Ellie Rumney is a library media specialist extraordinaire from Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Her heartfelt post gave me goosebumps. Yes, small moments can provide endless inspiration. Thank you, Ellie!
Connecting with Authors – Bringing Literacy to Life
by Ellie Rumney
The joyful faces of student connecting an author to a book is a priceless sight.
On one regular day in April, ninety 1st graders sat enthralled as published author, Jean Reidy shared her inspirations and ideas with students in Rhinelander, Wisconsin from her home in Colorado. Student faces were alight as the author, who had written the books they had been reading in class, shared her inspiration for one of her books, Time Out for Monsters. They gasped with excitement when she let them in on the secret to her upcoming books scheduled for release in the near future.
Students asked questions that helped them understand the writing and publishing process. They connected to Ms. Reidy as she brought the books she had written to life. They learned that even a professional writer has to go through many edits and revisions to get a completed piece of work. This Library Media Specialist had goosebumps watching the children’s engagement through the entire experience!
Reading and literacy are vital elements of our children’s education, and students are immersed in materials that allow them to embrace the world of words around them. Much of the time, authors are an abstract name connected to books the students are enjoying. Allowing students to meet and connect a face to a name through an author visit both in person or via internet teleconference is a vital connection between the abstract and the concrete. When students can connect the name to a face, they can understand that it is a real person behind a published piece of work. This in turn inspires students to be readers and writers, as they can understand that the people behind the work aren’t magicians and writing isn’t an impossible task. As students meet authors, they can hear the author’s voice in the piece of literature they are reading and connect the story to a part of that author’s life. They are inspired to write after hearing an author talk about the process of writing and how it begins small for even the most accomplished authors.
After meeting Jean Reidy, teachers talked to their students about making connections and writing about their own small moments. One teacher said, “As writers, we want to emphasize the students writing about small details in their stories. Jean Reidy’s Time Out For Monsters is about her childhood experience of being in a time out.” Hearing a published author share her inspiration for writing a story about a small moment in her life has allowed the students to see that writing is not as scary or intimidating as they may feel or think it is. Connecting to the small moments that authors use for inspiration makes reading and writing more accessible to students.
That regular April day became a memorable and inspirational experience for one lucky group of 1st grade students. They left with the understanding that real people are behind their beloved books. They left with inspiration that they too can be authors of small moments. Author visits such as these are an exciting way to open the eyes of a child and make the world of literacy more accessible and connected to their lives.
Ellie Rumney taught for 12 years before becoming a Library Media Specialist for the School District of Rhinelander. As a teacher, she was passionate about integrating technology and 21st Century Skills into her classroom. Her journey to become an LMS gave her access to an amazing learning network of professionals that she relies on in the current educational climate. As a Library Media Specialist, she continues to share her enthusiasm for 21st Century learning and information literacy with teachers and students in the classrooms and libraries.
When I was a child, I loved reading poetry. But later in life when I learned to analyze and deconstruct poems, my passion faded. Poetry can be hard to decipher. And when you try too hard, the deciphering can bog you down.
nts made comparisons between her stories, tied in stories that were similar to Jean’s, shared real-life connections, and made Jean feel like a “Super Star” with their letters of adoration.
Author, Jenny Goebel, will tell you she’s led a charmed life. But when you get to know her, you quickly understand her life has little to do with luck and everything to do with Jenny. She’s sweet, kind, caring and – most of all – talented. Today she’s talking about world building and her latest novel FORTUNE FALLS. No doubt, her readers are the lucky ones – I’m sure you’ll agree! Take it away, Jenny!
loring what impact all of this would have on Sadie’s character was the final, fundamental aspect of making this outlandish tale seem possible. Knowing that fate wasn’t on her side, it seemed unlikely that Sadie would be bold and reckless. But I couldn’t have her be too disparaged either, or it wouldn’t be believable that she was resilient enough to overcome the obstacles before her. It was clear she needed places in her life where she could find redemption. This redemption comes for Sadie in the form of friendship and learning to rely on her own cleverness and aptitude to see her way through some very bleak times.
Last month I had the great honor of a virtual visit in the classroom of one of New Jersey’s finest teachers, Kevin McCann. Kevin brings out the best in kids. It shows in his amazing students, and – as you’ll see below – in his adorable sons. I know you’ll enjoy this peek into our visit as well as a glimpse into the family life of one great dad! 
It is funny how ideas can come to you when you are a teacher. I am not only a third grade teacher at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in South Plainfield, New Jersey, I am also a proud parent of three awesome boys. They challenge and push my wife and me everyday. Each in their own way! My oldest son, Daniel, has a strong personality. The youngest, Tyler, is going through the stage of not sharing. My middle son, Matthew, is the one who fusses about food.He would eat mozzarella sticks or chicken nuggets everyday of the week if allowed. It’s ironic because he won’t try a breaded chicken cutlet because he says, “I don’t like that kind of chicken.”
My wonderful wife, Michelle, who is also a fabulous teacher, was aware of a book to read to the boys, which might encourage Matthew to try other foods. The book was Too Pickley by Jean Reidy. Coincidentally, during writing workshop that day, my class was talking about being more descriptive with their word choices. When I heard Jean Reidy’s choice of words, I knew it would be perfect for my class. I always love when a picture book can be used in the classroom to model or enhance a concept or skill. For instance, I have used If You Give A Pig A Pancake by Laura Numeroff to help with cause and effect. The books I Wanna Iguana and I Wanna New Room by Karen Kaufman Orloff have been used to help teach persuasive writing. Was this another picture book I could use to help the class? Time would tell!
The next day I read Too Pickley to my class. The students loved the book. It wasn’t only the rhyming and descriptive use of words, but the magnificent illustrations that made the class ask to read it again. I decided to go to the library and get Too Purpley and Too Princessy. Our class was also working on generating ideas for writing while enhancing their word choice. The books in this series were perfect picture books to use in the class to help the students understand these skills, Jean Reidy does an outstanding job with her word choices. As a class, we then looked at the background information on each book as we explored her website. We were trying to see if we could find out where Jean Reidy generated the ideas for her books. We discovered the books were about people she knew…the people in her life! This is a conversation that is continuously woven throughout our writing workshops as students are working to find inspiration for their own writing ideas. Her books made everything real for my students. They understood that they could look to the people in their lives for story ideas.
To cap it off, Jean Reidy made a virtual visit to our class through Skype. She discussed where she got her ideas for writing, read a book to the class, and even took time for questions. Matthew is still “too pickley,” but thanks to him, my class was able to use Jean Reidy’s books in class, meet Ms. Reidy, and enhance our knowledge of writing through real life experiences!
