Deborah Halverson's Blog

A special project on the Halveron’s sixteen-day spring vacation, which included stays in Lisbon, Portugal; Madrid, Spain; Barcelona, Spain; Lyon, France; and London, England.

Have you seen Oliver Woodman? You’d know if you had—he’s made of wood! Back in 2003, when I worked as a children’s book editor for Harcourt Children’s Books in San Diego (a full two years before my triplets were born and I went freelance), I had the pleasure of working on Darcy Pattison’s clever picture book The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman. I was only an assistant on that book, I’m afraid. I wouldn’t get my chance to be the lead editor on an Oliver book until it’s sequel, The Search for Oliver K. Woodman, starring a woman made of wood (of course!). But I invested myself in Oliver’s story in a very unique way right from the beginning—my husband and I built three life-sized, hinged Olivers, who traveled around the United States on a publicity tour to bookstores, schools, and libraries. On that tour, our Olivers collected postcards from kids, souvenirs from each town (like Moonpies from somewhere in Wisconsin), and photos of him with the groups he visited. This all tied into the premise of the book: Oliver Woodman, a man made of wood, takes a memorable journey across America, told through the postcards and letters of those he meets along the way. It’s a fantastic book—one of my absolute favorites—offering a clever and fun lesson in geography as well as great adventures, with stunning art by Joe Cepeda.

To celebrate the publication of the paperback edition of The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman on May 1, my good friend author Darcy Pattison has created a Flickr photostream for teachers and students to post pictures they’ve taken of Oliver during his travels with them. Darcy is the queen of ancillary materials that can extend the fun geography lesson at the heart of the book for teachers’ classroom use. On her Flickr site you can find photos of me and my husband building Oliver, back in the day!

Inspired, I took Oliver on our recent 16-day jaunt through Europe. Tucked in my backpack, Oliver traveled everywhere with the Halversons, a welcome stowaway on our European planes, trains, and automobiles. He didn’t even mind all the boys’ throwing up in those early days, tolerant traveler that he is. In each city, the boys and I photographed Oliver at scenic spots. What a fun mission it was! Here’s what we got:

Somehow, I missed getting a photograph of him in London. But we haven’t left England yet, so who knows, maybe a photo of Oliver on the top of a red double-decker London bus is next. The boys would be so happy!