As summer approaches, I want to say a big THANK YOU for . . .
1. Many memorable school visits . . .
2. Fun Skype visits/Google Hangout, World Read Aloud Day . . .
Some of you have hosted me at conferences and festivals. Some have made very generous donations to children's literacy organizations. And one of you sent me an umbrella that came in very handy. (You know who you are!)
Each of you has dedicated your time and energy to enriching the lives of children.
What you do matters in ways you can't imagine. You change lives. You make this world a better place by being an advocate for the children you interact with every day.
You deserve a lovely, restorative summer!
If you've always wanted to write, check out Kate Messner's FREE summer on-line writing workshops for teachers. Authors provide guest posts all summer and answer questions. The writing workshop will be hosted on Kate's blog. You can join the FB group here.
Or maybe you're looking for great summer reads. Sign up for Jen Robinson's Book Page newletter, crammed with inspiring book recommendations, news and interesting links.
Or travel to exotic locations (or at least dream about them) by signing up for Travel Zoo's Weekly Top 20 Travel Deals.
Whatever you do this summer, have a wonderful time filled with the things you love best. You deserve it!
The past 5 months, I've had some late nights and long weekends writing and revising and re-revising DEATH BY TOILET PAPER.
Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of hitting "SEND." My agent, Tina Wexler, responded with an e-mail that every writer dreams of -- praise so generous it made me tear up. Twice.
Now, I'll work with my editor, Michelle Poploff, and the awesome team at Random House to make this the best book possible. I can't wait for its release next year!
I've been doing lots more than writing and revising these past five months.
There have been oodles of school visits, including the week I spent in Fort Worth, TX with incredible hosts, extraordinary students and . . . Clifford the Big Red Dog.
Eager Briscoe Elementary students
I've traveled the country virtually doing tons of Skype visits, like this one with 6th grade students in VA . . .
Thanks, Ms. Buchanan, for sharing your FUNderful students with me.
I've received lovely notes from students, including these thank you letters from Mr. Schu's students in IL and Ms. Luchie's students in ME from World Read Aloud Day.
Thank You Notes from Mr. Schu's students. (Dogs not included.)
Teddy guarding the thank you notes from Ms. Luchie's students. (Thanks, Teddy!)
I created a fun OLIVIA BEAN, TRIVIA QUEEN quiz for Random Buzzers that includes trivia and a chance for kids to earn Buzz Bucks and "buy" books with them. Check it out!
Recently, I spoke at a luncheon with Jim Cummings. He spent a year in Africa with no running water or electricity and counts it as the best of his life. Jim has created an amazing project -- KIJANA EDUCATIONAL EMPOWERMENT INITIATIVE -- which connects children across cultures, provides educational spaces, puts books into kids' hands in Kenya and more.
There are great "thank you" gifts for even the smallest donation. Won't you take a moment to donate? I just did. Kijana Lwanda Maktaba Campaign. HERE'S WHAT I'LL BE DOING THROUGH THE END OF APRIL . . .
1. APRIL IS FOR AUTHORS -- Saturday, April 27th at Palm Beach Gardens High School, 25 authors from around the country will give presentations, participate in panel discussions and sign books at this FREE event from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. This is a wonderful annual event. If you live in or near Palm Beach County, FL, be sure to stop by this Saturday.
2. I'll be attending the 26th annual CONFERENCE ON CHILDREN'S LITERATURE in Ft. Lauderdale Friday. I had spoken there a few years ago. This time, I'm going to enjoy a great lineup of speakers, including the Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Walter Dean Myers. Can't wait!
3. And I'll be doing THREE days of local school visits.
I'm excited about each of these visits, but especially about the last one because . . . Thanks to the generosity of Kids in Need, Books in Deed, a nonprofit organization, every one of the students I'll be speaking to at this Title I school has been given a copy of one of my books. A brand new book to keep. (Something I never had growing up.)
I can't tell you what it feels like to present to a group of low-income students who ask how they can get a copy of a book, only to be told there are no copies for them. Kids in Need, Books in Deed is a great organization, and I've already made a donation to thank them for the important work they do here in Florida, getting books into kids' hands in conjunction with author visits.
After the whirlwind of activity the past 5 months and what's on the horizon for the remainder of April, I'm pretty sure on May 1st, you'll find me here . . .
It was my pleasure to participate in World Read Aloud Day 2013.
