SWEET SAN ANTONIO

Last week was filled with sweet moments in San Antonio. And I'm not referring to the Krispy Kreme Doughnuts aroma that filled the air around my hotel. (Why do you think I stayed there?)

I'm referring to the schools I visited in the area, their students, librarians and teachers. Tuesday I kicked my week off at St. Luke's Episcopal School. Mary Milligan brought me in as a part of their book fair. These are lucky students because everyday that week they heard a different writer speak. One thing I'm certain they learned by Friday was that writers approach their craft differently. Thanks Mary and Henrietta.


Wednesday I visited Castle Hills Elementary School. Their enthusiastic librarian, Felice Feldman, is on the program committee of the Texas Bluebonnet so we both had to sit on the secret about Piper Reed Navy Brat being a part of the master list. (The list wasn't officially announced until Saturday at the Texas Book Festival.) At her school, I especially enjoyed eating lunch with the kids. It was sort of a revolving lunch for me because I went from table to table. That way I could visit with each student. Thanks, Felice, Nathalie and Jaime. I had a lovely day at your school.



My last day in San Antonio was super busy. I started the day at Coker Elementary. Carol Muska is a good example of how dynamite comes in small packages. Most of the students had read one of my books so they were already interested in what I had to say. I appreciate the teachers preparing them. Between presentations, I noticed the names of books hanging outside some classroom doors.
Carol explained that it was for a program they'd be doing the following day called Trick or Read . The older students buddy up with a younger student and they go from classroom to classroom, listening to a story. Now that's my kind of Halloween! Thank you, Carol, Melanie, and teachers.

That evening Miriam Martinez from University of Texas at San Antonio and I had dinner with one of her colleagues before heading to the campus. Miriam is an excellent children's literature professor who graciously put together an evening for me with her students.
It was a sweet way to end my week. The turnout was great and the students made me feel so welcome. I also got to meet up with an old chum, Tiffany, who used to work at the famous Toad Hall children's bookstore in Austin. Reacquainting with Tiffany proves it is indeed a small world.

Though I only got to chat with some of the students briefly, I loved hearing the excitement in their voices about their future teaching careers. There are going to be some lucky students that get those teachers. Thank you, Miriam, for all your hard work. And thanks to your students for reading my books. I'll always remember my evening at your campus.