by hatfield13

Champlain Quadricentennial Book Club at LCMM

I had a fantastic experience at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum this weekend.  Museum Educator Sarah Lyman emailed me a few months ago with an invitation.  Would I like to participate in a book club for Champlain and the Silent One hosted at the museum?  Kids would read the book along with their parents, then come to the museum on the weekend of the Native American Encampment to talk about it and learn more about what Silent One’s life might have been like.  Would I be interested in participating?  You bet! 

The reenactors who took part in the weekend were fabulous educators and spent lots of time showing hands-on displays of everything from cooking utensils to weapons they’d set up on the museum grounds. The kids who attended had great comments and questions during my presentation, and the group was small enough that we actually got to have a discussion — something you can’t really do when you’re talking in front of an assembly of 300 kids.  We were still chatting away when the next group started filing into the auditorium for a screening of Dr. Fred Wiseman’s Quadricentennial film 1609: The Other Side of History, so we moved our party outside and talked some more during book signing time.

I was especially impressed with some of the younger readers, or listeners as the case may be, who enjoyed the book as a read-aloud with their parents and older siblings.  They had great observations, too, and reminded me that when we write a book and send it out into the world, we can put whatever age range we want on the cover, but that book will find readers of many ages — younger and older than perhaps we’d intended — and some of those unintended readers bring wonderful new perspectives on a story we thought we knew inside and out.

This was the first in a series of summer Quadricentennial events on my calendar.  I’ll be reading & signing books at the South Burlington  Barnes & Noble from 4-6pm on Friday, July 24th.  It’s a "Lake Champlain Weekend" there;  right after my event, Mike Winslow of the Lake Champlain Committee will be signing his new book, Lake Champlain: A Natural History. 

On July 25th, I’ll be speaking at the League of Vermont Writers summer picnic, along with poet Daniel Lusk, whose new collection of poems explores what’s under Lake Champlain’s surface.  I’m intrigued by this idea and can’t wait to hear his talk.

On July 29th, I’ll be giving a presentation for kids & families at the Alburg Public Library.  And in August…I’ll be home, enjoying my family and summer and the lake, and gearing up for a busy autumn when The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z is released September 1st. 

17 Replies on “Champlain Quadricentennial Book Club at LCMM”

  1. I’m going to let D read GIANNA too…even though he’s only 7, he did a project on leaves this year, and I think it might spark his interest 🙂

  2. I’ll have to get a listing of the Quadricentennial events. I would have loved the LCMM event–unfortunately I work most Saturdays during the summer 🙁

  3. I’ll have to get a listing of the Quadricentennial events. I would have loved the LCMM event–unfortunately I work most Saturdays during the summer 🙁

  6. GIANNA Z is one of those books that might very well work for younger readers, even though the official rec is 8-12. Let me know if he connects with it, okay?

  7. GIANNA Z is one of those books that might very well work for younger readers, even though the official rec is 8-12. Let me know if he connects with it, okay?

  12. Haha. I should go to you’re Barnes and Noble book signing! Whenever we go to Burlington(Every other weekend) we always stop at that book-store. It’s the place where I got The Ivy Chronicles because they don’t have it in Plattsburgh.

    It looks like you had alot of fun in Burlington though. But it looks as if you have a busy summer in Vermont planned ahead of you! 🙂 haha.

    Oh and one thing; this is important. I don’t know if you know or not but I was browsing through MySpace and what not; and I go to my Yahoo! mail to scan and see who has one. Now, I have you on my Yahoo! adress book for the Parent Email thingy. On myspace you’re email came up and the myspace display name was Eliza. I don’t know if you made it or not but it was just peculiure(spelling?). You’re first name is Kate right? haha. The last login was 2005…do you want me to send you the link to the myspace?

  13. Haha. I should go to you’re Barnes and Noble book signing! Whenever we go to Burlington(Every other weekend) we always stop at that book-store. It’s the place where I got The Ivy Chronicles because they don’t have it in Plattsburgh.

    It looks like you had alot of fun in Burlington though. But it looks as if you have a busy summer in Vermont planned ahead of you! 🙂 haha.

    Oh and one thing; this is important. I don’t know if you know or not but I was browsing through MySpace and what not; and I go to my Yahoo! mail to scan and see who has one. Now, I have you on my Yahoo! adress book for the Parent Email thingy. On myspace you’re email came up and the myspace display name was Eliza. I don’t know if you made it or not but it was just peculiure(spelling?). You’re first name is Kate right? haha. The last login was 2005…do you want me to send you the link to the myspace?

  14. BUSY!

    Whew, I’m exhausted after reading your upcoming schedule! I LOVE the photo of you talking to one of your young readers – adorable. I’m so glad Silent One’s story is being told during the Quadricentennial.

    Then, just wait until everyone meets Gianna – they will love her!

  15. BUSY!

    Whew, I’m exhausted after reading your upcoming schedule! I LOVE the photo of you talking to one of your young readers – adorable. I’m so glad Silent One’s story is being told during the Quadricentennial.

    Then, just wait until everyone meets Gianna – they will love her!