Yeager Middle School Media Specialist Mona Strickland knows the impact that students getting to interact with authors can have.
“When I was in fifth grade I remember having an author visit my school, and I won't ever forget it,” Strickland said of the visit from author Theodore Taylor. “It changed how I felt about reading, and now I'm a media specialist, probably due in some part to that visit.”
Strickland recently helped facilitate a virtual author visit with popular young adult novelist Alan Gratz for sixth-grade English Language Arts students at Yeager.
She said 36 Yeager students attended the visit and one of the students asked Gratz which author he was inspired by. Gratz is best known for his historical fiction novels, including “Ground Zero,” “Allies” and “Refugee.”
“He is a very popular author,” Strickland said. “I can't keep his books on the shelf, so I knew they would enjoy seeing him and hearing him talk about his books.” She added: “It warmed my heart to see the students excited about getting to see a real author talking about books that they have read and loved.”