In support of World Read Aloud Day, which is February 1st, children’s book author Mara Rockliff visited our school today. Mara started her visit sharing a picture of her rowhouse in Pennsylvania. Then she shared a map of what it would look like if she were to drive to our school for a visit. The drive would take about eight hours, but she said it would be a little be longer than that because she would need to stop at Lake Champlain Chocolates first.
Our visit started with some questions that were generated by second and third graders during their library time with Mrs. DiGiulio. The audience learned that she is inspired by events in history that most people would not know much about. She gave the example of watching a jazz movie with her daughter and they realized that all the jazz players were boys. After doing a little research she found out about Lil Hardin Armstrong and her contribution to the history of jazz. This is what inspired her new book, Born to Swing.
The audience learned that she has written over 50 books and she chose to virtually share her book Gingerbread for Liberty.
Christopher Ludwick is a German-born American patriot with a big heart and a talent for baking the best gingerbread in Philadelphia. No one goes hungry if he can help it–“Not in my America!” he says. When cries of “Revolution!” begin, Christopher marches off to feed General Washington and his hungry troops. But Washington never expects his favorite baker to sneak off on a risky secret mission across enemy lines…
Mara Rockliff shared that she has written a collection of mystery books under the pen name of Lewis B. Montgomery. She chose this name from her favorite three authors, C.S. Lewis, E.B. White, and L.M. Montgomery. At the end of our time with Mara, the students in first, second, third, and sixth grade also had the chance to meet her dog Daisy who often keeps her company while she writes.
The FWSU Story 