Robin Stevenson in Ontario

My first Book Week Tour was a fabulous experience, even more enjoyable than I expected (and I expected it to be a lot of fun!). I visited schools and libraries in Southern Ontario, and spoke with hundreds of children and teens from kindergarten age right up to grade 12. I also met some terrific librarians and teachers, and it was awesome to have to the chance to chat with so many interesting people who love books and are committed to bringing literature into the lives of children.

Of course, it was the kids themselves that made this experience so wonderful:

The seventh graders who read their poems aloud and invited me to be a guest judge for their poetry contest.

The high school student who shyly handed me the first thirty pages of her novel manuscript and asked if I would read it.

The fourth grader who told me about the adventure story he was writing and the plot difficulties he was wrestling with... We agreed that it was much easier to get characters into trouble than out of it!

The young girl who told me about her mother’s death, and her own desire to write about her experience of grief and loss.

The teenager who asked if I could please write some books about kids who live in group homes, because she wanted to read about kids who had experiences like hers.

The wide-eyed first grader who kept scooting forwards so that by the end of my presentation he was practically sitting on my feet. His class was writing a sequel to Ben’s Robot. I hope they send me a copy!

And so very many others…

It was a wonderful week. Thank you so much to everyone who made all this possible! I very much hope that I can be a part of the Book Week Tour again in the future.