GO WILD WITH READING: Talk at Summer Reading Celebration at the Braille Institute, Los Angeles, CA

Last Wednesday I was the guest speaker at the Summer Reading Celebration at the Braille Institute in Los Angeles. I gave my presentation to a room full of eager children and their parents as well as to many adult readers. All of them were avid readers and prizes were awarded to those who had read the most books. In some cases, they had read books in braille, and in other cases they had listened to audio books. I learned that many of my books are available in the Braille Institute library. The theme for the summer reading program is Go Wild With Reading so I emphasized my books about animals and took the children on a "Lion Hunt." A presentation was also made by Leslie Fuentes from the National Park Service who took the audience on an imaginary dive to the ocean floor and then invited the children to see and touch various objects found along the seashore and take home an abalone shell. I thank Library Director Dr. Henry Chang and Materials Development Coordinator Ivan G. Johnson and his hard working committee for organizing the wonderful celebration. A gift of a beautiful orchid will continue to remind me of a very successful visit.