Every which way to zoom

I spent the week in Las Vegas, speaking at eight schools for Nevada Reading Week.

The last time I was here was in January 2020…AKA shortly before the world screeched to a halt. So it felt almost poetic that one of my first author trips since author trips have resumed was back here.

One positive of the pandemic is that it forced authors to diversify (and, to trot out an overused word of the COVID era, pivot). Before the pandemic, I’d spoken in schools (indoors). Now:

• I’ve spoken at schools outdoors. 
• I’ve spoken via Zoom to kids who were distance learning (i.e. all of us were home). 
• I’ve spoken via Zoom to kids who were in school (i.e. one screen for each class).
• I’ve spoken at schools where some kids were in the room with me while others were on Zoom from elsewhere in the building. 

And as of this week, I’ve now spoken at a school where all the kids were on Zoom from elsewhere in the building and the librarian and I were alone in the library. 

Sandra Abston Elementary

Next: I will be alone in the school and all the kids will Zoom from my house.

Thank you to all the kind librarians who hosted me. Extra special good vibes to Jen Jiron at Kenneth Divich Elementary, who coordinated all eight schools/eleven talks—a task that can be stressful at any time and is even more admirable during a pandemic!

with Nikki Bylina-Streets at Abston

with my excellent host Jen Jiron (narwhal costume for 

“Dress as a Children’s Book Character Day”)