What Fun!

After a year and a half of talking to kids about writing Glory Be, I've learned a lot. One thing I'm sure of: If your publisher offers you what they claim is a Great Opportunity, take it.

The George Washington Carver School in Newark was just that. The kids were great. Their teachers were great. I loved this school.

Yes, it's June. It was warm in New Jersey. Carver School was celebrating Multi-Cultural Day with a big assembly. And some of the kids left early for a field trip to the Intrepid. A lot happens in this school. And yet the teachers had managed to share the book in class and teach their kids a lot about the 1960s. Every one of the 125 5th and 6th graders were beautifully prepared, well-read, and brilliant. I'm sure of it.

Here are the pictures to prove it.

The poster. Sigh.

Some of the messages:
Thanks for coming. 
We love your book.
I love your work. (I adore this remark!)
Thanks for being an author.

The kids, having fun! 
Posing with the poster.

(They were the best behaved listeners and questioners in the world.)









Scholastic Bookfairs, NJAfter3, and My Very Own Library teamed up to sponsor my visit. Scholastic donated books for every single 5th and 6th grade student at George Washington Carver and Bruce Street School for the Deaf.
(Way to go, Scholastic!)


Scholastic even sent me a ton of bookplates to sign, in case any of the kids forgot their books. Very few forgot. And those had printed a pic of the cover of Glory Be for me to sign.

(I have a lot of bookplates left. If anybody needs one, email or comment or Facebook message me, and I'll send it your way!) 




 

 These girls were part of the multi-cultural assembly. 

Dancers from the Dominican Republic!

 Here I am with the fabulous teachers. 

I loved chatting with them after my presentation. 

One had worked in a Freedom School and told me all about it. 

They'd all done an amazing job of preparing the kids. 

Thank you, ladies!

One teacher says her kids want to write a sequel: 

Whatever Happened To Robbie?

Now you know I love that...

(And a special shoutout to the Tech Guy, not pictured: Thank you for your help!)

What a way to end my school year, traveling with Glory Be!