We celebrated the new book, The Cupcake Boy, at Amy Belle Elementary at their Spring Fling. It was a big success! It makes me feel fulfilled to see all the proud young student illustrators. Below is a young artist displaying her picture of the cupcake boy realizing he is like a greedy little piggy. Pictures like this help inspire new pages in the book and round out the story. And a special thanks to the custodian, Rochelle, who turns out to be Amy Belle’s own Cupcake Lady. She spent a week baking monster cupcakes, Despicable Me Minion cupcakes, Cinderella cupcakes and much more. And many more parents donated hundreds of cupcakes to the school bake sale. And thanks to Arma for helping to organize everything in her cupcake pajamas.

Photo with courtesy and permission from the family.

I think this is a beautiful picture even though it didn’t turn out as I imagined. The photo was taken on St. Patrick’s Day when all the kids were wearing green. I asked everyone with a red coat to be part of the cherry. I also didn’t account for perspective, which makes the muffin top look too small. Below you can see my preparatory drawing using a satellite image of the playground and a cupcake illustration, which I then transferred to the school playground using chalk and a grid pattern.

The new book is being printed now.

The Cupcake Boy is the story about a boy who makes the most beautiful and tasty cupcakes in the world; however, the villagers take the boy for granted. So disheartened, he leaves his home wondering: “Why should I bake cupcakes for a world that doesn’t love me?”

In many ways it is a sequel to “Falling Uphill: The Secret of Life” because it is the story about coming home again.

The Cupcake Boy
by Scott Stoll with Amy Belle Elementary

Watch my segment with Outdoor Wisconsin on Milwaukee Public Television. It begins at minute 9:00, and the crew did a great job filming, interviewing and editing. Thanks!

It was almost a year ago, the crew filmed me riding around Kohler-Andrae State Park for 3 hours. I was getting tired as I was still wearing my winter coat, and was running low on blood sugar. (A “winter coat” is what us Wisconsinites call those 10-20 extra pounds we gain over the holidays.) The interview only lasted about 15 minutes.

Since this filmed I have also ridden a bicycle across Wisconsin, from coast to coast, the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan.

Here’s a very strange coincidence. I’m working with Amy Belle Elementary as the author-in-residence to create a new book “The Cupcake Boy”. Before I arrived in one class the teacher had just finished reading them Ruby the Red Worm’s Dirty Job, which is a book I worked on with the STEM Academy. And, just as we were finishing the illustrations in the classroom, a mother brought the class a treat. Guess what!? “Dirt cupcakes” with grass and a gummi worm on top. Bizarre!

I’m hoping she contributes some of her culinary creations to the end-of-year Spring Fling when we will be celebrating the book. And all the student illustrators will be autographing their page in the book.

Pictured here is a stack of about 1500 drawings for our new book “The Cupcake Boy” with Amy Belle Elementary. On top are disco-flavored cupcakes.

The Cupcake Boy is a story about a boy who loves to make the most beautiful and tasty cupcakes in the world. But the greedy villagers take the boy and his cupcakes for granted. So the boy becomes disheartened and goes to the top of the mountain to ask himself why he should continue to make cupcakes in an ungrateful world.

There has been a lot of research for this book involving eating cupcakes :) I’m already excited for the book launch cupcake party!

Here’s how I like to launch a speaking engagement at elementary schools and a book project :)

There is no better way to explore a country than by bicycle. And if you’re going to be cycling the length of a country, why not do it for charity? H2H is a group of expatriates based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam that is in its third year of existence. We will ride from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City – 2,000km, or 1,200 miles – from February 3-29 while raising money for three local charities that help poor children gain access to education and healthcare. We can’t wait to see what this adventure will bring!

Follow the ride through my personal blog: http://mike-alongthemekong.blogspot.com/; or our group blog: http://h2hrfvc.blogspot.com/

Thanks,
Michael Tatarski

Before I begin working on a new book with the school kids, I like to introduce myself with a slideshow about my trip around the world on a bicycle. I also bring lots of extras, like: a set of free books, bookmarks, reader-teacher guides, my bicycle, and more. In this case, I pitched my tent in the library for the kids to explore; and I also set up my stove (without the fuel), cookware and water filter.

Just getting started with bike touring? Wondering what bike and gear to buy? Find out in Bike Touring Basics with this free 66-page eBook from my friends at Travellingtwo.com. I read this and thought it was a great how-to bicycle tour introduction, with fantastic pictures. In fact, I can’t believe they are giving it away for free! I even have the honor of being quoted. Of course, if you’d rather relive the adventure from the comfort of your armchair, I recommend Falling Uphill, a coming-of-age story, which happens to take place on a bicycle.

More info.