Teachers never fail to surprise me with new ways to support literacy. A couple of days ago, I gave an author talk to a group of adorable students at St. Peter School in Cambridge, MA (see above photo). When I realized that the audience consisted of children as young as pre-K, I wondered if they’d stay focused, especially with end-of-year restlessness a factor. But clearly prepared by their teachers, who’d taken the time to read aloud two of my picture books prior to my visit, the children were engaged and asked astute questions.
Afterwards, one 1st grader melted my heart when she approached me with her teacher, looked up at me with serious brown eyes and said, “I’m one of your fans.”
But back to the teachers…to complement my book Don’t Call Me Sidney, about an aspiring pig poet who changes his name to become more rhymeable, a first grade teacher asked her students to write about their own names. Their responses were varied, thoughtful and had accompanying artwork. One of my favorite pieces included this line: “I like my name because it makes me me!”
These young writers now have me as one of their fans!
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