A Seasonal ASK Author Event

What a nice set of schools we had for this seasonal distance learning program called ASK Author "A Clever Beatrice Christmas with Margaret Willey".  There were a total of 5 schools that connected.  The name and location of the schools our 3rd grader collaborated with are listed below: 

• Fieldcrest Elementary School Bradford, ON, CA
• Valley Elem and Mesa Verde Middle schools Poway, CA, US
• Saint Kilian Parish School Cranberry Township, PA, US
• Upson/Indian Hills EUCLID, OH, US

Author Margaret Willey

A Clever Beatrice Christmas

These are the things our students learned:

• A Cleaver Beatrice Christmas is the 3rd Book of the Beatrice series.  The series are folktales that took place in the area of French Canada, set in the upper peninsula of Michigan.
• The character Beatrice was named after the author's mother in-law who was a very important figure in their family life.  She was the inspiration in writing this book.

Kids questions were:

• How long did it take for you to finish the book?  The 1st book took a long time since it was the author's first time to write folktales.  After the 1st one was published, it took the author shorter time to finish a book.  Overall, for the "A Clever Beatrice Christmas"it  took the author maybe 3 or 4 months to pull it off together and maybe a few more weeks to put all the elements together.  
• How long have you been writing books?  The author wrote her first book when the author was in her 20's - published in 1981.  It was a novel for bigger kids.  Overall, she has published 7 pictures books and 8 novels.
• How old is Beatrice? Beatrice is round 8 or 9 years old in the first book series.  The author's daughter was around that age when the author started writing the series.  In the 3rd series, Beatrice is about 10 or 11 years old.
• Are you from Canada?  The author is not from Canada but  her husband is Canadian.  
• Do you have any children?  The author has 2 children.  They are now grown adults. Her son has 2 children.  
• What was your favorite Christmas story as a kid?  The best Christmas pageant ever is the author's favorite and she used to read to her daughter.
• Do you have a special place you like to write?  She writes in her office.  Downstairs at the back of the house.  She can write anywhere - take a notebook or a laptop.
• Is there a message you want your readers to grasp?  Children cannot play tricks to everybody
• What is your favorite color?  Red is the color of adventure in folktales.  The author loves the color RED!  She was the eldest daughter in the family.  Being the oldest, she used to read books out loud to her younger siblings.
• How come Beatrice only live with her mother?  The author wrote it with just Beatrice and her mother.  She didn't really think about Beatrice's father.  So when children started asking where Beatrice's father was, the author thought of the Lumber Camps in the upper peninsula - where Beatrice father's work and he died during a lumber camp accident.
• What were you like in 3rd Grade?  The author was the littlest girl in the class.  She was very shy.

Just imagine the possibilities of having this conversation with an author and children do not even have to leave the school?