I love visiting schools!

I’ve had great visits these last two weeks to Duchesne Academy and Bunker Hill Elementary in Houston.

I’ve been showing students this picture of myself taken on my recent vacation which included this stop in the Kasbah in Tangiers. I’m terrified of snakes and discussed this as an example of trying something you think you might not like. (Within reason, of course. The guy with me is a snake charmer and that snake is pretty tame.)

I related this to how I became a writer. As art teacher, I’d always identified myself an artist and never had any idea that I’d become a writer, until I took a course in writing at a university near my home. You say you don’t like broccoli? How can you know, if you never try it? Who knows, it might turn out to be one of your favorite foods.

it was certainly a joy to discover writing when I did, and sharing my writing in schools is icing on the cake!

Another wonderful thing about being an author is the opportunity to meet librarians, who love books and instilling that love in their students. It was a delight meeting Tammy Holley, librarian at Bunker Hill Elementary, as well as Rebecca Howard the PTA volunteer who helped her put this event together. Yay, PTA!

I also enjoyed meeting Katie Turner and Megan Woods, hard-working lower school librarians at Duchesne. The Duchesne Book Fair the next day was hosted by Georgette Radford at Barnes and Noble in Town and Country, who also served as judge for the tin foil hat contest.

Yes, we children’s writers definitely are able to have our cake and eat it, too!