Bright Shining Faces

My beautiful niece Ana

Soon after Anna Mei, Cartoon Girl was published, I got an invitation any writer would envy—I was asked to make a presentation at my nieces' school in upstate New York. It seems that once their teachers learned that Mel (age 12) and Ana (age 8) had helped inspire a book, they started reading it aloud in their classrooms. Then they asked if I would come and talk to the kids about writing.

It was my first time doing a school presentation, so I was pretty nervous. And because I was still busy working on the manuscript for the sequel, I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to prepare. Even more nerve-wracking—the school had invited a reporter and photographer from the local paper to cover the event!

I’d just set up my display board and answered a few of the reporter’s questions when the students started filing into the room. The butterflies that had been flitting idly around in my stomach started beating their wings in a wild dance. I felt exactly the way Anna Mei did when she had to present her heritage report to the kids in room 117!

But like my young character, I found that the anticipation was much worse than the experience. The staff was warm and welcoming. The reporter stayed unobtrusively in the background, and the kids…well, the kids were amazing. They had a lot of great questions about writing in general and about Anna Mei in particular.

One of the best moments came when I mentioned the two short stories I’d written in a collection called Friend 2 Friend. Hands shot up all over the room. It turns out that the teachers had read those stories to them, so I was able to ask questions like “What happened next?” and “What would you have done?” Talking about my stories with a group of kids who have already read and enjoyed them is like the sweetest frosting on top of an already delicious cake.

Later I had a chance to talk with some of the students at a reception at my nieces’ house. Some were outgoing, others were shy; some wanted to have their pictures taken with me, just like I do whenever a visiting author comes to a bookstore or library near me. Some confided that they hoped to be writers themselves. I told them I looked forward to getting their signatures in their books someday.

2nd grade teacher Mrs. Smith

As a wonderful souvenier, I brought home thank-you cards from the kids. Baylor wrote, "You inspired me to be a poet. I like your poem Sandcastle!" "Thank you for coming to our school," Stephen's note says. "Now I want to write a book too! I even have the title—Fish and Cookie Picnic Day." Then there's this comment from Sé: "Thank you for being so nice and telling us how to make a book, and making my mind bigger." To which I can only say, "Thank all of you for being so nice, and making my heart bigger."