Last Saturday, October 30, we had a fun, "snakey" event at Micawber's. Author Kurtis Scaletta read from his new middle-grade novel, Mamba Point, and talked about his inspiration for writing the book. Also, in attendance was Kurtis' new baby boy, Byron, decked out in a baby mamba costume! Byron was so darn cute and not poisonous-looking at all.
This photo is of Kurtis and his unhappy, little mamba baby. Byron was probably upset because he didn't get any "snake snacks." The snacks available were gummy snakes (worms), straight pretzels, and Twix candy bars. Snakes, Sticks & Twix. I thought it was fairly clever.
The event was a lot of fun and Kurtis had much to say about the background for Mamba Point. Apparently, when Kurtis lived in Liberia as a kid, his neighborhood was called Mamba Point. Kurtis did have two encounters with deadly Black Mambas during his time in Africa. One was shortly after his arrival when, like Linus in the book, an African man came running at him with a machete raised high! Instead of attacking Kurtis (or Linus), the man hacked up a Mamba at the boy's feet. That just doesn't happen in St. Paul.
The other Black Mamba encounter was when one slithered right in front of Kurtis and a group of his friends. The boys all froze, which is appropriate when a Mamba is passing by. After the Mamba was gone, one boy said to Kurtis, "You looked like you wanted to touch it." Thus, another inspiration for Kurtis' character Linus, who does indeed touch a Black Mamba.
But, you'll have to read the book to find out what happens to Linus and the snake!
3 comments:
I bet this was a fun event! I just loved Mamba Point--really an excellent book. I would have enjoyed hearing Kurtis talk about the real-life events it was inspired by...
I think hearing him talk about Liberia was the best part!
Thanks for inviting me Dara, and thanks for the compliment Laura. It was a fun day.
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