Author Hope Vesterglaad to Bach Elementary students: Keep your eyes and ears open

By Tara Cavanaugh

Author Hope Vesterglaad has written several children’s books, including “Potty Animals.” She returned to Bach Elementary, which she attended from 2nd to 6th grade, to talk about her books with kindergarteners and first graders. 

“If you pay attention to details, and are a good observer, you’ll be a better writer,” she said. To emphasize the point, she donned a “thinking cap,” sunglasses and extra large ears.

She also whipped out an enormous pencil and a magic wand, to show students that writing takes many revisions and that a boring story can always be made better “if you just make something up.”

Vesterglaad, who was once a preschool teacher, found some children’s books to be incredibly dull. She learned that kids like funny books, characters who learn from their mistakes, and books that have beautiful language and great pictures.

The prolific author, who lives with her family on a farm in Dexter, said she gets her ideas for her stories from her kids, the newspaper, and from her many farm animals– two dogs, pigs, cows, horses and ponies– “because they have personality.”

Vesterglaad’s visit was a part of the school’s Reading Month celebrations. She treated the students to a reading of “Potty Animals” and “What Do You Do When a Monster Says Boo?”

She also shared a secret: she has a new book of poems coming out next year, titled “Digger, Dozer, Dumper.”

Related stories

 

 

The AAPS District News welcomes thoughtful comments, questions and feedback.

All comments will be screened and moderated.

In order for your comment to be approved:

  • You must use your full name
  • You must not use  profane or offensive language
  • Your comment must be on topic and relevant to the story

Please note: any comment that appears to be spam or attacks an individual will not be approved.

3 Trackbacks / Pingbacks

  1. Dr. Green reads to kindergarten class, celebrates Reading Month |
  2. Patricia Polacco shares stories from her childhood |
  3. Logan Elementary donates over 5,000 books to the Philippines, gets special thanks from Mayor John Hieftje |

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.