A Tale Dark and Grimm

Remember the post I had about having an author visit for my book group? Well, I never blogged about the visit and it is definitely blog-worthy. Wowza!

Adam Gidwitz, the author of A Tale Dark and Grimm, came to chat with the library book groups early this past month and he was fantastic. There were about 30 kids that showed up and he totally asked each of the kids their names and did an amazing job of remembering who was who throughout the night. That alone is noteworthy. He was genuine and honest and completely engaging. I was so proud of the questions my 4th graders asked him, too. They were enthralled. I had some skeptical parents show up and he wowed them as well. (The skepticism stemmed from the gory nature of some aspects of the book, the parts of his story that came closest to the actual Brother's Grimm tales. Gidwitz spoke about how children are their own best censors. A concept that is not new, but rarely mentioned.) Anyway, he had the whole crowd captivated.

I loved a story he shared about why he became an author. He had someone once tell him that "Writers write." And that's all there is to it. If you want to write, then do it! A few of the kids told me afterward that they want to start writing now, as well. How is that for impact?!? They were all thrilled to hear that a sequel of sorts will be coming out soon, too.

If you haven't picked up a copy of this book, here is a little video that may inspire you to go grab one... Enjoy!