Spreading My Word

This summer, I've been out and about telling kids about Ferradiddledumday, my Appalachian version of the Rumpelstiltskin tale. In late June, I visited the first session of the Smith Mountain Lake Good Neighbors Summer Camp, where I told my story and answered questions about being an author and how I wrote the book. I took a few of my props with me.

The little stuffed horse who snores was a big hit. On the way out, a bunch of kids just had to touch his hoof and make him snore.

Two weeks ago,  I spent two days at West End Center in Roanoke with the inner city kids from kindergarten through sixth grade. I took my laptop so I could show them the illustrations for the book.

I read from my work and answered questions. And, boy, did they have questions. They'd thought of questions the day before and their teacher Ms. Rayburn had compiled them and printed them out. The kids had some tough questions. Here are a few:

I tried to answer as many questions as I could in the time alloted, but it was a challenge.

Last Tuesday, I did another presentation for another group of Smith Mountain Lake Good Neighbors Summer Campers. This time my illustrator, Bruce Rae, helped me act out the story. Again, the kids were enthusiastic, and they loved their books and bookmarks. The snoring horse was again a hit.

My hints for authors who are speaking to kids: Be prepared for all manner of questions.

And never underestimate the power of a snoring horse.

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