![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLrrLxkKuXllnyZFRf3LdkMRDUC-AKwIxcfXotH7Not8_b6u39-FAyT84LlST6Cp1C8YiqHvi96xomCjwiyzQvRNrLaEbJQVfxxzYo66OB7HLSqAQJe1Bo3qHBX85Qwh2F6mdJfWsKHg13/s400/flag+WI.gif)
Way-out Wisconsin, part 1 of 2.
On 2/8/11, my first of three schools was in picturesque Soldiers Grove. Here’s what awaited me in the rental car before I drove there:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbXe2XHsjxFt8bommXHd89Aw1syITZyDqdpYqfeE1Zc1UgTopbPQZ3EjrNjyWTXvBt6yxAHr6r9hT0-nydRR-QD4zWKhUGw0XBA0tTBehLRs_lKttaloCaXB4moX9iLoMxYW620MU3LnMO/s400/IMG_1874.jpg)
And then:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjorqls60O7Hsj-NjIrkrJpVn-Q46DJMAE3ryVQTOQFMS5FsaQF8uHR_TBRD-x4VyQt7fxZPs-Cdf8N3fDyNwZ3NFonNL7jsnWSONSdq-I6ogD6gyMoprF9bQt335gLLfQFRWG6s_-2M6DG/s400/IMG_1875.jpg)
And (aside from my most kind host) here’s what greeted me when I got there:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPEx88A4cy5OhihexnXC99aeL0d6dCdWsPz_s8ii-4zrHh_fwivduK6wFznRkH295NQwvsSj7PVr4OCngAbj3yjv2noAOmF2n3mS7W88daNEFj5Rhc1RCzrdRtW6SphLc-FcXOsSSKGP17/s400/IMG_1871.jpg)
And a kind mention in the center of the "Coming Attractions" display...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3oZLIMrXxnv5sw4MopQC3ZrxQUHOXsD2Yai7FEyA7eY6xxS47yFunXGJFfHRv_H8buDY5vk_zsRmsu8IZqKyAnOFzcOyoJziRwjLdBTtbAmJDHq_YH1wtqTCR0Qzcc-Pfs-WTUjT3TJAQ/s400/IMG_1870.jpg)
Something else in this picture needs a close-up, so...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9X5vfpuXGng9x_8VtNP8V9X3EX82qlxV7CK8NiDImfPiTtWMlHpDCPnn8LZCXjuKhXBdfj_lNmHlO1UJ6c5ND3ILuPOm_gzvAs6-affJnjeaHub7MplYhSa1l_tgsQN72ExqHbctE-U3V/s400/IMG_1868.jpg)
The school scheduled a single presentation, but one that spanned a wide range: grades 2-8. That’s right—second graders with eighth graders (along with all the grades in between).
Few authors come by these parts so I understood that the school wanted to give as many students as possible the chance to hear one. And I will gladly present to groups of any size.
But I do typically request that K-2 is a separate talk (and, usually, that middle schoolers are their own group , too). I adjust my approach depending on the makeup of the audience. But in this case, I saw no one approach that would work for all throughout.
My host recognized this and instructed me to tailor my presentation to the older kids. I was worried about alienating the younger ones but the host assured me that they are a mature group—and, if they weren’t keeping up, that their teacher would quietly escort them out.
To their credit, they stayed the whole time. (Then again, I did talk about Superman. No, they were good kids no matter what I would've talked about.)
After, I drove 1.5 hours to Mineral Point, where I spoke at two lovely schools.
At each of the three schools that day, I did the give-away-a-book-by-initials thing again. In Soldiers Grove, I hit upon someone’s initials on what I think was the third try. It took a few more attempts in Mineral Point. Yet in the end, every book I offered did vanish…right into their backpacks.
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