I had such a wonderful set of visits last week. First stop on my tour was a day with 5th graders at the wonderful Boston Collegiate Charter School.

Photo credit: Ms. JB, Boston Collegiate

Photo credit: Ms. JB, Boston Collegiate

What an inspiring school community they have: ever-present, encouraging, extremely hard-working teachers; and a curious, enthusiastic and wonderfully diverse student body. The reading teachers there clearly do a phenomenal job, because the kids asked such insightful, thoughtful questions.

This mural in the front entry-way summed up the place.

Would that every child could attend a school like Boston Collegiate Charter School!

Next stop on my tour was Cape Elizabeth Middle School, where few of the 7th graders I met with had read A Girl Called Problem, but all of them had been studying African history, both pre- and post-colonial. What a treat it was to visit with students who had a sense of the diversity within the continent of Africa and a nuanced understanding of the challenges faced by African nations just after independence. A Girl Called Problem proved to be a perfect tie-in to their curriculum.

And on the final day of my visits, I enjoyed the privilege of meeting with young readers and a gymnasium full of wonderfully accomplished authors, including Ashley Bryan, Maria Testa, Mary Cerullo, Terry Farish, CB Anderson, Sarah Thomson, and Ellen Booraem at the Cape Author Fest.