Hello,
I'm Patty Norman, and I'm the Children's Specialist and the Director of Kids Events for Copperfield's Books, a bookstore in Petaluma, California.
Each fall and spring, Copperfield’s takes authors to visit schools. I connect publishers with schools who are eager to host writers and illustrators of children's books.
The publishers provide access to touring authors, with the expectation that we sell books and generate continued interest. I always schedule the author to visit three schools — one Title I / low-income, one middle and one upper-income — in the belief that everyone deserves to hear authors. My hope is always that higher sales at the upper-income schools subsidize visits to the lower-income ones, many of whose kids may never have seen an author before. Engaging with books in this way is crucial for kids from all income levels.
In Fall 2019 alone, I had 30 authors visit 58 schools, with audience sizes from 11-550 students. All told, we presented to 11,890 kids and 550 teachers.
So, I do TONS of these events. During the school year, I’m familiar enough with the local schools to draw maps of them in my sleep. I’ve taken bestselling authors to schools; I’ve taken debut authors to schools. It’s a complete joy, if also a challenge. But for a long time, I’ve been wanting to do more with these school visits than just make them happen. And last year, three key author visits made me start thinking I could be doing more.
The first nudge was when I took picture book author/illustrator Ed Vere to visit a Title I school. After his presentation was over, kids stood in line to meet him. Very few had the means to buy a book at all, so many just wanted to talk to him and get an autograph. And then, at the very end of the line was a seven-year-old girl with a Ziploc bag full of nickels and quarters and a few crumpled one-dollar bills — enough, just barely, to buy her own copy. It was both endearing and bittersweet — how difficult had it been to come up with that money? How long had she been saving? I gave Ed a heads up, and he spent extra time with her, drawing with her, signing her book and making her feel very special. When she left, she carried her book as though it was made of glass.
Another time, I took author/illustrator Rhode Montijo to a Title I bilingual school, where he wowed kids by speaking to them in Spanish and English, and delighted them by teaching them how to draw one of the characters from his book. He enjoyed seeing the kids' efforts, and complimented them on their work. As his visit wrapped up, he called over a nine-year-old, wearing a hoodie with the hood up and hands in pockets, singling him out and praising his drawing. “Keep at it, man,” Rhode told him. “You've got talent.” The student nodded, silently, and then pushed his hood back and skipped away. A teacher watching the exchange exclaimed, “That was huge! His hood hasn't been off all year. His dad berates him for loving to draw.”
The final kick-in-the-pants was when I took chapter book author Margaret Stohl to visit schools last fall. She asked if she was visiting any Title I schools, and of course we were. She had me find out how many kids would be attending her presentation — 160 — and then simply purchased enough of her books for every student. They listened to her presentation, polite but detached. Their surprise and delight when they realized we were giving them each their OWN books, and their immediate connection to her, to her story and their grins as they flipped through the books as they waited to meet her and get their books signed, spoke volumes. They belonged. They were connected to the story and its author.
Imagine, I thought, what we could do if I could provide books for every kid at low income school visits. What a difference it would make! And so, I've started a non-profit do to just that — purchase books for Title I school author visits. We're called the Bookstormer Foundation, and we launched with the 2019-2020 school year. Even during the pandemic, when schools were closed, we managed to get authors on Zoom visits, and managed to put books in kids’ hands. Now, though, we’re BACK! We have begun visiting Title I schools and providing books to students. Most recently, we provided 250 kids with a copy of John Patrick Green’s newest Investigators book. The kids were knocked out and, according to the school principal, they all carried their books on campus all week long. They belonged!
Will you join me with a donation to help bring books to kids? A donation of $500 will provide a paperback book to every kid in an entire grade; a donation of $1000 will provide a picture book or hardcover book for an entire grade. And, of course, any amount helps!
The Bookstormer Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit, and your donation is tax-deductible. Each book provided will contain a Bookstormer bookplate and a bookmark stating, “This book provided for you with the help of [business/organization names].”
We've learned in recent years that the number-one indicator of later academic and life success is linked directly to whether a family has books in the home. Reading creates empathy, understanding, and a connection with others across the globe. I firmly, passionately believe that kids reading will save the world. Your participation will be invaluable. Will you help me help these kids?
