An April Book Signing!

Every time I stop in to the local library my buddies behind the counter ask when we'll have an Open House book signing for the final book in the SPOTD series.

This week we decided:

This is wonderful timing. The launches of volumes 1 and 2 were heralded by much local press and interest, but attention for volume 3 was thwarted by busy-ness on my part. A local event would be cause for press releases and coverage... A great opportunity.

Just think. By then the snow will be gone, the sun will be shining, the trees will have leaves, the tulips will be popping, and finches will be building their nests.

Of course, we all thought the snow would be gone by now. And it's not. So maybe I shouldn't make any predictions on the weather front. I take it back.

There will be snacks.  THAT I am sure of.

Where did March go?

It was wonderful to meet so many great little readers and their families at the Montevideo PTSA Letters & Art Night way back in February. It feels like that happened last week. What's wrong with my internal calendar? In any case, here's a shot of my good friend Monica and me set up to share SPOTD with our guests.

We gave out piles of stickers, chatted with everyone who wandered by, and even sold a few books.

After the first hour (pizza and art stroll), I was invited to read a few pages of SPOTD: Origins of a Sixth Grade Superhero during the "Celebrity Reading Time." I strolled down the Sanford Elementary hallway looking for  my assigned room of upper elementary... WAIT! THOSE ARE TINY KIDS! SOME OF THEM CAN'T EVEN TALK (much) YET! WHO ORDERED 3 TO 5-YEAR-OLDS FOR MY READING ABOUT A SIXTH GRADER? I TEACH 18-YEAR-OLDS AND HAVE NO CHILDREN OF MY OWN.

WHAT DO I DO?

I learned a lot.

First, I learned that a teacher is a teacher, whether the learners are itty bitty or a few months from university. Engaging them with questions, focusing on them so they know you are listening to their answers, and presenting info in little chunks works with any age. Once I started, my instincts kicked in.

Second, the first few pages of the novel are BRILLIANT for kids to act out. Whenever I read an auditory image, we paused and made the onomatopoetic sound together. Whenever I read a visual image that the kids could mime, we paused and used our bodies. There were claws and growls and squeaks and whooshes and baseball throws and knocks. Such fun!

Finally, and I always knew this, I remembered how much I love to read aloud. It's my favorite. Students in my high school classes know they won't often get called on to read aloud because I hog all the action.

Thanks to the Montevideo PTSA for organizing this wonderful event. You are spreading the love of books and learning to a new generation. I was proud to help out.