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As an author, it's not unusual to come in contact with other authors. In fact, this is quite common. Whether on line or in person, we are constantly interacting with other writers. Today, though, I had a very special experience with an author.
A young man came to talk to my Third Graders today. He had just had a children's book published and was telling them about his process. He read them the story, and then talked about how he came up with his ideas and how he created the illustrations. He told the kids about how a story needs to have ups and downs and about how the main character needs to go through some kind of change from the beginning to the end. The kids had great questions and he answered them all. He also talked a bit about his next project, which will be to do the illustrations for another author's book. He had previously done illustrations for another of this author's books last year. All in all, it was a very fun and informative visit.
Now you might be wondering why I said this was a special visit. It sounds pretty ordinary. But this up and coming children's author and illustrator was a former student of mine! I told the kids he had sat in the very room they were in and probably spent a lot of his free time drawing, just like some of them did now. And I said, who knows...in ten or fifteen years, maybe they'll be the ones coming back to talk to a new set of Third Graders about what they do.
What an incredible experience to see in action a life I'd touched in my classroom. It doesn't get any better than that!
Until next time,
Happy Reading!
Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com
This is a fantastic story! What an inspiration--to you and your students.
ReplyDeleteThat's amazing, Debra! You should feel very proud to have been one of the special teachers in his life.
ReplyDeleteWonderful story, Debra. You must be so proud of him (and of yourself too!)
ReplyDeleteIt was such a thrill to see him sitting there talking to my current students.
ReplyDeleteAnd he is a genuinely nice young man.
I can empathise, Debra. Years ago, I produced musical shows with my Girl Guide unit - I had some really talented girls at the time. About fifteen years later, my daughter met one of my former Guides who was appearing in a professional production of the musical 'Cats' in London. She said to my daughter, 'This is all because of the shows we did with your Mum when we were Guides.' It gave me the same thrill as yours, Debra!
ReplyDeleteDoesn't get much more inspiring than that! Wonderful!
ReplyDelete