Drawn Together

Last week, I had the great privilege to attend a fundraiser for Moore School libraries. As most people know, Moore, OK was hit with a massive tornado in May. Two elementary schools were destroyed, and seven children were killed at Plaza Towers Elementary.

At this fundraiser, 4 internationally known children's author/illustrator/cartoonists spoke. Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), Stephan Pastis (Timmy Failure), Dav Pilkey (Captain Underpants), and Lincoln Peirce (Big Nate) were awesome! It was very interesting to hear about their starts in the business and what they are currently working on. It was equally exciting to see the children in attendance. Yes, children ARE reading and they love these books! The authors showed pictures of the characters and children shouted out their names. Many brought their own books to have autographed. Books and t shirts were also for sale with all proceeds going to the school libraries. What a wonderful thing for these authors and their publishers to do.

Things I personally noticed about all of the authors:
1. They are all males approximately the same age.
2. They are all down to earth and very approachable.
3. They were all dressed casually in jeans, t shirts, ball caps, etc.
4. They were all excellent speakers.
5. They are funny!

All tickets were for general admission, but there was a VIP section. It was front and center of the stage and was specifically for the people from Briarwood Elementary and Plaza Towers Elementary. How cool is that! Those kids will never forget this experience and the year 2013.

I have a confession. I had never read any of these books. On Saturday afternoon, I started reading the books I purchased. I can see why they are so popular with the kids. (Adults can enjoy them, too!)