This year we had the very prolific Suzy Kline.  Author of the Horrible Harry series, Herbie Jones series, and many, many other chapter books, Kline’s book were popular before her visit.  But, now I think tomorrow we’ll see them flying off the shelves.  Over the years we’ve brought in all types of authors and illustrators.  Each has brought a different lesson or perspective for our students.  I think the thing we got from Suzy Kline this year was what she called the “seeds” for her stories.  She brought many props and many examples of how those little items or words became the “seeds” that she used to create her stories.  For example, a pencil sharped to the last usable piece of wood, was a sparked that turned into Horrible Harry in Room 2B.

Kline instilled in students that they should always carry a little notebook with them to write down ideas — just simple words — that interest them throughout the day because you never know when that will turn into a “seed” for their story.  She even showed the students things she had written down during the day that she was visiting our school.

Kline was a 2nd grade teacher for over 27 years in Connecticut, and there was no doubt she had her educator hat on today as she was teaching the students (and staff) about how to be a writer.  We all came away with a few seeds and I can’t wait to see how our students use what they learned from Suzy Kline today!