(Chelsea Update would like to thank Chelsea District Library staff for the information in this story.)
The Chelsea District Library will hold its 6th annual Authors in Chelsea event on March 25-26.This two-day event, which brings three nationally known authors to present workshops on writing in Chelsea schools, is unique this year as all three authors are from Michigan.
The library is also holding a special evening event on March 25 from 6:30-8 p.m. for everyone to meet the authors and get books signed.
“Our evening event has become so popular that we can no longer fit everyone in our McKune Room,” said Karen Persello, head of Youth and Teen Services in a press release.
“To accommodate the larger audience, we are moving it to Room 100 of the Washington Street Education Center located on 512 Washington St.” Books will be available for purchase in the library lobby, courtesy of Chelsea’s Just Imagine bookstore.
This year’s line-up includes Nancy Shaw (North Creek Elementary), creator of the infectious characters of Sheep in a Jeep fame and author of several other rhyming stories, including Sheep on a Ship and Raccoon Tune. Johnathan Rand (South Meadows Elementary), is author of the incredibly popular book series, Michigan Chillers, American Chillers, and Freddie Fernortner, Fearless First Grader, and Gary Schmidt (Beach Middle School), author and recipient of a Newbery Honor and a Printz Honor awards for his novel Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, and a Newbery Honor award for his novel The Wednesday Wars.
Authors in Chelsea brings nationally known authors and illustrators to Chelsea schools, providing children close contact with award-winning authors and illustrators to explore the art and craft of writing and illustrating, and encouraging students to read and appreciate literature.
Through the generous support of our sponsors, this year’s program has once again expanded to include the 3rd grade, raising the number of students in the program from 850 to 1,000. Now all students in grades 1 through 6 will benefit from the program.
“We are very excited about our continued opportunity to have the Authors Visits,” said Marcus Kaemming, principal of North Creek Elementary School in a press release.
“The children are extremely excited about the books and experiences they bring.,” he said, adding, “Each year the authors spur new conversations and help our students get reinvigorated about their own writing. The CDL does a superb job of finding great people to share with our youngest authors.”
South Meadows Elementary School Principal Stacie Battaglia said, “We are so very fortunate that our library finds value in offering these experiences to our students.”
“There is such excitement and of course an amazing learning opportunity for kids when they meet a “real” author,” she said, adding, “To have one of their favorites this year, Johnathan Rand, is astounding, and we are extremely excited to welcome him to South Meadows.”
In preparation for Authors in Chelsea, youth librarians will visit each school to get students excited about this year’s authors.Additionally, they will hold a Fun Fair on Saturday, March 7, 1:30-3:30 p.m. where kids can join together in fun and games themed around this year’s authors’ books.
Activities will range from hiking through the library in search of sheep like the ones in Shaw’s books, to creating creepy monsters based on local Michigan towns such as the ones in Rand’s popular Michigan Chillers series, to celebrating Schmidt’s novel The Wednesday Wars with a Shakespearean insult station, music trivia and more. Ages 6 and up are invited to attend and registration is not required – just drop-in.
For further information about the Authors in Chelsea program, please click here.
