LA's BEST Young Authors at Bassett Elementary School

"I am....." books created by young authors at Bassett Elementary School in the LA's BEST program

Last Tuesday I spent a delightful hour with 22 enthusiastic writers grades K through 4 at Bassett Elementary School in Van Nuys, California, who are participating in the LA's BEST Young Authors after school program. The children shared their first project with me, their "I Am..." books about themselves, which they had just completed. Their second project, which they were just starting, is alphabet books. I shared my books with them and talked about how I get ideas and do research. Then I read my story The Terrible Hodag and the Animal Catchers. The Hodag is a creature with the head of an ox, feet of a bear, back of a dinosaur, and tail of an alligator. For the final part of the hour the children created their own "mixed up" animals and drew pictures of them. I was impressed by their enthusiasm and creativity!