Helen Lester is a rock star in author visits! She's adorable, charming, sweet and funny. I've used her stories for years to help launch my classroom community and think about our actions with each other. I was excited she was coming to our school but once I met her I became ecstatic!
Her journey began as a teacher and turned her into a writer. Her students inspired her by who they were and by what they did. It took her three years to get her first book published. She finds she does her best writing not at a desk. She writes while walking in the woods, or when she is bored and once she wrote a book not he back of a grocery list.
Helen shared so many tidbits about writing, you've got to know them all!
- Writing is like baseball. The author is the pitcher and the illustrator is the catcher.
- Hatching - notes on paper for a book
- Writing is like a maze. You try things that work but they don't always work.
- When she gets stuck she tells herself she is thinking.
- Best thing about being an author is people laugh in all the right places.
- The more you exercise your writing the better you get.
- Keep your old stuff in a Fizzlebox. It holds ideas to be used one day, maybe.
These were wise nuggets for students learning to write and adults. She shared personal stories. She taught us how the do the Flap Waddle Dance like Tacky the Penguin. She even had a clog dancing penguin that was hysterical to watch. She is quick on her feet and tells you about life just as it is with humor and truth. If you can cross paths with her, I highly recommend it.
Color me envious! What an awesome experience for students and teachers! Thanks for sharing!
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