I was honored to have a book selected for this event and to be present to interact with the participants. I submitted my Sonoran Desert-themed books for consideration. I was thrilled by their choice: the bilingual version, La Tortuga…Vampiro, of my book Vampire…Tortoise?!. Once this book was selected, they created a PowerPoint slide presentation of all the pages, so that it could be displayed on the big screen of the theater. Parents and children were encouraged to read along with the book being projected. Mine was one of four books shown in rotation.
Zoe, my Sonoran Desert Tortoise, was delighted to meet the Fox Theatre and Bear Essential News mascots. She was happy she wasn’t the only animal there. After Zoe greeted everyone, they had their photos taken with the mascots. She welcomed over 270 attendees on Friday and more than 420 on Saturday! She was one tired tortoise! After a good night’s sleep, she spent Sunday searching my house for her public, but could find only me and her sibling tortoises.
Many people asked what her name was, but even more asked how old she is. I had to admit that I don’t know. She was full grown when I took her as part of the foster program. She’d been with other people before, but had me trained in no time. I’m guessing she is at least 60 years old.
[Photo by Fox Theatre] Zoe going in to check out the book inspired by her. That’s the book projected on the screen behind us.
Along with the books being projected, the event included sing-alongs, an interactive movie about telling a story based on the tracks being shown, and a story about a young gruffalo!
Did you recognize the background of the event poster and the illustration from my book? Yes, they used the lightning scene that Anderson Atlas created!
On the second day, several organizations and I had tables in the auditorium. I was allowed to sell my books, so I took along a few of my titles. I was able to sell a few, but the real hit were the coloring and word search pages about local reptiles. Notice Zoe sitting quietly on the table. I’d expected her to try to walk around, but she preferred to just lay there.
The theater very generously supplied crayons. The line of parents and children snaked past the tables. Many kids selected a crayon and started coloring while in line, and the time passed quickly.
I was delighted to be invited to participate. I hope people enjoyed my book, expertly prepared for projection by the theater staff. Of course, I know it was Zoe, Sonoran Desert Tortoise, who was the real star of the show.
Hopefully, we all encouraged kids and their parents to read and keep on reading. Just like a tortoise creeping to the next literary adventure!
Are you curious about the differences between tortoises and turtles, and the amazing lives they lead? Explore my books in the “Tortoise or Turtle?” series!