Children’s Book Author Matt de la Peña and Illustrator Christian Robinson Visit Virtually With District Students

Disponible en: Español

The award-winning author and illustrator chatted with Aldine ISD students last month.

Students from 20 elementary school campuses across the district got the opportunity to hear and talk with author Matt de la Peña and illustrator Christian Robinson. The duo is behind the #1 New York Times bestseller, Last Stop on Market Street. The book is also a winner of the Newbery Medal and is a Caldecott Honor Book and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book. Other collaborations include the New York Times bestseller Carmela Full of Dreams and Milo Imagines the World.

Author visits provide opportunities for students to make connections to books. When children read, they interact with the stories, emotionally connecting to the characters and imagining being a part of the world within the pages.

“Meeting the authors and illustrators adds another dimension to the relationship,” said Marco Zannier Virginillo, program director of library media services. “Students get a chance to see the people who built those imaginary worlds and get to hear about the thoughts and inspirations that created the stories. It is often a revelation to children that authors and illustrators are people just like them.”

Virginillo added that author visits give children an opportunity to understand that other people have experienced similar experiences to theirs. It is those experiences that are stories that can become books. Students often think of authors as celebrities and people not like them. In reality, many authors and illustrators had normal childhoods very similar to those of our students. Authors who visit with our students are humanized. Students connect with the real person behind the book and realize that the stories sound like their own lives because the authors have lived similar lives. Each time a student realizes “they are just like me,” we chip away at the “them” and “us” idea. Events like this inspire students to seek out books and stories they can connect to and write their own.

According to Virginillo, students walk away with several growth lessons from author and illustrator visits. They realize the importance of reading stories but also in sharing stories. They are empowered to tell their own stories in their own ways. Children leave inspired to find their own voices and use their talents to share them, whether through the spoken or written word or in drawings.

Elementary school students weren’t the only ones to benefit. MacArthur High School Principal Heather Peterson thought it would be beneficial for art students to hear from a published illustrator. Overall, at least 500 students and staff across AISD joined the virtual event.

The elementary school students asked questions about writing and illustrating books and asked about how the two met and how they work together. One very thought-provoking question was, “What makes a good story?” The authors agreed that a good story is open and honest. A good story allows readers to imagine parts of the story that don’t exist in the words and illustrations; good stories inspire readers to think.

At the end of the visit, several classes unmuted their mic to thank De la Peña and Robinson.

Blue Willow Bookshop, a local independent bookstore, does more than sell books. The shop’s owners proactively seek opportunities to reach out to schools and connect local students with the authors they love. To date, Blue Willow has brought six authors to Aldine, with more scheduled this spring. Traditionally, authors would physically visit schools. Due to the pandemic, Blue Willow has provided virtual author visits to involve even more students and engage them with books.