Thank you, Birmingham Readers!

I spent a wonderful two and a half days with the librarians and readers of Birmingham, Michigan schools this week and want to start this blog post with a BIG thank you to the readers, school library media specialists, and families who made the trip such a great experience.  The Birmingham Schools I visited — Beverly, Greenfield, Harlan, Pembroke, and BCS — were some of the most welcoming, book-loving places I’ve ever been.

Visit coordinator Barbara Clark picked me up at the airport and made it easy for us to find one another. “I’ll be driving a black Ford Edge with your book propped in the windshield,” she said.

I love the way all of the Birmingham schools make literacy a priority. Books and words are celebrated here…from the larger-than-life student writing posters on the walls…

…to the author luncheon dessert, inspired by MARTY MCGUIRE DIGS WORMS!

These were courtesy of librarian Elizabeth Stayer. Here we are with some of my books after eating our gummy worm treats. 🙂

Elizabeth has a delightful “Friend Fish” wall in her library. The kids read my picture book SEA MONSTER AND THE BOSSY FISH and brainstormed ways to be a “friend fish” at school.

These kids from Pembroke Elementary School made me a book…about me!

Their librarian, Julie Green, had emailed me to ask some questions for research. One of the questions was,”What kind of cake do you like best?” I answered truthfully – chocolate with chocolate frosting – and found that the kids used that information not only in their book but also in their kitchen. They presented me with a ginormous chocolate CAPTURE THE FLAG cake along with the book. It was the end of the school day, and everyone was busy getting ready to leave, so I didn’t get a photograph, but I did have a delicious slice of cake before I left school for the afternoon. I left the rest for the kids to enjoy the next day. Their librarian sent this photo – looks like it all worked out!

I had such a great time with all of these terrific readers and writers and am so looking forward to my return trip to Birmingham at the end of April, when I’ll be visiting more schools and also doing a revision workshop for teachers. Many thanks to the wondderful Birmingham Education Foundation for making it all possible!