Last Wednesday, Gennifer Choldenko was gracious enough to visit Willard not once, but twice!  We packed the Metal Shop Theater with 6th grade classes whose teachers had read her book, Al Capone Does My Shirts, to their students.  She spoke on her books and her writing process which includes A LOT of research and revision. 

Ms. Choldenko began with an introduction to her newest book, No Passengers Beyond This Point, explaining how she had woven bits of her own life with fantastical imagination to create this unusual tale.  I found it interesting that she based some of the characters' relationships in the book on real people, but she emphasized that the characters themselves are not modeled after those people, just the way the two characters interact.  This is a distinction I had never thought of before.  She also read a chapter to us, complete with funny voices.

When she began talking about the history of Alcatraz Island and her experience researching it, you could feel the students leaning into her every word.  She painted vivid pictures of life on the island, both inside and outside the walls of the prison.  Tales of escape attempts, Al Capone and his silk underwear, laundry as a conduit for messages, and convict baseball will surely stay with these kids for years. 

Kids had tons of questions about writing and Alcatraz.  They were impressed by this tenacious, little lady who worked five years on a book without knowing if it would even get published.  One question remains unanswered:  What will happen in the 3rd Al Capone book? 

Thank you so much for visiting Willard!   And thank you to Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore on College Ave. for sponsoring this event.