"One day I was at a work training class, I was thinking about what makes me happy, what gives me joy. I just thought I want to write books for children. Why? Because I love to tell stories. I always told stories to my brothers growing up. But children are so smart...and adventurous...and curious...and open-minded...and kind. Right? That's the perfect age to write stories for, you guys are so open to hear and listen and understand. You all are amazing."
Readers To Dreamers® was thrilled to welcome the one and only ANGIE THOMAS to Long Middle School on Thursday, October 5th to host a conversation with the 6th grade students!
" [As a former librarian and educator] I got really frustrated because I met so many kids who were like 'ugh, I hate books' and they hated books because they didn't find themselves on the pages of those books, and they weren't finding things that they were excited about reading. So then I turned myself into an author!”
"I hope you remember if it's something that's really important to you and does matter, know that you can do it. Believe in yourself. Don't listen to all the naysayers - I know how hard that can be, so just believe in yourself. Always…always believe in yourself.”
"As a kid growing up in a low income environment, I thought football was the most important thing. I got to the University of Georgia on an athletic scholarship, and I realized that I had interpreted that completely wrong – and that there is a value in education. An education leads to economic opportunities. Through reading, you have the best chance at empowering yourself to live out the life you want to live. And I started writing books off of that premise. I wanted to encourage, first my community, but then I learned about millions of other communities, not just in this state, but around the country, that reading can help substantially. So if I could be a positive voice and make a positive impact, that was something I wanted to do. And that’s why I started writing picture books and visiting schools."
"Keep trying, keep fighting, just keep going,
and maybe someday you will go down in history, too!"
Sherri Winston
What do you hope the reader takes away after reading Nigel and the Moon?
“Belief in self. Belief in their dreams and having ownership of their dreams. I want little ones to remember that wherever they are, don’t let anyone pull their dreams down. Protect it the way they protect their favorite toy or stuffed animal.”
“It wasn’t until 2019 that I met a young Black author for the first time by the name of Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah and that’s what made me realize that I could be an author too. People talk about representation, and I don’t want it to get diluted and lost, because for me, it changed my life.”
Copyright © 2021 Readers To Dreamers ®, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by GoDaddy
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.