Kate shared the story of how she became a writer, from the very beginning as a child writing stories about school, through her adventures as a reporter, and finally to today as a published author. We loved all of the photos of where her ideas come from - it truly connected the kids with her writing! They really liked the story of how her book Seamonster's First Day came to be, but Marty McGuire was the best! Research as play? Kissing a frog? Never was research so fun!
It was also fascinating for them to hear and see what authors go through to get their books published. 14 revisions of Marty McGuire! Lots and lots of work goes into her writing and I think the message about revising was loud and clear to the kids! The teachers certainly were impressed.
We were also lucky that day to have Kate visit with one of our classes who had just finished Capture the Flag. They spent their lunch time with her asking questions and connecting.
Immediately after the skypes, all the Kate Messner books disappeared from our library. No greater compliment can be paid. My students and I cannot wait until the sequel to Capture the Flag, Hide and Seek comes out April 1. We hope the books we are ordering from Kate's bookstore get here a little earlier!
Kate's visit was so successful that the students are already asking when we are going to skype again with an author!
Thank you to all who made this such a great experience for our students. I cannot wait to see where we go next!