Librarian Leaps: Daniel Miyares Part II

The Prologue

Funny how today is also a "rainy day in upstate NY." The perfect day to share about our day with Daniel last week. But that right there is the very first email I ever sent to Daniel (including the typos and not the best grammar--proof that it's authentic). There you have it. Almost exactly 1 1/2 years later, Daniel walked the halls of Castleton. Wow.

The Day

Author-Illustrator visits with me are extreme. Breakfast, Announcements, Assemblies, Classroom Visits, Lunch, Book Signings and, if you're lucky, a gala in your honor. That was Daniel's day in a nutshell. Exhausting for him. Exhausting for me and anyone else involved but so worth it!

Breakfast with Reading Ambassadors

We had a luau/Surf's Up themed breakfast with the fifth grade Reading Ambassadors. Pineapple, pineapple turnover cake, coconut maccaroons, etc.

Assemblies

I love to celebrate book birthdays with authors and illustrators so this day was no exception. Not only did Daniel share That Neighbor Kid and grinned as we sang Happy Book Birthday but he also gave us a little insight on how pictures help tell a story. How can you give two thumbs up to a story with these three sentences?

It was a nice day. Lou went for a walk. Lou made some new friends.

Daniel could tell you!

Class Visits

Not every author or illustrator will agree to visit classrooms (it's a lot!) but I'm so glad Daniel did! It made his time with us even more special. Knowing they only had 5-10 minutes of their time, the classes were prepared with questions and welcome signs before we even walked in the door!

Lunch with Dewey Duty

Happy Book Birthday, That Neighbor Kid!

We tried to serve "friendship" food: mac AND cheese, Reeses PB cups (peanut butter AND chocolate), pretzels, juice boxes (that's in the book), cheese AND crackers, oreos (chocolate cookies AND cream filling), etc. No one went hungry!

Fifth Grade

A few months ago, Daniel made a short introductory video for our fifth graders about his process of book making and especially how he illustrates someone else's work. It was hard to believe that this day was here and he was about to view all of their artwork and poetry matched together. We all squeezed together in the art room for a unique experience lead by Daniel.

The Gala

People are still talking about the Gala. The artwork. Daniel. The poetry. Daniel. The food. The music. Daniel. How lovely and sweet Daniel was. What a sport he was for taking pictures with everyone. How the library was packed with 200 people. It was a night to remember.

I just figured out how to make a movie using Google Photos. I don't like how it limits you to 50 photos so I tried to choose ones that give the best flavor of the evening. Note that some were shot by my Dewey Duty helpers using iPads.

Student Reflections

Mr. Reischer had the fifth graders write their thoughts on the Gala and the project as a whole. Some of them were quite insightful and intuitive. They all loved the food (especially the meatballs and cupcakes) and Daniel cutting the ribbon with the big scissors. They were very appreciative of the event and loved the opportunity to be fancy. They noticed the fourth grade servers and the MS jazz band and thought those were nice touches to the evening.

"It was fun to dress up and see my artwork and poem on the boards...It was exciting to see what other people turned my poem into and to see how the poets reacted to my drawing."

"I can't stop thinking that I, took a photo with famous Daniel Miyares...My all time favorite though was the big scissors. I felt as if I was in a movie."

"It was great because we spent so long on this project and so many people came just for us. I also loved how seriously everyone took this and how many people dressed up."

"I liked how I could express my feeling on the paper! I loved to mix the tempera paints to make this pretty color! I liked to see what the poem turned into! I loved meeting Daniel and seeing him cut the ribbon with huge scissors!"

"When I saw the artwork of the person who got my poem, it wasn't how I would have done it. But, I still liked it. It showed that you can draw things more than one way."

"I liked seeing everyone's art work and how they explained your poem. I also liked how hard everyone worked to get this far!"

"Overall, I thought that the event, and the process of the project were awesome and an amazing idea!"

"Since our minds work differently, I loved to see how the person that illustrated my poem illustrated it in a unique way. I think that people have unique ways of thinking and it was fun to see what other people do with your poem."

And finally..."You guys need a vacation for all you did!"