Santa Clarita Elementary School — Books, Pillows and PJs
Last night, I had the opportunity to read my book Have You Seen the Tickle Bug? to students at Santa Clarita Elementary School as part of their 8th annual “Books, Pillows and PJs” event, organized by Mrs. Shari Lewis. The kids all wore pajamas (as did many of the parents and teachers) and brought blankets to sit on and books to read.
The parent volunteers made popcorn and Mrs. Lewis brought her patented “Trade-a-Book” double-sided, travelling library-shelves-on-wheels (expertly hand-crafted by her engineer husband), which was overflowing with books on both sides. Children were allowed to trade a book they brought from home with one of the ones on the shelves. What a great idea!
The whole evening was geared toward encouraging reading by associating it with a fun, family-sharing event, and it was — judging by the smiling faces and the bountiful quantity of books seen in the hands of the children — a resounding success. I was honored to have had the opportunity to be the featured reader.
What a great crowd. To my pleasant surprise, there were about 80 students, parents and teachers in attendance. This was the largest single audience I have read to so far — and it was a lot of fun. The kids listened and laughed, and everyone seemed to have a good time.
All the kids received Tickle Bug stickers (fortunately, I brought enough for everyone), and I donated an autographed copy of the book to the school library.
A special “Thank you” goes to Mrs. Lewis for inviting me to share the story of the Tickle Bug and to all the faculty, staff and parents who helped in the planning and execution of this wonderful evening.
