call with Garth.  She bravely attended the photo line-up (she is the tall lady with short hair holding the dog sculpture that was representing one of our absent members) and had such a wonderful time on the night, with much merry bibation.  Pam died less than a month after that, but her husband said the photo of all of us that day was one of the happy memories for Pam in her last days, and also a comfort to her children afterwards.  Most poignant at her funeral was her son giving the eulogy and telling us about finding Pam's file, entitled 'After retirement', where she had put clippings about travel, dance classes, etc.
 
Our book club is not the same without Pam, and we haven't replaced her.  It just goes to show how we must embrace every day, I guess.  I just wanted to share with you that our Skype call with Garth was special on many levels, without that, and your request to feature the OPA Book Club, we wouldn't have our lovely photo to mark a super woman and a memorable day.

--Danielle  

1. Check the list of Garth's upcoming events on the newsletter sidebar.

2. Bookmark Garth's website schedule for the most up-to-date listing.

3. Stay in touch with your local library and independent bookstores. If Garth is coming, chances are they'll know it.

4. Send us an email with the name of the city, state, or region you live in. When Garth has an upcoming event planned for your area, we'll send you an email notice. (Any information you send us will be kept private and used only for Garth Stein related newsletters and notices.)