Living legends

Second grade met with Cheryl Willis Hudson and Wade Hudson this morning.
 

The two of them established Just Us Books in the 1980s as an outlet for Black authors, Black illustrators, and Black stories.
 

The publishing legends were well-matched with the second grade. 
 

These students each wrote and produced their own books last year, they just finished first drafts of new personal narratives, and they are halfway through a yearlong study of multiculturalism and representation in picture books.
 

In some author visits, the guest can walk students through part of the production process: creating a first draft, say, or polishing a set of drawings.

 

The Hudsons were able to walk students through the full process, from identifying a target market, seeking out partners, drafting a story, pairing it with an illustrator, choosing a format, laying it out, determining the appropriate size for the first printing, and marketing and distributing the final product.

 

They also had books to share in a genre that hadn’t been seen at Book Fair this week.

 

Instead of talking dinosaurs or medieval owls, the Hudsons’ first books had simple, straightforward day-in-the-life representations of elementary school children.
 

Students made the connection quickly.
 

They began to ask questions.
 

The front row scooted up.
 

Students began telling the Hudsons about the books they had written.
 

The Hudsons offered advice on how to workshop a first draft, and vivid tales of struggling with second drafts, a process the students were just beginning.
 

But even more generously, the Hudsons drew the students out, with sincere questions and careful attention.

 

Eventually, Mr. Hudson had the students get up one by one, introduce themselves, and explain what they wanted to be when they grew up.
 

And so they met future WNBA stars and graffiti artists.
 

They met swimmers and veterinarians.
 

They met geologists and swimmers.
 

They met hair stylists and video game designers.
 

They met authors and artists.
 

All free to imagine the future they want.
 

All ready to write their own stories.
 

All ready to share them with the world.

 

2022 Book Fair was busy

The story above was just one of dozens of special events happening around Gordon's 2022 Book Fair. 

Here are a few more:

Thursday author Karina Yan Glaser with second and third grade

Wednesday celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the Joukowsky Family Library
Wednesday author and illustrator Danielle Greendeer with third grade
Wednesday author and illustrator Christopher Denise with first grade

Tuesday author and illustrator Deborah Freedman with Preschool, Young Kindergarten, Kindergarten and first grade
Tuesday author Anika Aldamuy Denise with first, second and fourth grade

Last week author Supriya Kelkar with second and third grade

Note! Guests met with many different grades in a number of workshops. The visits documented above were simply the ones Mr. Griffin happened to catch.