I’ve officially become a presenter with the Children’s Literacy Foundation! Their mission is to “inspire a love of reading and writing among low-income, at-risk, and rural children up to age 12 throughout New Hampshire and Vermont,” and I LOVE it! I’ve already gotten to visit two summer programs, Green Mountain Camp for Girls and the Title 1 Summer School program in Swanzey, NH. At Green Mountain Camp for Girls, we talked about persistence, running with your passion & how sometimes you find out you’re stronger than you thought. And at the summer program in Swanzey I got to talk about THE BENEFITS OF BEING AN OCTOPUS for the first time. This was my message:

1) Recognize your superpowers,
2) Name the obstacles in your path,
3) Find the courage to raise your voice,
4) Team up with allies who listen and support you!

In the book, the main character Zoey uses a Sharpie to give herself her own octopus tattoo to remind herself of her inner strength, and I was excited to give these kids their own temporary octopus tattoos to help THEM remind themselves of their own inner strength. One girl told me that she’s going to save her tattoo for when her cat dies so that it can help her remember to be strong!

I’m excited to be booking school visits for the coming school year! Check out my page for teachers and librarians, and contact me if you’d like to find out more!