When it comes to adding zing to classrooms and libraries, perhaps there is no power like the power possessed by bookpeople. Authors craft the stories that grab our students, the stories that sometimes hug and console young readers, sometimes intrigue or puzzle them, and sometimes shake them inside out.
Illustrators draw the pictures that make students giggle and gasp.
Authors and illustrators also create the informational books that turn students into wide-eyed investigators, bursting with curiosity, tingling with the thrills of learning. Storytellers weave gentle webs that enmesh children and whisk them off to other realms where they become one with the characters and situations enacted. Recognizing those resources, schools and libraries all over the country have been exploring ways to tap into their power. Occasionally, opportunities even present themselves to make the experience more personal. One of Edinger's best opportunities was with Gail Carson Levine, author of Ella Enchanted .