February 6, Monday: Greenbelt Elementary
February 7, Tuesday: Red House Run Elementary
February 9, Thursday: Colgate Elementary
February 13, Monday: Mars Hills Elementary
I'm so looking forward to sharing the book, Excuse Me, I'm Trying to Read, to students, teachers, and staff at all of these schools, and talking about writing and publishing. The book was published independently early last year and will be launched in March 2012 by Charlesbridge Publishing in Seattle at the NAESP Conference. What fun!
Besides speaking to classes at these four schools, I hope to meet with some young writers individually to talk about the writing process and share our work in Mozambique with the non-profit Books for Kids Africa. I miss having Lehla Eldridge, the author and a good friend, with me--her illustrations are delightful and never fail to make children laugh. We're keeping our fingers crossed that there will be so much demand for the book that she'll come over from England in the fall and together we'll visit schools sharing writing and illustrating workshops.
I'm especially looking forward to visiting Greenbelt Elementary where my own three children attended school way back in 1995 - 1996 and where a good friend, Beth Novick, still teaches sixth grade. Another special treat is a visit to Meg Wall's fourth grade at Red House Run Elementary. Meg is a close friend who goes way back to Peace Corps days in Costa Rica in 1980. We stay in close touch so I don't have to worry about not recognizing her!
Check back here next week and I'll share more about the school visits. See you soon!
