School visits are one of the greatest parts of my job. I love meeting students, librarians, and teachers all over the world. But when a lot of preparation is done in advance of a school visit, that’s when the magic happens. I would like to give a shout-out to the wonderful librarian and the whole team at Naples Elementary School in Naples, NY for one of the most amazing days I have ever had at a school. I got the chance to work with students in Grades K-6, giving the following presentations: Amazing Animals (K-2), Let’s Go There (3), Making Nonfiction Fun (4-5), and Food Around the Globe (6).

I felt welcome from the moment I arrived. What a sight greeted me as I entered the building — a celebration of colorful shoes (a passion of mine)! 

Well before I arrived, the students had read some of my books and done projects related to them in preparation for the visit. Here were some of the highlights from the hallways and the library:

Students in K-1 created flamingo artwork connected to my Flamingos book. 

The second graders decorated the library with snakes, in connection to my Rainbow Boas book.

Other learners worked on parrot paintings connected to the book Parrots.

Older students made global connections to my country books and The World’s Strangest Foods, as seen here:

In conjunction with the art teacher, some students created penguin-themed artwork related to Penguins & Polar Bears: A Pretty Cool Introduction to the Arctic and Antarctic.

Thank you so much to everyone at Naples Elementary!