This initiative to increase global literacy and celebrate the power of words and stories to change worlds is the creation of Pam Allyn at LITWORLD -- a non-profit literacy organization, fostering resilience, hope and joy through the power of story.
Thanks to author extraordinaire, Kate Messner, who helps facilitate authors to read aloud to classrooms all over the world via Skype to celebrate this special day.
Thanks to Kate, I connected with amazing school librarian Mr. Schu a few years ago. Check out the video on his blog post about World Read Aloud Day. (There are books being given away at the end of his post.)
In keeping with tradition, I wore my bunny slippers while traveling around the country to classrooms in Maine, Iowa, Illinois and Texas.
Here's a photo of my first visit with the kids in Ohio, who created this FUNTASTIC video invitation for me . . .
Alas, a snow day cancelled school. Deb Tyo, thanks for the apt photo.
School was open in Maine, where I got to hang out with some very cool 7th graders. In this photo by Abigail Luchies, I got a chance to see what the students saw. (My view, of course, was very different.)
Love that the boy in the back row has his copy of Diary of a Wimpy Kid next to him.
From Maine, I traveled to Illinois To meet Todd HiIlmer and some of his 6th and 7th grade students.
These kids were adorable!
Mr. Hillmer and his gang, sharing lunch, stories and fun trivia questions.
I stayed in Illinois for awhile because Mr. Schu was in the house.
A few of his students read touching introductions for World Read Aloud Day. This young lady in blue quoted something from Sharon Creech's Love That Dog that may or may not have made me cry a little bit. All his students were engaged and inquisitive and appreciative and I so wanted to be there in person to give them all hugs. (One of the disadvantages of Skype visits.)
Two minutes after leaving Illinois, I was visiting with Shannon McClintock Miller's students in Iowa. (One of the advantages of Skype visits.)
Can you guess what's missing from this photo?
Photo courtesy of Shannon McClintock Miller
The pot-bellied pig, of course! He was scheduled to be part of World Read Aloud Day festivities, but was unable to walk through the snow.
Don't worry, they found another way to add a whole lot of fun and shake up the day.
Van Meter School Celebrating World Read Aloud Day With a Little Harlem Shake!
Had only fifteen minutes to get all the way to Texas. Luckily, Skype got me there in about two seconds . . . and didn't lose my luggage!
Hello, Jane Jergensen's 6th graders at Kerr Elementary School in Allen, Texas!
The group was much larger than could fit on one screen!
I had the great pleasure of visiting Kerr Elementary in Allen, Texas last year, during a school visit. And I was equally impressed with these kids during our Skype visit. You should have seen the long line of kids waiting to ask questions; and such good quality questions!
After having lots of laughs in Texas, I ended the day with two classes of adorable kindergarteners back in snowy Illinois.
Library Guy, Jeff McHugh, was fun, friendly and funny. He told me that when I showed the kids my giant purple pen and told them purple was my favorite color, one of the kids said, "Wow. Purple is my fourth favorite color."
Loved these kids! We had a lot of fun reading Kelly DiPucchio's Zombie in Love. Thanks, Mr. McHugh for sharing this awesome, engaged group with me!
World Read Aloud Day was a blast! Can't wait till next year. Won't you join in by reading aloud to children in your community or, via Skype, to children around the country . . . or the world?
One of the joys of my work is the creative response from kids.
1) This web site for How to Survive Middle School was created, I assume, by a student: http://htsms.weebly.com/index.html. To say I was impressed by the effort would be an understatement.
2) Found out How to Survive Middle School is on the Battle of the Books list for Chicago Public Schools, grades 4-6. Love how educators make reading fun with events like Battle of the Books.
Here are some of the things kids have said about the Battle of the Books in Chicago:
"We all felt so excited that we almost fainted!"
"All the books I read helped me understand more about the world."
"I came to the U.S. two years ago. I was a very slow English reader. Now I can read a book in a day!"
3) And the extraordinary educator, Deb Tyo from Ohio, sent me this video invitation created entirely by her 6th grade students.
To fully appreciate this short video, you need to know four quick things:
When I graduated elementary school, the math award I received was a dictionary (that I still use today).
There is "an unfortunate hula hoop incident" in my book, Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen.
The upcoming title for my 2014 middle grade novel is Death by Toilet Paper
To celebrate World Read Aloud Day, an annual event created by LitWorld, I will be one of many authors Skyping into classrooms to read and interact and have some fun. For a list of authors available to Skype with students on WRAD, check out Kate Messner's blog post.
