Thank you for coming out here tonight. I want to do wonders peschel thank you has any too embarrassing. When i started my career in d. C. , when you do your first event come you know whos going to be there. Your mom, dad, sister and eventually find some strangers to come. One of the first entries as elliott beagle, elliot in the morning. Lets hear it for elliot. Were going to tell the story on tv now because hes in his hair and everything is better on television. I can tell you that the next variant. Elliott is an amazing host an amazing radio show called elliot in the morning. Thanks depending on your phone eroding my whole joke. Now your phone is on national tv. I hope youre excited. Weve got presents two for everyone. So heres the story. Elliott hosts is great, great radio show, elliot in the morning. I listened to it every morning on the way to work can you capital. One morning i am in california and i get a phone call at 6 00 5 00 or 6 00 in the morning california time. I pick up the phone and they see elliot is breaking into your house. Apparently what theyre doing is they set one of the comic guys on the show and said anyone out there know brad elster . I like his books. I want to find out where he lives. And of course washing mess with ethical people, every contractor whos ever worked a house calls a radio show and gives them are addressed. My wife gets a phone call like theyre breaking into our house here cheats that work, im not home. Hes got to call into the station. I can hear when they put you on hold you can have its been said on the air. I hear unlucky not his apartment. A pretty okay tv, not that nice. Describing the house and like they really are at our house or the woman comes on the phone and she says how do we know it is you . Its me. I dont know how to prove it to you. What color carpet do you have . It to him, it is him. So that was over a decade ago, long over a decade ago. The elliot is here tonight. [applause] everyone here for elliot. The nice part is hes dressed up for the occasion. This is actually a tie for him. I want to say thank you publicly for what you do. Is this really on cnbcs . stand soever and switch channels theres a lot of things id like to say on cspan that have probably never been said. The mac we can say things that have never been said before. I love you. Thank you. Without him, truthfully i really think many of you would not be here. Show of hands. How many of you are here for him . The other ones i dont owe you anything for her. Ride is the best. Enjoy the rest of the night. The best part is it elliott is now syndicated in new york, so that means he gets twice the annoying people because jersey. I only say it because i love them. These folks, i am Amelia Earhart and i am Abraham Lincoln. I guess im known for thrillers. I read political thrillers. And now suddenly im doing Childrens Books. This is washington d. C. , virginia right now, so close to d. C. There is no difference between politicians and children. There is none. Children are just honest. Theres no difference in writing a thriller or a Childrens Book. But i would say these books for me the reason i started than this because my own kids i was looking at them and i was just tired of watching my kids look at Reality Tv Show people and that is sunny here. Being famous is very different than being a hero. I said i have so many other heroes. Abraham lincoln, Amelia Earhart, how do we do that . Illustrated Childrens Books are the chosen stories of the series. We want to not just tell you the stories we know about Amelia Earhart and Abraham Lincoln, the show utilized americares. Hes even given he was a little boy and the result is when you meet these folks if your kids and grandkids that they realize the power and potential of the novice. You can see what theyre accomplishing when their little kids. If i saw my daughter that she flew across the landscape, if i tell my daughter she built a homemade roller coaster in our backyard, and that she took a wooden crate. She pushed to create up to the top of the roof. Theres two different planks and run them down from the edge of the toolshed. She takes the car, goes to the top of the roof in the car. She says im going first. They get into the wooden cart, shows her stomach. Amount, the wind on her face. This is true, the first time a amelia are hard lands in crashes and tumbles down and gets up and says that was not done. My daughter reads that and goes Amelia Earhart is just like me, dad. It is to bring these alive. I want a military tv be as amazed that she is due out the. So thats what these folks try to do. The stories are all real. We found it from this great group that studies linking in illinois. He goes and finds a group of boys working at turtles. Link a monkey and also in his little. He sees all these turtles. Theyre putting hot coals on the backs of the turtles. Theyre torturing the turtles. Any fields terrible about this. He sees this great injustice. Abraham lincoln and that woman has to decide what to do. It is hard to do the right things sometimes. Then rescues them, stands up to the boys. My little one was like hes just a week, dad. He loves animals. Abraham lincoln and not on the comes back to life. Abraham lincoln is as amazing as you and i else in tears. Thats what these folks are really about. Not just telling me these stories, one book or to book. We want to build a library for you. In june we do a iamb rosa parks and then we do i. M. Albertine zednik in september. Our goal is to build a library for you that you can be proud to give your kids in grandkids to present them with hopes of values. Each book is about an important thing you should teach and share with your kids. It says right on the back of the book on the back of the book he says they know no bounds. I will