Kristin Joy Pratt-Serafini

I spent yesterday and today visiting Scott Elementary School, on Scott Air Force Base. I am so glad it finally worked out! Two weeks ago, we got snowed out, so we had to reschedule. Scott Elementary is beautiful, big new school with about 800 students. All the grades were working on making books in their classrooms. Yesterday, I began the day with 2 big presentations – first I spoke with K-3, and then 4-6. Yesterday and today, I visited four different 5th grade classrooms to answer questions. Also, last night I got a neat opportunity to talk with the Scott Elementary parents during Family Reading Night. I was able to relate to these parents and students in particular because my dad is a retired Air Force Colonel. Thank you, Scott Elementary!

You just can’t beat southern hospitality! Today I had the distinct pleasure of visiting Concord, North Carolina’s Cannon School. This is me with Sam, Lauren, Madeline and Alex. They were invited to attend the author lunch organized by the teachers. I flew in the night before, and stayed at an adorable & friendly inn near Davidson College. I got a little worried when I flipped on the Weather Channel and saw snow & sleet forcasted for today. Fortunately, the next day brought rain and not snow. School was still on! When I got to Cannon School in the morning, there was a huge stack of books for me to sign – and it kept growing throughout the day as students ran in with last-minute orders. I even had to sign books in the car as a teacher drove me to the airport. The students were the best part of this visit, though! They were very curious about making books – especially the 3rd graders, who actually brought their Ancient Rome book projects to work on during my presentation. Many classes also used my books as inspiration for their own art projects before my visit. Thank you, Cannon School!

Today I visited Prairie College Elementary School in Canton, OH. Several teachers stayed up late to pick me up from the airport when I flew in last night. They even took me out to dinner, which was wonderful. Today was “cozy up with a good book” day at Prairie College, so all the students came to school in their pajamas. One first grader asked me how I could draw things to look close up and far away. A great question from such a little reader! In the evening, I came back to the school to talk about books with the parents at family reading night. It warms my heart to see so many parents willing to support their kids’ interest in books. Thank you Prairie College School!

After spending the weekend in Lahaina, I drove back along the beautiful coastline and up through the central valley of Maui to spend Monday morning visiting Iao Middle School. I spoke with two groups of students in the library who were in the process of making their own books. They gave me a gorgeous orchid lei and another lei made of little macadamia nut packets. I was especially grateful for the mac nut snacks later when my friend took us on a hike up the Waihe`e Ridge Trail. We were very hungry when we got back to the car! I dried the orchid lei, and still have it hanging in my art studio as a reminder of my visit to Maui. The students asked some good questions about the book-making process. I hope the information will help them do a good job on their own projects. I spent the afternoon at the Maui Ocean Center, where I painted some gorgeous fish in my journal, then I drove to the airport to pick up my husband, Gabriel. As we drove back along the coast to Lahaina, we watched the sun set into the ocean, and I thought this might have been one of the best school visit days I’ve had in a long time!

Who could pass up the chance to visit Maui in the winter? My husband and I took a break from the mainland before Christmas to visit a close high school friend whose grandparents live in Kaanapali. Since my most popular book, A Swim through the Sea, is about the ocean, I worked out a couple of school visits. I spent a whole day at Waihe`e Elementary School, which is tucked into a lush, untouristy part of the island, on the north side. The students presented me with a gorgeous orchid lei, as you can see in the picture. I was thrilled to see that the kids knew many of the species in my ocean book – especially the humpback whale! I even learned the Hawaiian words for some of the animals. He`e means octopus, for example. Mrs. Heyd (my teacher contact) even took me to see the beautiful Iao Valley after school. Thank you for the hospitality, Waihe`e School!

One thing for which I am grateful this Thanksgiving is the opportunity to talk with the students and teachers at San Ramon Valley Christian Academy in Danville, California. This school visit fit in well with a Thanksgiving reunion with my husband Gabriel’s family in the Bay Area. SRVCA has a fantastic powerpoint setup which made it very easy to show the students the colorful artwork in my books. Thank you SRVCA!

I just got pictures back from my visit to the Community School in St. Louis, Missouri. I was invited to be the guest speaker at this wonderful school’s annual Book Show, which was catered by Borders. What a fantastic time we had! This year’s theme was the ABC’s, so the day started with an all-school assembly where the first, third and sixth graders performed lots of alphabet songs. Then, I talked for a few minutes about how you can use the alphabet to save the rainforest. Throughout the day, I met with all the different grades (PK-6) to answer questions and talk about the book-making process. The students asked very intelligent questions, practiced good listening skills, and did a great job singing. And the teachers & parent volunteers all made me feel so welcome. Thank you Community School!

Yesterday I spoke at the 9th annual Wanyesville Young People’s Literature Festival in Waynesville, Missouri. (About 2 hours southwest of St. Louis, where I am) Hundreds of 3rd through 6th graders are bussed in to East Elementary from all over the surrounding area to hear authors, illustrators and storytellers talk about their work. There are usually about 10 authors that come to the conference, and most of them are from Missouri. It’s a fun day for me because not only do I get to talk with some fantastic students, but I also get to chat with other authors, which almost never happens, as we are all in our studios making our books. This conference used to be held at a school located on Fort Leonard Wood, but changes in security regulations required the coordinators to move it off post. I have been attending this conference since 1999.