School Visits

This spring has totally gotten away from me as far as sharing some of the fun things I've done with schools. 
But as the school year winds down, this seems like a lovely time to celebrate school libraries.

A HUGE thank-you to all the teachers and librarians who've done so much to make these days special for me and their kids.
 

At Windermere School in Orlando, my great-niece Augusta's 4th grade class made their own Junk Poker boxes. This is one that caught my eye! 

Niece Amy and I. Enjoying a quick photo before I start blabbing about my book.

Speaking of my niece. I'd never say no to Glory Bee honey sticks and huge hunk of chocolate shaped like our home state. (Kind of.  If somebody bit off Gulfport.) Thanks, Amy!

At a school in Tampa, these kids were showing off their GLORY BE projects to their principal. 

When both principal and teacher support an Author Visit, you know that's a great school!  

 One project, on display for me.











Some mornings, getting up before sunrise is worth the show. A short walk outside my Orlando hotel, and the view was breathtaking.  (I love a nice foggy Florida morning, if I'm not driving!)

Signing books is made better when you find a name you love. 
Ah, Story, you were meant to be a character in a book.

Only a former librarian would take a picture of the Bound-to-Stay-Bound poster in a library. Really, I am such a geek.

Or a book cart filled with Sunshine Reader books and a shelf marker... 

 One thing I've loved about my school visits in Florida are the fabulous murals, 
almost always painted by local artists. 

 Of course, I had to take a picture of the airplanes at Tinker Elementary School 
on MacDill Air Force Base.

And the skateboard rack at a high school in West Palm Beach...
Couldn't resist this picture from my April is for Authors event. 
Only in Florida?

I've learned about the concept of their morning radio shows.  
I love this from Westchase Elementary in Tampa.

Thank you for a great spring, Florida Sunshine Readers! 
And good luck as you move to your county Battle of the Books competitions. 

Thank you, Grady Elementary!

One of the joys of having your book on the state reading list for your own state is that you get to visit nearby schools and hear what they think. And of course, we all know that kids LOVE to tell the truth.

Tampa's GRADY ELEMENTARY was my most recent stop. Despite the rainy weather, I was welcomed in a BIG way! Check out the sign as I drove into the school.

All the teachers and the librarian were so enthusiastic and their students were delightful.
A huge image of my cover art adorned the library.

4th grade teachers Melinda Dickens and Charlene Ritter truly made my day. The projects were fabulous!

Here are a few FLOATS, based on the Sunshine Reader list books. They'd had their own book parade! (It's all about Gasparilla in Tampa.)







4th grade kids made Lap Books, fully illustrated.

Tons of great stuff in these projects, including a letter to the EDITOR standing up for something they believed in.
Check this one!

"Naps help our health and give us energy to do our work."
Smart thinking.


And the fun continued today when I opened a folder full of letters, thanking me for sharing my book's journey with them.

Must share a few of these detailed, thoughtful notes. I'm still smiling.
(Some great advice, too...)

"Keep revising and work hard."
Okay!

"I think it's really cool that you and your editor revised together. 
I think my hand would fall off."
Yep, mine almost did.

"Now I know what Mrs. Ritter means by 'Our writing is never done!'"
Listen to your teachers, kids!

"As soon as your new book comes out I will surely be reading your newest master piece."

"Someday when I grow up I might write an autobiography and it might have your presentation in it."

"I loved your book. I'm pretty sure it was the BEST book I ever read."
Hey- I'll take Pretty Sure any day!


"I understood you like to read. I am a reading maniac as well. Now if you will excuse me, I have to do some reading myself."

On that note, I'm off to follow Jake's example and do a little reading myself.

Have a great week, teachers and librarians, and thanks for the amazing work you do to make kids so enthusiastic about books.

What I'm Reading

THE YEAR OF THE BOOK, by Andrea Cheng.

I'm picking a few Sunshine Young Reader Books and giving them a whirl. When I visit schools in Florida, I often ask the kids what they're reading. And if it's 3-5th grades and the students are getting ready for Battle of the Books, the answers are frequently "Battle" books. AKA Sunshine Readers.




THE YEAR OF THE BOOK is a perfect little middle-grade read. 
What I like about it:
1. The way it looks and feels when you pick it up!
>146 pages
>Just enough illustrations scattered throughout, including a bookshelf at the chapter headings.

2. The main character. Not too good, not too bad, Anna is just right.

3. The quiet story. Yes, quiet is not for everybody. But I've heard from enough readers to know they like these complicated friendships, the school scenes, the family story. 

4. The title. Titles are important. This one fits the book. 

5. The books Anna reads. I love it when an author sneaks kids' books into the story. In one illustration, Anna is reading From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. In a bathtub. Every detail, including the cover art from my favorite, well-loved hardcover edition of The Mixed-Up Files is perfect.