always stand up for myself. When you see elbert einstein, always asking the question why. We must teach our kids to ask the question why a vital question. To me, that is the these books are. We all tend to complain about it. This is my solution and i appreciate you taking the time and coming here tonight in sharon this is a because this is obvious to you these books are my heart in book form. This is to let people have this library they can share of the flow of history they can share with their kids. I will tell you as to whether perks are not commit to things. Yesterday the New York Daily News took i am Amelia Earhart and i said we are taking it into the classroom. I had no idea about it. To put meltzer curtsies attest, we took it into a classroom. I thought this is certain death. And your paper is going to take your book in this is awful. And i loved those same standards when the characters, heroes are kids themselves. The best part came a couple days ago. My wife told me my son. He said hell stake here. My older son brad, my oldest son says to my younger son, udp like rosa parks. And dont let anyone tell me where you consider not say. Ill be like rosa parks. There is no way. This is the greatest moment of my life. No one can. I just love that rosa parks to hand has so much meaning and makes this important as she ever was. So we found all these stories about lincoln. Lincoln once said to the hype always. So we found stories. Oxalic of the year because they told me the link and books are gone already. We are in virginia so the lincoln books are gone. In kansas, there likes burlington, i want the Amelia Earhart one. Abraham lincoln is a great story and i feel like theres kids here. Abraham lincoln is on this horse monday. He spots the horrors and gets them back in a bit back in place. Lincoln basically says if i didnt stop, i would really stop thinking about them. And im just like, that is Abraham Lincoln to me. That his greatness. And Abraham Lincoln first was to all hate. And this old indian comes into camp and has a letter that says he is a sign on a button and it should be trusted. And all the around and say to Abraham Lincoln, listed. Hes going to kill us right now. Abraham lincoln said now come his protected by me. Anyone who wants to hurt this man, you have to go through me. Abraham lincoln was a big man, over six feet tall. Theyre bigger than all the stuff you want us to go through you, thats not a fair fight. Abraham lincoln motson says you choose your weapon then. That is bad kss. Abraham lincoln just telling it. He can be like an American Fighting champion today. Thats the rails does. Forget the vampire hunter. That is a real Abraham Lincoln. So the stories you see obviously with the best ones in the book. Every book you see real stories about the accomplishment or older. So with that, that is the introduction. Each book has a title, but the whole series is called ordinary people change worldwide. That is my philosophy. I dont care where you went to school, how much money you make. To some extent. So i believe in Amelia Earhart and Abraham Lincoln on my english teacher who once helped me and told me i could write for the first time. I love that i get to share this books a few. Another ordinary person i want, one is my life easier and i appreciate that. Shes in the back. She left it for the kids. See, shes nice. My washington d. C. Wife is in the firm. I want to thank a teacher from college. I took this class called writing Childrens Books. I signup for the class, take the class every right to Childrens Book. At the end of semester im 19 years old. I have a full head of hair, like a lion named, right clicks that little kid laughter that showed. I love that kid. Alliance name. Youre bald. And so, i take this class. I love the class. I say can i take the class again she says yeah, take it again. My friend jed was an artist. I used to read the stories in here at ellis drake then. And so we did. We just create Childrens Book after Childrens Book. Now here i am today with their very first illustrated Childrens Book. I caught a couple weeks ago and my professor from michigan. She said im not surprised. The thank you to her. Every teacher who is here today, you have no idea the impact you have on your students. You have 30 students i know. We have one teacher. Every teacher here in out there, thank you for what you do. This to me is really her book in a strange way, although she gets no roses for me. None. But with that said, let me openness to questions because theyre far more interesting than hearing me talk in top. You can ask anything you want about thrillers, tv, kids books. But if you got . [inaudible] is the question. Can you write a book about you advocate attorney for free . Gas, i am brad meltzer. It will be for free. If i dont give it to you for free, will you buy it . Look at that, the longest positive ever seen in the whole world. People say do you believe in god and they have a shorter pause. Thats a Jerry Seinfeld joke. I stole it. But if i write a book called im brad meltzer, its yours for free. None of you kids in the front. Just 10. What is your name . Jason . Who do you think years . Ito now. You better know that one. Other questions . S. A man whos showing the Abraham Lincoln overpeer the bullet that killed Abraham Lincoln. This is actually worth of visually here. So years that the looks like. You can be a friend Emilia Erhardt you got Abraham Lincoln. Can you see it . Saviors front of the boat. The question is, did i choose the artist . Of course i did because i am a control freak and what happiness this is the crazy part of the story as i was on twitter of all things. I dont know what that is. In washington d. C. At the strange guys, we all know. So i was on twitter and the dakota came on the air, an