Hello everyone, Daniel from Second Star here! We were honored to host Saadia Faruqi and Remi Lai at our local schools for our first week of author visits. Let me tell you a bit about them!
Saadia flew over from Texas to visit Denver for the first time. She went to two of our awesome partner schools promoting Saving Sunshine, her awesome graphic novel about two Muslim American siblings who are learning to support one another when the people and systems around them are unkind. With beautiful illustrations by Shazleen Khan and Saadia's relatable storytelling, Saving Sunshine instantly captured the attention of teachers and students alike.
We were thrilled to host Saadia, and the kids at the schools were thrilled as well!
The students were engaged as she spoke about writing and her process, but the real impressions I believe the students left with was how encouraging she was of their pursuits and goals! Saadia was amazingly patient and kind. She took time to answer questions about Saving Sunshine, talked with them about whatever personal connections they made with the book, and engaged the students in a way that had all eyeballs up front for the entire presentation.
One of our partner schools, Woodland Elementary, was particularly enthusiastic. From the amazing welcome signs, the student-led introduction, presentation of flowers and rousing applause at the end of her presentation, this visit was a great success for all from beginning to end!
We were also thrilled to host the incredibly talented author/illustrator Remy Lai on visits to STEM Launch and Stober Elementary! Remy was visiting all the way from Australia promoting her new graphic novel Ghost Book, a spooky graphic novel inspired by Chinese mythology about a girl who can see ghosts. Remi wrote and illustrated this beauty, and the kiddos were so excited to learn about this phantasmic graphic novel!
The students who came to her presentations had a blast learning how to draw July (the book's protagonist), hearing spooky stories, and discussing the processes behind her amazing work. Every book signed by Remi also got an illustration, and after a busy day of school visits Remi stopped by the store for a more personal meet-and-greet with some of our dedicated readers. Thank you to Remy for the interactive and insightful presentations, and we hope you come back again soon!
These authors kicked off a fantastic start to our Fall author visit season! Saadia and Remi are both fantastic authors, presenters, and humans. We can't wait to invite them back in the future!
If you're interested in either Saadia or Remi's books, you can order using the links below. Signed copies are available while supplies last!
