I hardly know where to begin, so I’ll start with the picture above, me and Mount Fuji. I never really thought that I would get there but I did and it was all thanks to the wonderful people at the Guam Council of the International Reading Association, who invited me to go all the way out to the Pacific Tropical Paradise that is the tiny island of Guam, which allowed me to add a couple of days in Japan on the way home. I’m still jet-lagged and very tired, so more will appear here later as my head clears, but the abiding memory will be of an island full of the friendliest, most welcoming people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.

I visited 17 elementary schools. Each gave me the most amazing reception. I was treated like a rock star! More to follow…