Tag: texas visit

Visiting Wilkerson Intermediate

When librarian Monica Wetzig brought me in to her library, one of the very first students I met was a girl who had come in to see me, but also one who Ms Wetzig had selected to eat lunch with me. It turned out the student was ecstatic. She had come into the library to give me a special gift because we shared a heritage — she was also Ukrainian — plus she loves my books. Ms Wetzig had no idea she was Ukrainian, just that she was an avid reader. It was especially sweet that she was selected for that reason! She brought me a Ukrainian flag and socks!

And she drew this flag for me, with a special message on the other side.

A whirlwind of presentations and lunch chats. A fantastic day!

Visiting Mitchell Intermediate, Conroe ISD, Texas.

I was so excited to finally have this visit happen. MaryEllen Bryant, librarian-extraordinaire, and I have been corresponding since the fall of 2019. There was a trip in place way back then for me to visit 5 Conroe ISD schools in the spring of 2020. Who knew in the fall of 2019 that such plans were for naught?

MaryEllen warned me that there would be a LOT of books to sign, so I made sure to have several of my favorite sharpies on hand. She was not kidding! First picture is for posterity. Second is us goofing it up.

All of the 5th grade students came in for an assembly in the morning — 600! And in the afternoon, 600 6th grade students came in. I always save lots of time for Q&A and with big groups, ask for educators to select a number of students to come up to the front to ask those questions. Here are some of the questioners:

There were also a number of Ukrainian students at the school, and so they came forward so I could meet them:

Best moment? The group hug:

In the middle of the day there was time for autographing all those books, plus lunch, with selected students cycling through.

The school day ended and I still had two giant cases of books to sign, so MaryEllen grabbed one case and I took the other and we loaded them into the trunk of my rental car. I was seeing her again on Wednesday night for dinner and that would give me time to get them all autographed up.