item on twitter. I trust many people for the internet. I knew his work. He worked on, looks from spiderman two xmen, to any book you can imagine. I knew his work and loved his work. But i love about his work is what Chris Elliott bliss does is like of kind of tenets and Charlie Brown mixed with calvin and hobbes. And that is what you need. The front of his work as he does hire. Thats what he does. Thats what this is. I remember can i have your book one second. This is where he knew how great he was. I asked him, we had a scene and i want to Abraham Lincoln standing on the spot where Martin Luther king junior gave his speech and will see the crowd going all the way to the Washington Monument and the sun is a nice guy that to be pressed taking and we have to fall in love with it in this better be the best picture youve ever drawn in your whole life. Thats all it has to be. He drew this in a moment and this was really looking. When he handed the sin, i was late, its allies. The books are laughing at the real collaboration. I think usually when you do Childrens Books, the publisher usually picks out the person for you. I came to them with this fully formed and gave them the art and said this is the guy of what you were with. If its not lovable, its never going to work. So we definitely consciously chose to make the kids. The best question then i do not in all interviews, i promise this is true is a monastic, did Abraham Lincoln really have a beard when he was seven years old . [laughter] im like yes he did. The most hormonal little boy ever. He actually drew little wind so it actually looks at the fake beard. But i love the reporter then asked if that was straight face. When the editor first looked at it, they said, should we make them bigger as he gets older . I said youre going to rob all the magic. Trust me on this. He said the drama one time. Chris drew her age and then we all looked at it. Shes a genius. She knows it. The reason we keep them young and so all of you guys in the front row, on the kids out there, that is always lovable to them and thats why they react to them. Those kids in new york is why my kids react. My kids hate everything i work on. My daughter said recently, why does anyone want your autograph in their book . Thank you, dear. You know any of us on the cover. Shes like my name is on the cover, too, meltzer. That is a fair point. This is the first thing theyve ever react to. My son said the other day, can i read the overnight in the early . Oocyte who are you and what have you done with mice done quite a never won anything im working on. You never supposed to impress by your parents and that is okay. Thats what keeps you humble and life. This really sells it. [inaudible] that is a good question. What is your name . George washington as a president , too. Thats a great question. Lets hear it for scarlett. Take a bow. I love it. Are you related to my daughter . Other questions, yes. Regarding the comic hero, green arrow, whered you get get the inspiration . [inaudible] you are awesome. Anyone who holds up the Green Lantern ring they are wearing is my hero. The question is would you get get the inspiration . Even for batman for that matter when you write these tories. I also do, folks. To me, books are as important to me is Abraham Lincoln as an Emilia Erhardt is. Batman and superman are as important because that the american mythology. I know that two of them are real and two of them are imaginary and two of them wear their underwear on the outside of my pants. When i read batman, i wrote that i must be. I wrote out with my underwear on the outside of ip and. Last night d. C. Comics called up instead you write batman . For the inspiration, for those scared to us, like in any story is to look at the character, try secured or until your best story. For me, back in the reagan era where some of the most well developed or send his jury. You know exactly what batman does. Batman goes and gets ice cream. Thats not what rabin with dave. Everyone knows thats not what batman is. Maybe Superman Goes and gets ice cream, but you know what batman does. Communicator yours that are so well defined like that make the storytelling much easier is to write them because theyre so perfectly defined. The reason the stories persist from batman is superman is because those scared yours, i may use that word on purpose. Those arent just stories about them. They are the stories device and will what to. They are what we all aspire to his people. That is why they are vital. As for the inspiration comes from. Just trying to tell the bus during. [inaudible] sneak peeks in the audience. I love this. Somebody like better, looking at sacajawea or lucille ball for the next one. Show of hands. Sacajawea, raise your hand. [inaudible] youre going to learn. If your parents dont buy it is though, they dont love you. Okay now lucille ball . Interesting. The one after that, chris the artists really wants to triennial armstrong. But we also want to draw jackie robinson. I want to see about. How many people want to see Neil Armstrong quite so those are basically where we are looking. For in the contract first dates. Our goal is to do 600 of them. Here is for my son coming years for my daughter. We have heroes like ben franklin i want to do with the goal is to keep telling them what i would like to do is tell the stories about people you dont know. There is a girl whos named alex scott. Alex scott was barely a year old was diagnosed with cancer. The only life she knew. Chemotherapy and sickness. Which is for five years old, she wants to open up a Lemonade Stand. She doesnt want to use the money for herself. She wants to help other kids with cancer. Within a single day, her lemonade and races over 2000 futures. Other Lemonade Stands are popping up. Eventually