Mrs. Brinkman's 6th Grade Class

Today was a day I've been looking forward to since last summer.  Mrs. Brinkman is a 6th grade teacher from my home county, and she decided to have her students read Cobbogoth (the self-published version) for their class read this school year.  She then asked me if I'd like to come down when they finished.  Of course I said absolutely--this is one of the best parts of being an author, and I'd never spoken to an entire class that had all read the book before.

Well, it ended up being worth every minute of it.  The kids were fantastic, and super excited about the book and my visit.  They even made me a sign!

Here are a few pics of the visit:

I promise, I wasn't as boring as the boy in the red shirt looks.  He actually asked the most questions.  ;-)

I even got to let them try some of the Lyf and Roogle from our launch party.  They loved it! Some of them even asked or the recipe.

Here we are with our books!  There are some future authors and movie makers in this group.  I'm very excited to see what the future holds for them.

To say thank you, the kids made and gave me one of the best gifts an author can get.  They each wrote a book review of what they thought of the book.  And then, they drew a picture of their favorite scene from Cobbogoth.

It was clear the kids put a lot of time and thought into their reviews and drawings.  And it was more fun than I can express to see their depictions of scenes that have only lived in my mind until now.

Here are some of my favorites!

The Blood Sum was a popular theme among the drawings.  I loved how this one incorporated the Cobbogothian art on the walls and floor.

I can honestly say I have never received that many stars in a review for my book!

The Dogril scene right before Norah meets up with Lylend was also a popular theme among the drawings.  I loved how this one depicted the trees on fire.

Apparently Cobbogoth made enough of an impression for this reviewer to recommend it to "random people on the street." LOVE!!!

I thought this was an awesome depiction of "The Man in the Glass" chapter where Cifer reads Norah's mind.  The artist even put the wings over the doorway.

But, alas, not everyone liked the book--love kids honesty--but this reviewer was politely displeased and instead took the blame on himself for his boredom.  :-) 

I thought this drawing was fantastic!  I was told by Mrs. Brinkman, that the student who drew this did this free hand, using Bekah's drawing from the book only as a reference for his Dogril.  Very impressive.

I also loved, loved, LOVED this depiction of Lylend's rodaor.  That's one of my favorite parts of the book, so it was very fun to see this and several other drawings of how the kids perceived my description of the rodaor.

Finally, I had a very cool surprise when I got to Mrs. Brinkman's class this morning.  She'd invited my own 4th grade teacher to come and participate in my visit with the class.  This was a super special for me, because this woman is the reason my dyslexia never got in the way of my dream to become an author.  She was the only elementary teacher I can remember who encouraged my story writing, in spite of my terrible handwriting, excessively bad spelling, and difficulty reading.  She was always encouraging me, and consequently has always held a very special place in my heart.  

My 4th grade teacher Mrs. Waddingham, Mrs. Brinkman, and Me after the visit.

A huge thank you to Mrs. Brinkman and her incredible students!  I had such an amazing time visiting with you about the book, and I loved your drawings and reviews so much, I am using them to decorate my office.

They make me want to write more than I've wanted to write in a long time.  They will help motivate me until I finish book 2!

Thank you for such a fun visit!