Now, onto the FUNtastic video, created by Deb Tyo's inventive students:
What do you think? Should I Skype with these kids on WRAD? You betcha! And I think I'd better bring my hula hoop, too.
Today, I had the great fun of Skyping with wonderful students, sharing my love for reading and an excerpt from my new book, Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen.
Thanks to Kate Messner for connecting authors with classrooms as part of this special day!
And thanks to the wonderful educators and librarians for connecting me with your students.
These kids live where I used to live in Bensalem, PA. We had a great time talking about the one thing I miss almost as much as my family -- PHILLY SOFT PRETZELS!
I managed to keep these awesome North Carolina kids in the dark.
This Western Pennsylvania book club shared their favorite books. I have a lot of reading to do to keep up with them!
Loved the kids from this New York middle school.
While it looks like I was speaking to only a few, this was a great group from New Hampshire. They were part of a book club that regularly Skypes with authors.
Iowa is in the house! Thanks Ms. McClintock Miller for connecting during your very busy day. This is our second year working together during World Read Aloud Day.
Bad lighting. GREAT kids from NY!
Ms. Tyo, we meet again. These Ohio students are great readers and totally rocked World Read Aloud Day!
On World Read Aloud Day, several children's book authors will Skype with students and read to them from their books FOR FREE!
I participated in this wonderful event last year, the event's inaugural year. Virtually, I visited six schools in five states, without ever getting out of my bunny slippers. Read about it here.
Enthusiastic students from Oak Brook, IL
If you'd like an author to read to your students via Skype on World Read Aloud Day, check out Kate Messner's blog, where she lists the authors who are available.
Who started World Read Aloud Day? Why super hero, literacy advocate Pam Allyn, of course. Read more at LitWorld. Their motto is: "Words changing worlds."
How did I hear about Pam Allyn? On author/illustrator, Katie Davis's, Brain Burps Podcast. I love this podcast. I've learned so much about the industry from these fun, informative podcasts, brimming with interviews. Thanks, Katie!
And thanks to everyone involved in creating and supporting World Read Aloud Day. So far, I'll be Skyping with students from five schools in five different states. Can't wait! Hmm, I know my bunny slippers are around here somewhere.
So, you can imagine how excited Hammy and I were to open our mailbox and find this . . .
It's full of creative cards, letters, drawings, etc. from young readers that Hammy and I had the pleasure to visit with during a FUNtastic Skype visit to Brook Forest Elementary.
Here are a few of the wonderful "Thank You"s the students created . . .
"Dear Donna Gephart, Thank you for skypeing with my class. You are great author. It was funny when you showed us your rubber chicken, and when you showed us your big glasses. You were very funny. It was cool that you memorized the summery the book you talked about. You are one of my favorite authors. Once again, thank you for coming to my school. From, Kabir."
A big THANK YOU to Mr. John Schu for arranging the Skype visit, encouraging the students to create those wonderful cards and for being the best librarian in the world. At least, that's what Jon Scieszka says.
Thanks to Kate Messner and the miracle of Skype, I was able to meet with students from SIX different schools in FIVE different states (New York, Illinois twice, Ohio, North Carolina and Iowa).
We shared a lot of laughs. I showed the students some books I loved when I was their age, shared some behind-the-scenes stuff about my books and, of course, showed Hammy the Hamster and my rubber chicken necklace. Then I, um, READ because if you're not paying attention, it's World Read Aloud Day.
Here are the awesome kids from Oak Brook, IL . . .
And the students from Ohio made signs with pictures of my books on them, and at the end, several students held up letters that spelled out, "T-h-a-n-k Y-o-u!" Let me tell you, spelling-obsessed Vanessa Rothrock would have been proud. I know I was.
(Tip for authors: On the left side of my screen, I pulled up the section of my novel on Word so I could read without looking away at a book in my hands.)
It was super fun to read aloud and visit with so many students from so many states. The best part was that I didn't leave a single carbon footprint on the planet because I did it all from my home office.
Of course, I may have made bunny footprints because while it appeared that I was dressed in businesslike attire, down below, I was wearing these . . .
Thanks so much to Kate Messner for organizing this and the FANTABULOUS teachers and librarians who invited me to visit virtually with your WONDERFUL students!
