There are some days when being an author is the Best Thing Ever. Thursday was one of those days for me. Thanks to the Texas Book Festival and the Reading Rock Stars program, I was invited to present to 4th and 5th grades at Crockett Elementary in Houston, Texas.

Outside Crockett with authors Don Tate and James Luna.

The school itself was beautiful, and decorated to the hilt! There were giant posters of our book covers…

a permanent art installation with pics of our book covers, painted by art teacher extraordinaire Claudia Elizondo…

posters and murals everywhere…

the school orchestra came and played for me!!!

and they had made trees with decorations that matched each of the three books. Here are some “wishes” that kids made to hang on the Wish Girl tree:

After presenting to a bunch of kids, the best part of the day came: when I got to hand a signed copy of my book to every kid there. I got hugs, tears, laughter, and a whole lot of thank yous.

But I was the one thanking those lovely folks in charge – the Texas Book festival, HEB grocery stores for their huge financial support of the program, and even La Madeleine in Sawyer Heights for the scrumptious lunch!

And, honestly? I was thanking God for allowing me to be a part of this. Sometimes it’s hard to see if your work really matters. This week, I had no question at all.

Gratitude: it’s the theme for this month. I am thankful for all of you, too, friends! Go do good work in the world. Your work matters, too. Do it with love.