I just had the most exhilarating school and library visit. Dan Stone, who lived in Burlingame, California, was a dedicated library user for many years. After he died, his family created a special event, the Dan Stone Memorial Children's Author Series. I was invited this year as the guest. I followed in some pretty big footsteps : Paul Fleishman 2002, Maxine Rose Schur 2004, Pam Munoz Ryan 2005, and Gennifer Choldenko 2007.In the morning I did two presentations in the middle school library. I had fantastic kids, clustered together on the carpeted floor of the library and up the also-carpeted steps. The were full of questions, which was great. As I was showing Dorothea Lange's photos of the Great Depression and playing Woody Guthrie songs, I realized these kids were hearing today about the recession-could-it-turn-into-a-depression, and now they were seeing and hearing about the Great Depression. What I was doing was not just history, but was suddenly relevant, scarily enough.
In the afternoon I did two more presentations at the Burlingame Library, which is a beautiful place. Dan Stone's daughters came and brought their children, which was really an honor. Here's a photo of the Stone grandchildren with me on the right and a picture of their grandfather. My author minder for the day was Cathy Somerton, with assistance from Kathy with a K. Thanks to both of them, as well as Michele Gilcrest, the librarian, who prepared the kids for my visit. And thanks to Cathy Somerton for taking the photos!
No comments:
Post a Comment