Gary Schmidt, two-time Newbery Honor-winning author and National Book Award Finalist visited sixth grade students at Boston. He is a professor of English at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Gary Schmidt captivated his full audience by sharing stories in our school auditorium. He highlighted one of his novels called Wednesday Wars. Arianna Finney asked Mr. Schmidt for advice on how to become a writer. He said, "Read, read, read, read. To be a writer, you must first be a reader. A reader knows the language, knows how to use the language, knows when the language sounds right or sounds awkward. No one is a writer who is not first a reader."
A group of students received a special invitation to a writing workshop at the LaPorte County Public Library after his presentation. Anna Kubik and Danielle Lilly were among the students selected. Anna said, "He gave us a lot of great information about how to get a story started. He told us that writing can be fun." Danielle said, "He gave insight on how to create characters by studying their qualities."
We thank Gary Schmidt for sharing his writing and his story-telling talents with us. Also, a special thanks to Lydia Daniels, who organized his visit to our school.
