By Kitty Felde
There is something special about meeting a writer. You get to peek inside their brain to find out where those characters came from and whether they were based on real people. And you get your book autographed.
Kids are even more excited about meeting writers. They treat them like celebrities.Authors do something that’s often difficult for students, putting words together and making a story out of them.Young readers are amazed that the book in their hands was actually written by a human being standing in this very room. An autographed book is like a rare coin, something to be treasured.
As a writer of books for kids, I love visiting schools and libraries, talking about my Fina Mendoza Mysteries books.The atmosphere is electric – an interruption in the school day to meet with someone who writes books! And because my books are set on Capitol Hill, I get to talk a lot about civics – explaining the three branches of government and the electoral college and how Congress passes a law. The kids ask questions about civics and writing, but also about the stories themselves. Is the U.S.Capitol really haunted by a Demon Cat? Have you seen her?
Take your young reader to an author event. The DMV is blessed with dozens of bookstores and libraries that host authors nearly every day of the year. Check out the website. Sign up for their newsletter. Pick an afternoon or evening and go! Buy that writer’s book and read it together. Work with your child on some questions to ask. And get the book autographed.
I still have my autographed copy of Ray Bradbury’s “Something Wicked This Way Comes.”
Kitty Felde is the author of “Welcome to Washington Fina Mendoza” and “Losing is Democratic: How to Talk to Kids About January 6th.”