Author/Illustrator Signing

One of my favorite ideas to share with teachers, is the one shared with me by a children's librarian years ago....... When you have the opportunity to meet an author, or illustrator of a picture book, get your picture taken with them. THEN, develop the physical picture and mount it permanently inside the front cover of their book, right there on the end papers.

Then every time you have the opportunity to introduce the book to your students, you can share the picture of the two of you together. This extra little effort makes the author a 'real' person, cuz there you are as living proof that the author is 'real.' For very young children this is a HUGE reality check.... making authors real people -- which translates in their minds that: "I, too, can be an author. My words and stories have significance. My pictures could be collected into a book. That sounds like a fun job."

So these pictures are documenting that process, of excited teachers meeting a very eager author/illustrator. "Smile." Click. We ran out of copies of my book, again. Two events in a row. I seriously need to clean my crystal ball.