But what a gift to give a child, this chance to discover that you can love a book and the characters in it, you can become their friend and share their adventures in your own imagination. This is a quote from children’s writer, Philip Pullman, part of a speech he gave recently regarding proposed library cuts in the UK. I spent three days this week with the students of New Minas Elementary School (all 300+ of them!), and it was wonderful to see that books do still matter to kids, despite all the competition from technology. The students were interested, helpful, friendly and attentive during my presentations. From Lacey who drew me a pig and told me that 50 isn’t old, to all the students who made me laugh, to the primary students who randomly hugged me in the halls, it was all good; the staff members of NMES work incredibly hard to provide a warm learning environment for their kids, and they’ve grown an excellent school as a result of their efforts. Huge thanks to Sheila, Jenn and everybody at New Minas Elementary for hosting my three-day visit!