I spent the morning sharing Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator with two groups of students at St. Therese Catholic School here in Jackson. I was invited by Julie Owen, the St. Therese librarian, who is also a friend of mine. The St. Therese students (the first group was made up of fifth and sixth graders and the second of third and fourth graders) had terrific questions. I’ll share some here:

If there were no wolfsnails, would there be too many prey snails? Would that be a problem?

How do you know when a wolfsnail is asleep?

Were the African Tree snails that were imported into Hawaii brought there intentionally?

Are wolfsnails more closely related to regular snails or to wolves?

One student noticed that my husband, Richard, took some of the photographs for the book, too, and it made him think of an illustrator he heard during a school visit who told the students that the writing and illustrating happened in two different time frames and places and that it was best when the writer and illustrator didn’t communicate with each other. I told him I felt it was a great privilege and luxury to be both: the writer and illustrator (or co-illustrator) of our book.

Since I no longer have a wolfsnail to bring along with me, I have begun to bring my snail quilt. It gives me something the kids can touch to identify the parts of a snail: shell, tentacles, foot, etc.

I want to thank Julie for inviting me over to St. Therese and for taking these photographs for the blog. I also want to thank the principal, Sister Brenda, for her support. I know that funds are scarce for enrichment in education and I feel privileged to be able to share my story with young learners.

Most of all, I want to thank the students.

2 Responses to “St. Therese School Visit”