May 3, 2022 North Dakota Library Visits
May 6, 2022
North Dakota Library Visits
Update: I was honored to meet with various groups in North Dakota and Minnesota as part of the Red River Valley Kids Read program, which was supported by several public libraries. In this photo, I'm speaking to kids at the Leach Public Library in Wahpeton, North Dakota. I always enjoy talking with kids about history, books, and writing. The Fargo session was another highlight as so many people had lived through the flood. Many shared their experiences. As one woman told me, "I called the Red Cross and told them I would do anything." But the assignment they suggested was measuring water levels in Ada. "I can't even swim," she reported. It wasn't the job for her. Of course, the flood occurred 25 years ago, so those with memories tended to be older. Even the parents of young readers were young themselves. As one mom said, "All I remember is that we got lots of days off from school, and that was exciting."
Special thanks are due to Cynthia Mason, of Fargo Public Library, for arranging the program and securing a grant from the North Dakota Council on the Arts. The libraries gave out 300 copies of Storm Warning free to area children. Getting books into kids' hands is always the goal!
To read the article about my visit to Wahpeton (ND) in the Wahpeton Daily News, click here.
A favorite quote: "Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?" - Mark Twain
Wouldn't that be a great story starter?
Best Adult Book I've read so far this year: Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (New York: Scribner, 2021). This incredibly imaginative novel tales place in vastly different times periods: the 1400s, 1951, 2020, and 2146. In all these connected stories, children and teens deal with, as one review wrote, "the perils of growing up." It is a book about story, about the connections between time periods, and about the ultimate meaning of life itself. Warning: the book is over 600 pages long. Even so, I found it a "fast read."
To find a wonderful collection of short stories for middle and high school students, click here.
COMING SOON: A preview of my next book! I'm excited to share the news with you. Stay tuned . . .
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