MY LATEST SANTIAGO’S NEWS

I can’t believe it’s already May! How? This year it’s going by so fast and I feel like lately I’ve been so busy preparing for Abuelita’s Gift release, working on more manuscripts, and with my kid’s activities, that I haven’t been able to stop and write about what has been going on. So today, I decided to slow down and take a moment to record the wonderful experiences I’ve had in the past weeks. In a way, this blog is a sort of “diary” for me, so that later I can go back and revisit those special days I’ve been lucky to have with my books, the kids, and people I’ve come in touch with during this journey.

So, today, my goal is to write about 3 Santiago’s Dinosaurios events I had recently. The first one was Arts Day at Centerville on March 28th, just before Easter vacations. It was my second year participating and it was as exciting as the first one. In this day, all the children of the school get to try different arts and meet several artists, from dancing, painting and quilting, to writing poetry, and even a blacksmith class. Each grade level gets to experience 4 arts through the day, which is filled with excitement, treats, and smiles. Arts Day is surely fun for everyone!

As an author, I had read aloud sessions with 4 groups of 1st graders, which I appreciated because Santiago is also a 1st grade student. As usual, Nico and Lupe were a hit. To be honest, kids always ask me if I crocheted them, which makes me think if maybe it’s something I should consider picking up, though sadly now I don’t have the time. I enjoyed my time with the children very much, and their questions always make me happy. Sometimes, they don’t even have questions, but they still raise their hands and just want me to know they love dinosaurs or that they can speak Spanish too. So sweet! Truly, being in a classroom with children, sharing my book and my story is a blessing in many ways. In this occasion, there were some children who bought books ahead, so I was able to sign their copies and bring them along to school (bookmarks and stickers included). However, this time the School District office also bought books for some kids experiencing homelessness, which I thought was very touching and I’m really grateful. I hope that they liked their books.

Another event I had was a virtual visit with Anderson University students from the Children’s Literature class. This is the 2nd time their teacher invites me to talk to her class about my journey as an author, querying, working with editors and illustrators. I enjoy these conversations because I can share so much more about my experience and everything I’ve learned. Also, these students love writing, and they actually have to write a children’s book for their final project, so my visit comes at the end of their semester, and it seems that many things that I share with them are things their teacher went over in her lectures. Needless to say, this was such a rewarding experience again, and although this time I couldn’t attend in person because my husband was out of the country, I’m thankful that technology still allowed me to have this opportunity. I’m looking forward to next time.

Finally, last week I had another virtual visit with a group of 1st graders in Ms. Purdy’s class from Gidney Avenue Memorial School in NY. It was also my second time. What I like about Ms. Purdy is that she loves giving her students the chance of “meeting” and listening to an author every week of the school year. Isn’t that amazing? I first met her before Santiago was even released, and this year she invited me again so that I could share my book with her children. I was the author of week #31. I’m grateful that Ms. Purdy snapped some pictures from the experience so that I can keep them as mementos. I hope to visit another one of her future classes someday, I think her project is very special and I like being part of it.

As always, I’m glad to have these type of experiences with Santiago. They are always heartwarming and rewarding, and I’m very grateful for each one of these opportunities. I can’t believe that soon Abuelita’s Gift will join me in these visits. I’m very lucky and I can’t wait to see how that goes.

Thanks for reading!

M

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Cover photo by Ksenia Chernaya.