Young Authors & Illustrators Awards

Today I gave the keynote address at the Reading Rainbow Young Authors & Illustrators Awards Ceremony at Mississippi Public Broadcasting. I was able to listen to stories by winners from kindergarten through third grades. I loved the stories, the illustrations (including some photographs), and the confidence of the young readers. Their stories ranged from chronicling the everyday joys and sorrows to documenting the momentous to imagining the fantastical. These kids are clearly reading and writing a lot at home and at school. Hooray!
This was the first time I’ve had the luxury of using a lapel microphone and it worked like a dream. I am always trying to read and point and move around and I hate being tied to a particular spot. Thanks to Darrell, who took photographs using his camera and mine, and to Maggie Stevenson, who invited me to speak.

This is my son painting the face of one of our day campers. My three boys are running a four-day camp for some neighborhood kids. I caught them “working.”