I spent today with the sixth, seventh, and eighth graders at Athol-Royalston Middle School.
I am very, very tired.
But I had a great time telling ARMSers a little about me and how I came to write TRACKING TRASH. The Athol Public Library sponsored my visit and had the foresight to pair this event with their October Community Reading Day … which means every single kid in the audience had already read at least part of my book. What a treat!
And although presentations to large groups (I saw three groups of 150 kids each today) are not as intimate as classroom visits, there is something special about having an audience that size get into a talk. That happened today and it felt good. And there were those moments—my favorites of the day—when students approached me after the presentation to chat. I was inspired by the twelve-year-old who told me “I am working on my first book and you are right: revision is hard work!”, and I could have hugged the young woman who asked “Will you come back when the bee book is done and tell us about it?” These kids rock!
Many thanks to everyone at Athol-Royalston Middle School, and especially to Anne Cutler-Russo, for making this event happen. I’m already looking forward to February and my family presentation at the library.