One of the benefits of being a full-time children's book author is visiting schools, and receiving a host of surprises and serendipities when you're on the road. This week I spent three days in New Jersey and New York.
Crossroads Middle School was ready. Not only had they set up a great author visit page, but the kids wrote essays about life between cultures, created three videos, and one of the librarians even painted a portrait of my book cover!
Faculty and students were wearing these pins to welcome me. Thank you, Crossroads!
Day one ended with a solitary, relaxing stroll along the Princeton Canal.
Day two of school visits in New Jersey was followed by a late afternoon walk around the gorgeous Princeton campus.
Day three included a reading of RICKSHAW GIRL plus Q and A at St. Ann's School in Brooklyn, and a visit to Word Brooklyn in Greenpoint, where I finally met Gbemi (left), author of 8th GRADE SUPERZERO, and Stephanie Anderson (right), manager of the bookstore.
Via Twitter, I was commissioned by author Laurie Halse Anderson to deliver a Mom hug by proxy to Stephanie (her daughter), which I gladly did.