Phil Bildner Author Visit

Last week, I marked a landmark moment as a librarian: my first author visit. Needless to say, it was truly an exciting day for me! 

Phil Bildner, the author of the 2004 Texas Bluebonnet Winner Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy (Simon and Schuster, 2002) was a guest in my library, and he spoke to our 4th and 5th graders. 

Prior to the visit, I had read Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy to classes, and they had visited his website. They also used their iPads to scan QR codes and watch book trailers for Phil's books.

My wonderful parent volunteer helped by making this banner for everyone to sign:

"I'm loving this library!" said Phil when he walked in. Well, that just my day! 

After I greeted Phil for the first time,  he and first talked about BOOKS! A reader to reader connection! We talked about many titles with excitement, and then I showed Phil my Mock Caldecott stack. More conversation ensued! 

Phil then signed books for our readers. When I took this picture I felt so honored to have a real live author sitting in my library!! There is no other feeling like that! 

Here he is signing books for our readers. Please note he brought special pens for this. 

Phill presented two sessions that afternoon. Honestly, there was so much awesomeness in Phil's presentation that I do not think I can capture it all in this blog post. He was engaging, energetic, and connected with our students with his wit, style, and words. I tweeted a lot and so did our teachers. My awesome principal and assistant principal came to listen, too, and that made me so happy! 

Phil spoke about the importance of reading, and challenged students to be an "extreme reader": a reader who reads what he/she loves, but also reads out of their comfort zone, trying other genres, too!  

Phil also talked about writing and the value of keeping a notebook. He showed us his revision work (as pictured below), and told students that they should not complain about having to rewrite a paragraph, as authors do extensive rewrites. Very great comparison! 

Two of my favorite moments of the day:

1.) Phil talking about the importance of consistent reading:

2.) Phil talking about some noteworthy books including Kadir Nelson's book Nelson Mandela (Katherine Tegen Books, 2013). 

In fact, Phil talked about several other books including one of my all-time favorites ever: The One and Only Ivan (HarperCollins, 2012). 

Here are all the other books Phil book talked to my readers that afternoon:





Yes, it was an absolutely wonderful afternoon!

Reflection: The value of author visits is immeasurable. Hearing an author speak face-to-face helps young readers see that there is a world behind the books -- that authors are real people who care deeply about their work, and that they are more than just names on the front cover. Also, an author visit is a celebration about books among readers. That afternoon, teachers, administrators, and students shared a love of books together as readers. We all had one more thing in common that day!

I am looking forward to many more author visits in my library!

Who will visit next? Hmmm.