Yesterday I was on a school visit to Reilly Elementary in Austin. It was a delightful one. Two fourth-grade ambassadors, Alisa and Anna, greeted me at the entrance to the school and escorted me to the office and to the library. The fourth graders and their teachers went to a lot of trouble to make my visit memorable. They constructed welcome signs and even made a raspa stand complete with paper snow cones and papel picado for my reading of The Battle of the Snow Cones. 
After the reading, we did a brief writing exercise, which turned out to be a lot of fun. We talked about the writing and the illustration process as well. The enthusiastic students asked really great questions of the author. So did some of the teachers. My objective was to show students that books are magical and fun. I hope I inspired them to read and write more.
I am always amazed at how much work the librarians put in to make their school libraries so inviting and cozy. Had I not had to get back home, I would have loved to just relax with a book or two in that lovely library. Hats off to the librarian, Ms. Camacho. The school visit was a great way to start off the year.
“I hope to say to all children that they are special … that all of us are special … important just because we are ourselves.” — Patricia Reilly Giff