Today I visited two more great Omaha schools, beginning with Indian Hill Elementary—home of the Bears! Along with my two morning presentations, I signed a bunch of books for the school library, and was fortunate enough to have lunch with several outstanding 5th graders. They got the chance to ask more questions about writing, special effects, and just why I have so many donkeys. It was great to meet you: Alex, Daniel, Edwin, Eric, Jesus, Jija, Julie, Maricela, Naquiria, Oumaima, Samuel, Traonna!
Yes, a silly one, of course…
After lunch, I found my way to Franklin Elementary—home of the Eagles, yet again! I had a little trouble finding the place since the school was in an unusual location. While their school is being renovated, Franklin has temporary classes set up in a large warehouse. But that didn’t stop them from having a visiting author! I just hope we weren’t too loud for their temporary open concept school.
Thanks to Mrs. Reilly, Mrs. Hoarty, and Mrs. Beasley for having me out. And a big thanks goes out to all the Indian Hill Bears and the Franklin Eagles! I hope the Bears enjoy checking out my books from the library and I hope the Eagles can keep the giraffe noises quiet until their school is finished. But if anyone gives you trouble this week, just blame the noise on your friendly, neighborhood visiting author!
UPDATE: I want to thank Mrs. Renfro’s class for all the wonderful thank you cards they mailed to me. It was very thoughtful and full of very cool art! Turns out there are some talented illustrators at Franklin Elementary!
My second day in Omaha had me at Springville Elementary—home of the Eagles (that’s right, more eagles—I felt right at home). I spent the morning with the talented Springville students. I knew they were talented going in because, before I arrived, I received an email full of their cool book ideas—visualized! I can’t post them all, but here’s a sample:
After two shows, I got a lunch to go and was almost out the door. But before I left, I received a stack of hand-crafted thank you cards from Mrs. McCormick’s 5th grade class. Very nice! And I noticed a familiar Garfield illustration; it matched the welcome drawing I received earlier that morning. Thanks, Tamara, Kaidy, and Aiyana!
After lunch, I spent the afternoon at Conestoga Elementary—home of the Pioneers! I was greeted with more art as I performed in a gym covered in cool frontier murals. But I was especially thrilled when I found out just how many of the kids wanted to be authors AND screenwriters. I hope you enjoyed my screenwriting segment and don’t forget to keep reading. Like I said, that’s the easiest thing to do to help you become better writers!
Thanks to Mrs. Langan and Mrs. Buffington for having me out. Thanks to Blaine for directions. Thanks for the warm welcome from Mrs. Loberg’s class. Thanks to Mr. Macaitis and Mr. Vobejea for the technical support. And a big thanks to all the Conestoga Pioneers and the Springville Eagles! I enjoyed spending my day with so many young authors and illustrators!
I’m back in Nebraska for a seven-school, five-day whirlwind…beginning with Edison Elementary in Omaha—home of the college bound Eagles! I had a great time today and was welcomed with a banner featuring a surplus of hats (someone found out about my hat-collecting issue).
I had three fun shows and signed bunches of books for the school library. I also signed books for the winners of the Michael Anthony Steele trivia contest (who knew that was a thing). Before my arrival, trivia questions about yours truly were read during the morning announcements. The entire school played and the correct answers were put into a drawing for free books. The winners were Gary, Jaeda, Khloe, Markell, and Naydu. Congratulations and and I hope you enjoy my books!
Thanks to Mrs. Childers and Mrs. Fullenkamp for having me out. Thanks to Mrs. Glniffke-Leak and the PTA for lunch and for the book donations. Thanks to everyone who took pictures for me. And the biggest thanks goes to all the Edison Eagles themselves. Being an Eagle Scout, I have a fondness for eagles and I can tell by your thoughtful questions, polite behavior, and ear-ripping dragon roars that you’re going to soar high!
Today I returned to New Mexico to visit two schools smack in the middle of Roswell! This morning I was at Nancy Lopez Elementary where most of the school turned out for one big show! Everyone was energized, made excellent giraffe sounds (don’t forget how I showed you) and had great questions all around. I was thrilled by the amount of superb space alien sounds, too. About half a second before I reached that part of my song, I realized, oh yeah, this is relevant!
Thanks to Mrs. Ryan for having me out. Thanks to Mrs. Norris for taking pictures. A big thanks to Mrs. Brooks who worked tirelessly to set up everything before my show. And a big thanks to all the great kids at Nancy Lopez Elementary! Don’t forget those four words I taught you!
Later this Afternoon, I swung by Pecos Elementary to give another school-wide performance and was excited by all of the superhero decorations. Turns out this school is full of super-learners! This huge audience also had tons of great questions, proving that learning IS their super power!
Thanks to Mrs. Nieto-Walker for having me out and for the awesome shirt (I had to rock the shirt during the show). And a big thanks to all the Pecos super-learners! Keep reading, learning, and being the best superhero you can be!
That’s right. I’m Hatman. Boom!
And I couldn’t visit Roswell without a stop at the International UFO Museum And Research Center!
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