I’ve been doing some school author visits this month, which I love doing since it reminds me how much I love kids! And how much I admire all the adults in the schools – heroes all of them. I took a few pictures of some of the wall/door art I found:

I’ve had three bookish things happen this month that really made me smile:

a) a high school student in Saskatchewan reached out to me because she had read A HARE IN THE ELEPHANT’S TRUNK for a school project, and she had to do a six-minute speech impersonating me! She wanted more background info than is available on my blog. I was happy to help and to hear that she got 100%!

b) I also got a note from a man who had read HARE, thanking me, and telling me he is not young – he’s in his eighties:) It’s such a treat for an author to hear from people in various corners who’ve connected with one of your books.

c) During one school visit, I had shared SKY PIG, and then I asked the kids to draw their dreams. If they could have anything in the world, what would it be? Kids love this activity, and they come up with some great ideas. As I walked around one classroom (P/1), I noticed one little boy sitting quietly, but not drawing anything. When I crouched down and asked if I could help, he remained silent. I asked an EA in the room if he didn’t speak, and she told me he had just arrived from Ukraine before the holidays. I then went back and really worked to help him understand what he was to draw. A few minutes later, I noticed him staring at the wall behind me, while drawing on his paper. He was using a red crayon, and when I went back, he was carefully copying the Canadian flag behind me! “Your dream is to live in Canada?!” I exclaimed, and he gave me a big grin and nodded his head. This was definitely one of the best moments of my writing life. I had a painting of a dog carrying a Canadian flag at home, so I put it in an envelope and mailed it to the Principal to give to the boy. I hope it makes him smile:)

Wherever you are, I hope January is being kind to you and yours.