The most massive school visit in the history of the world occurred April 27-29, 2016 in Brownsville, Texas, the United States of America.
It was Brownsville Independent School District’s El día de los niños/El día de los libros - Children's Day/Book Day! Celebrating Early Literacy.
35 Elementary Schools and Headstart Programs.
6,640 copies of the bilingual picture book “Dale, dale, dale/ Hit It, Hit It, Hit It” written by Rene Saldana Jr. and illustrated by me, Carolyn Dee Flores, purchased and distributed to every pre-school and kindergarten student in the district.
Over 6,700 students.
One author. One illustrator.
And innumerable parents and teachers.
Each elementary school was asked to interpret the book “Dale, dale, dale/ Hit It, Hit It, Hit It” in their own way and make a presentation.
Some reenacted the book as a play. (Some even reenacted one of my other books as a play - in full frog costume.) Some danced. Some sang. Some made videos of themselves reading the book aloud.
But most amazing of all. They did it by themselves.
For someone who might not understand just how creative these children can be, let me give you a glimpse:
At Villa Nueva Elementary, I walked into a library that was decorated so much like the book “Dale, dale, dale/ Hit It, Hit It, Hit It,” I felt like I was walking into the book’s pages. Children performed a play with narrators and paper guitars. Then, everyone went outside to hit piñatas.
At Bennavides Elementary, I was treated to 9 different plays by 9 different kindergarten classes, all celebrating literacy and in full costume. Plus a video! The cafeteria was packed with proud parents. One woman behind me whispered in my ear. “That one’s mine - the one in the little mouse costume.”
Hudson Elementary made “Dale, dale, dale/ Hit It, Hit It, Hit It” come to life by re-creating every illustration in the book with live children.
My favorite, however, was Skinner Elementary. Older students in the school wrote and performed a play for the younger students - based on the book - with a full choir. But what made their presentation so incredible, was that they made all of the props and sets using only butcher paper, crayon, and a little string (to fly little toy cars across the room.) The kindergarteners were delighted. They whooped and cheered. I was very proud.
I can’t imagine how much time it took – using only crayons (and perhaps a ladder) – to color those huge backgrounds from the settings in the book.
Every presentation was incredible. And heart-felt. And thought-out.
Everything meant so much … to everyone.
To parents. To teachers. To librarians. To students.
To me.
I will never take for granted the amazing privilege it is to create a book for children.
Or the difference it can make in a child’s life.
And the icing on the cake?
Everywhere, I saw children sneaking off. Children who were only interested in one thing. Reading.
2087
titsay
areudirty
stormborns