Ending the School Year with Skype

This has been a very interesting couple of weeks.
Have you ever tried to talk to somebody when your roof was being repaired?
Have you ever SKYPED with a whole bunch of kids while your house was shaking?

I moved to my basement.
I moved to a corner of my room.
There was nowhere to hide.

That was pretty much how it went with my end-of-the-year Skype sessions.
There were times when I questioned my sanity in agreeing to do so many.
Especially since I had this teensy little writing deadline looming.

But each session made me smile.

The girls who talked to me during their recess and lunch.
The third graders who'd read the book as a class project.

And so many of the questions were truly thoughtful.

For example:
(These are from 4th and 5th graders)

Who helped you when you started out?

What character changed the most after working with an editor.

 What advice did your editor give you?

What's your favorite genre?

(I'm not entirely sure I knew the word GENRE in 4th grade...)

Also, I got to talk to two groups of kids who'd read THE WAY TO STAY IN DESTINY.
Until recently, I didn't know much about how young readers were responding to my new book.

I was especially wowed by a group of 2nd grade advanced readers in Florida who really had some fabulous questions.
(And I added a new name to my Potential Character Name Book= Treasure!)

These bright, smart readers were from The Learning Center for the Deaf in Framingham, MA.

They wrote a thank-you note that very day! Just like our mamas told us we should do.

And this group in Deerfield, IL.
(They told me all about the Bluestem List!)

Their teacher tweeted our picture. It always cracks me up to see that large <ME> on the screen. Paused mid-sentence!

Thanks so much @ARScattergood for talking to us all about Glory Be!— Jill Bonnette (@jill_bonnette) May 21, 2015


As the year winds down, I have to say AGAIN how amazing teachers and librarians are. How hard they work.
How they love books.
How they go that extra mile to connect with books and their authors.

Have a great summer, all you remarkable teachers and librarians.
Put your feet up, stare at the ocean or the lake or the mountains.
And enjoy those summer books.



Just for fun, here's a previous post about Skyping in your flipflops...
:)