For my regular blog readers, this might feel like just another post about just another Maine visit, but you have to trust me … my school visits here in Maine have been anything but routine! They continue to be unique and marvelous and full of lovely connections that I will never forget…
On Wednesday, outside the library of the George E. Jack School in Standish, Maine, I was greeted by this flotilla of duckies:
and this sign:
Throughout the day I spoke with fourth and fifth graders about the writing of TRACKING TRASH. The students were fabulous, and in the final moments of my final presentation, a sharp-eyed fifth grader among them pointed out some books in the background of a photo I have shown hundreds and hundreds of times in school visits. It was snapped at my book launch party in March of 2007:
He was pointing out THE LAST DRAGON, a book he adored. But his looking deeply at the image made ME look at it deeply, too … and I noticed for the first time that my friend Sara Lewis Holmes’ novel, LETTERS FROM RAPUNZEL, is also in the picture. How could I have missed that? (Do you see it there, between our faces?) A special photo has suddenly become even more special.
Later, long after I had left the school, I had dinner in Gorham. I was sitting at my table reading a book and waiting for the check when a woman and her son sat at the table next to me. I heard them begin the age-old dinnertime ritual:
“So” Mom said, “how was your day?”
“Pretty good,” the boy said. “We had an author at our school.”
I stopped reading and started listening closer.
“Which author?” Mom asked.
“Well, I forget her name. But she wrote a book about trash called TRACKING TRASH and …”
“Hey! That’s me!” I said.
Or maybe I shouted? It sort of slipped out. It would have been embarrassing, except the boy, bless his heart, shouted right back, “Mom! That’s her! That’s the author who came to school!”
Oh, what a day. Heartfelt thanks to everyone at George E. Jack school for making my Wednesday day so lovely, and to Kevin and his mom for making my Wednesday night so memorable, and to Kris Zuidema for setting it all up.