Thursday, I made it up to McAuliffe Elementary in Highland Village, TX. I performed three shows in front of three huge crowds of excited students. Fortunately for me, Mrs. Theibaud’s library was big enough to hold them all!
Many of the McAuliffe teachers did their own homework beforehand and scoured my website, discovering all kinds of information about me and what I do. Many found out that I collect hats and one learned that my friends call me “Ant” (short for Anthony and NOT because I can lift 20 times my own body weight). I didn’t get the teacher’s name, but thanks to her, her entire class had a wonderful surprise for me–all of them wore Ant hats in my honor! Add that to all the other cool hats that many of the kids wore and it was a very warm welcome indeed!
Thanks to Mrs. Shaughnessy and the MaAuliffe PTA for inviting me to visit. Thanks to Mrs. Theibaud for the use of her library and for moving all the shelves to make room for those huge audiences. And a special thanks to all those huge audiences themselves, the wonderful students of McAuliffe Elementary. I hope you enjoyed all those books I signed for you!
I finished this week at the Westwood-Bales School in Friendswood, Texas. Since both elementary and intermediate schools share a common campus and many resources, I was lucky enough to meet students from both schools! I gave three shows in the cafeteria, signed a few books in the library, and visited several classrooms where students got a second chance to ask me all kinds of questions about writing, reading, and Special FX!
Thanks to Mr. Lee and Mr. Fred for helping me set up and for their expert table-arranging. Thanks to Mrs. Beltz for taking pictures. Thanks to Mrs. Cain for inviting and for showing me around. Thanks to the PTA for such a tasty lunch and a big thanks to all the terrific 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders at Westwood-Bales! You were a fun way to end the week!
I just finished my second Literacy night at James Williams Elementary and this was the biggest crowd yet. Both nights, students donned their pajamas and brought their pillows and blankets (and parents) to snuggle up on the gym floor and watch my show. Afterward, I signed a ton of books and even got to see Principal Lee sporting his Spider-man PJs! I hope everyone remembered to check me off their Golden Ticket checklist. If students attend certain events and read certain books, they get to draw a candy bar that may have a golden ticket inside–just like in that wonderful book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Good luck, everyone!
Thanks Mrs. Datt and Mrs. Cary for all the help setting up. Thanks to Revea, Billy, and Ms. Lane for taking pictures. And a big thanks to Mrs. Spier for inviting me down to Katy, Texas! As you can see from the photo above, I had a great time with all the faculty, parents, and wonderful Williams Wranglers!
I enjoyed a fun day at WoodCreek Elementary in Katy, Texas! After pulling into my own personal parking spot, I rolled inside to meet some very energetic students–the WoodCreek Forest Rangers! I performed three shows and signed a ton of books in the library. I had a great view signing books as I sat across from the WoodCreek library’s very own log cabin. I hope all the WoodCreek Rangers enjoy reading my books. And when your’e done with those, keep reading other authors’ books, too!
Thanks to Mrs. Wallace and Mr. Pebbles for all the help setting up and thanks to Mrs. Lee for having me out and for a tasty lunch. I was happy to meet her husband, Mr. Lee, principal of Williams Elementary, where I’ll visit tomorrow night for their Literacy Night pajama party.
This snowy morning I drove the rental car down an icy highway to Blanco Elementary in Bloomfield, New Mexico. It’s a good thing I made it (couldn’t miss pizza day in the cafeteria). Between two fun shows in front of lively audiences, I had the chance to sign three of my Wishbone books, including the very first book I ever wrote, Digging to the Center of the Earth. I hope all the Blanco Elementary students enjoy reading them as well as all the other Wishbone adventures and mysteries they have in the library. I was even told by the librarian, Mrs. Pinto, that she’s going to show one of the TV episodes I co-wrote, War of the Noses. Available on Youtube HERE!
Thanks to Mr. Flores, Mrs. Travis, and Principal Marquez for helping me set up. Thanks to Mrs. Travis for inviting me and a big Texas thank you to all the cool kids at Blanco Elementary!
After a couple of slices of pizza, I zipped over to Bloomfield Early Childhood Center to round out the day. I had an exciting time presenting to the entire school at once! They were all kindergardeners and boy could they make some noise. And even though students that age would rather tell stories than answer questions, quite a few of them had some good questions. Others had stories, too, but that’s okay. I’m a writer so I like stories.
Thanks to Principal Latta for having me out and to Mrs. Griffith for help setting up. And thanks to all the wild and crazy kindergardeners of BECC! I hope you all enjoy this picture of some of the scenery on my drive back to the airport. Luckily, the roads were clear. But do you know how hard it is to take pictures while driving? Don’t try this at home kids (the driving or the drive-by photography, actually).
I flew into Albuquerque, New Mexico, took a beautiful drive up to Bloomfield, and visited my very first New Mexico school, Naaba Ani Elementary! I performed one big show for the entire school and let me tell you, they really know how to cheer. I saw several teachers holding their ears (sorry about that). I was especially pleased, however, when several of those teachers later told me that what I talked about fell in line with what they were teaching their students. They especially liked the students knowing that there are all kinds of writers out there and how fun it was to meet someone who does all kinds of writing.
I’d like to thank Mrs. Jensen for having me out and Mr. Olivas for working so hard to help me set up. But I’d especially like to thank all the great kids of Naaba Ani Elementary. You had so many good questions and remember what I said, if you think of more, you can email me HERE.
The first thing I noticed when I visited Glen Loch Elementary were all the alligator footprints across the parking lot. I knew then that I was in gator country–the Glen Loch Gators! This would be my last school visit of the year and I really ended on a high note. The kids were excited, the faculty was welcoming, and the dragon roars were deafening (maybe I should have added an alligator to my farm song). Along with my presentations, I had the opportunity to hold a writing workshop with the entire 4th grade! After it was finished, I had the sneaking suspicion that I might have met several future novelists!
Thanks to Mrs. Gladstone and the Glen Loch PTO for inviting me to visit your cool school. I would especially like to thank all the Glen Loch Gators for such a great day. Keep reading and keep an eye out for some of my signed books. Not only did Mrs. Gladstone get some for your school library but I heard she also nabbed some for prizes for some lucky and hard-working students. Good luck, everyone!
On Friday, I arrived at Newport Elementary in Crosby, TX. It was a very busy day, indeed. Not only was it fish stick Friday but it was also picture day. They had high school football players visiting and a real life author visit–oh, wait … that’s me!
I gave two presentations to the entire enthusiastic student body. And then I was lucky enough to have a writing workshop with Mrs. Walker’s class. We had a fun time and every single student in her class had at least two great questions. Many kids had many more!
Thanks to Mrs. Henderson for inviting me and thanks to Mrs. Ragusan for taking pictures. Thanks to Mrs. Walker and all of her students, too. But the biggest thanks goes to ALL the great kids of Newport Elementary!
I’m back in the Houston area today to visit a school just a little south of there in Baytown–Alamo Elementary. Even though it was a cold morning, everyone warmed up quickly and I gave three fun shows in their big gym. I was a little surprised by how many students raised their hands when I asked how many of them like writing their own stories. It turns out that Alamo Elementary is chocked full of young writers! Way to go!
Thanks to Mrs. Weiss for inviting me and the Alamo PTO for having me out. And speaking of the PTO, thanks to PTO member, Mrs. Jannise and her daughter for taking pictures during the show. Thanks to Coach Camp for helping me set up and to Mrs. Weiss and Mrs. Onken for the cool gift basket. And the biggest thanks of all goes to all the great kids at Alamo Elementary. Keep coming up with those cool stories!