Do you know how unique Rochester is? I don’t know of any other community that has so many gifted children’s writers and so many parents and children who like to read. Today I was privileged to participate in the Rochester Children’s Book Festival for the eighth time. The festival was started 17 years ago by author Vivian VandeVelde, and it’s grown every year. It’s wonderful to have a venue to share my books with parents and kids who haven’t heard of them. It was especially fun to meet grandparents who were picking out books for their grandkids. But even more special than that, was speaking with people who already had my books, who just stopped by to say hello and tell me how much they enjoyed reading my stories. Also, teachers came by who talked about using my books in their classrooms. A dream come true.

Now that I’m home and reflecting on the day, that old Girl Scout song keeps running in my head. “Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.” It was a silver and gold day.  Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.