School visit, otherwise entitled, No I Am Not Famous.

Mrs. Penny Slate, the school librarian at Hammond Central School, recently invited me to come visit with her third and first grade classes, and I was only too happy to accept. One of the biggest adjustments about moving from the children's department of a public library to working in youth services at a public library system is the conspicuous lack of children. And while I have grown to love the glorious, glorious quiet of my non-public workspace, I miss the kids and their stories/questions/surprise hugs.

My format was pretty basic - introduce myself, talk a little about public libraries and summer reading at their local library, share a book, and then invite questions.

For the third graders, I chose Chloe and the Lion, by Mac Barnett and Adam Rex. I asked first about the roles of the author and illustrator and which of them the students thought had the more important job. It was about a 50/50 split with one brave soul in the front row voting for both. After the story, I asked again, and many more students voted for both. This is one of my favorite read-alouds for elementary schoolers, because it's funny, it promotes discussion, and I get the chance to do a boatload of voices.

For the first graders, I chose Crankee Doodle, by Tom Angleberger and Cece Bell. We started by singing the song Yankee Doodle, to make sure everyone had the context for understanding the book, which uses the lyrics as a framework for the plot. Afterwards, Mrs. Slate asked the kids if the book, in which one character stubbornly refuses every suggestion another character makes, reminded them of another book they might know. The kids jumped right on it with Green Eggs and Ham, which was great.

After the stories, Mrs. Slate called the students up in small groups for a book giveaway, and during this activity, I fielded questions from the third graders. I told the kids I would answer any questions they might have about books, libraries, or myself. Turns out, they didn't really have too many questions about books or libraries. But they really wanted to know about me.

How old are you?
Are you famous?
Do you travel a lot?
What kind of car do you drive?
Where do you live? Do you know any Smiths/Joneses/etc.?

But the absolute best question I got happened before my introduction to the third graders, when Mrs. Slate told the kids they had a special guest. A hand shot up. "Are you Mrs. Claus?"*

The first graders were a little too fidgety for Q&A, since they'd just come from a keyboarding class and were nearing the end of their ability to sit quietly. So, instead I taught them a rhyming song I learned when I was a summer camp counselor. Camp songs are gold when you need an impromptu activity for school-age kids. I highly recommend befriending a camp counselor and adding at least one or two to your bag of tricks. Even if you're not a librarian.

All in all, a great day. The kids enjoyed the stories - in fact, the first graders asked me to start right over again when I'd finished. I was able to promote public libraries and make a stronger connection with a school librarian in our system. (Talking shop with Mrs. Slate over lunch was an added bonus!) And the first graders ambushed me with enough surprise hugs to tide me over until my next school visit.

*And no, I was not in costume. Clearly, an affinity for cookies is something children can sense.