WRAD: February 2023
I woke up early on February 1 with my some very large butterflies in my stomach. As my coffee brewed, I went over the day in my head: six schools around the country would be getting a visit from me. And then the swirl of hopes entered my brain. I hope I do a good job reading. I hope the kids enjoy my talk. I hope the kids have questions. I hope I don’t mess up. I hope the technology works. You see, no matter how old I get or how many times I talk in front of people, I still get nervous. I want to do the best job I can. I want to be fun and engaging, but most of all I want to inspire kids to read and write. I want to get them excited to make something and see themselves as creative humans.
I love school visits! It’s one of the things I love most about being an author. In reading just one short chapter, many students throughout the day asked thoughtful questions and made insightful predictions about what they thought would happen next. They identified similar themes and structures from other books they knew, and they wanted to know about how long it took to write the book and what inspires creativity. One student shared that she was working on a science fiction book and wanted some advice. Her eyes lit up when I told her to keep pushing boundaries and ask a lot of “what if” questions.
I saw kids in costumes representing their favorite book characters and teachers who were thrilled to provide an authentic connection for their students. The thing that impressed me most, however, was the joy in their faces, and I got to be a small part of that. Being an author is only partly about writing. It’s also about connecting, inspiring, and listening to kids.
A huge thank you is owed to Kate Messner for facilitating the process for schools to connect with authors. I was so thrilled to have teachers and librarians from all over the country invite me into their classrooms. What an honor.
You don’t have to wait for WRAD to have an author visit your school. Are you a teacher or know a classroom that would love a virtual or in person visit? Drop me a line, and let’s make it happen.
