THANK YOU LETTERS FROM ESPERANZA SCHOOL

Illustration on letter from student at Esperanza School, Los Angeles, CA.

I am always delighted to receive thank you letters from students after I do an author visit at their school. In March I visited Mrs. Williams class at Esperanza School in Los Angeles, sharing my books with the students and getting a tour of the natural habitat school garden. (See my post March 24, 2025.) Each of the students had the opportunity to choose one of my books to be purchased for them by the school. Afterward, the students wrote letters to me and illustrated them with their favorite books. I just received them along with a lovely note from Mrs. Williams. One student wrote: "I was amazed that you said that you wrote about 100 books." Another wrote: "I wish I can be an author like you one day."  I especially love the letter from Emma, who told me about how she learned to make dragon puppets until she became a “pro puppeteer.” She ended her letter with this: “I have some advice. Never give up, keep going, never stop your dream! And my favorite book is A Day and Night on the Prairie because there are many animals that I like.” Her illustration is at the top of this post.

Letters from students at Esperanza School

It is letters like these that make me glad I am an author.

AUTHOR VISIT AT ESPERANZA SCHOOL: Hands-On Science in the Natural Habitat School Garden

Principal Rumble with students in the Esperanza School Natural Habitat Garden.

Located at the edge of downtown Los Angeles, Esperanza Elementary School seems like a surprising place to find a natural habitat garden filled with California native plants. It is home to a variety of insects, birds and other wildlife. For the students at the school it is an opportunity for hands-on science as they observe the cycle of life through the seasons.

Welcome sign for my visit.

Since my first visit to Esperanza School in 2018 and getting a tour of their natural habitat garden I have been going back almost every year to meet with students and find out how the garden has been growing. Last week I met with third-grade students and their teacher Elizabeth Williams. We began in the library where I did a presentation about my books and what it is like to be an author. I was impressed by the students’ enthusiastic response and by their knowledge of the natural world. When I asked if they knew the word for animals that are active during the daytime, they knew that it was “diurnal”. Nighttime animals are "nocturnal".

Teacher, Mrs. Williams; librarian; Principal, Brad Rumble, in the school library.

After the presentation we all went on a tour of the habitat, led by Mrs. Williams and by Principal Brad Rumble. Recent rains had promoted new growth and spring wildflowers were beginning to bloom. Huge patches of lupins were sprouting everywhere. 

These bright red blooms are a favorite flower for hummingbirds. Below, lupin sprouts on the ground.

Mr. Rumble, an avid birdwatcher, has turned the students into expert bird watchers too. On our visit they spotted a number of species, including a pair of house finches. In class the students are learning to distinguish the differences between Anna’s hummingbird and the Rufous hummingbird. They told me that more than 80 species of birds have been identified in the garden.

Student discovering a small clump of wild grapes.

It is always a treat for me to visit Esperanza. It is a delight to see the students learning about the natural world and becoming young scientists. I thank them for sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm with me. And I thank Brad Rumble for his leadership at the school and in the community.  

The Schoolyard Habitat Program is sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation.

The Esperanza garden is a National Wildlife Federation certified Wildlife Habitat. The property provides the four basic habitat elements needed for wildlife to thrive: food, water, cover and places to raise young.

I LOVE THANK YOU NOTES!

Thank You card from student at Esperanza School, Los Angeles, CA

A wonderful package arrived in the mail the other day, filled with thank you notes from the students at Esperanza School, where I had visited 3rd and 4th graders about a month ago. 

In this card I am depicted in front of the giant TV screen I used to present my slides.

During my visit I gave a slide presentation showing my books, my life as an author, and a little bit about me growing up.

Another student created an illustrated book with chapters.

I then showed them how books are made and we did a short exercise in which they folded a sheet of paper to make a tiny blank book. I discovered that after my visit they had turned their little blank books into thank you notes. Each one was different and delightful. I was thrilled to see how much the students had absorbed from my presentation.

Many wrote about their favorite book.

One student made a wonderful illustrated guide for making a tiny book! Get a paper. Fold paper. Fold paper again. Finished!

When I was growing up I never had the opportunity to meet a real live author at school. Cards like these show me what an impact a visit from an author can have on students. I thank teacher Elizabeth Williams for sharing the students' cards with me. They are all wonderful. These are just a few samples. 

 

NATURAL HABITAT SCHOOL GARDEN: A Hotspot of Diversity in the Middle of Los Angeles

Natural Habitat Garden, Esperanza School, Los Angeles, CA

Just a few blocks from the skyscrapers of downtown Los Angeles is an amazing garden filled with native California plants. A few years ago it was just an empty patch of dirt tucked into a corner of the playground at Esperanza Elementary School. Now the plants have grown tall and are competing with one another for space. For students at Esperanza it is an opportunity to observe nature up close. I learned on my recent visit that the garden has been named a hotspot of diversity for the richness of its plants and wildlife.

Principal Brad Rumble

Principal Brad Rumble, who has been key to the creation of the garden and also an avid bird watcher, told me that 80 species of birds have been identified at the school. On a bulletin board inside the school, “Observing Our Natural History”, students compared the two species of hummingbird found in the garden—Anna’s and Allen’s. (In my yard at home we have just Anna's hummingbirds.)

Observing Our Natural History: Hummingbirds

Last week I visited Esperanza for the first time since 2020 and I was amazed to see how much the garden had grown. I did presentations in the library with third and fourth grade students of special science teacher Elizabeth Williams. 

Teacher Elizabeth Williams

Presenting to students in the library.

I always love to see the students’ enthusiasm for nature and was pleased with their good response to my presentation. Before they went back to their classrooms each of them was given one of my books for me to sign. I know it is very special for them to have a book signed by the author. 

With students in the garden.

After my presentations, Mr. Rumble, Mrs. Williams and some of the students took me on a tour of the Habitat. The students at Esperanza have become young naturalists, learning how to identify plants and wildlife in the garden. I was so impressed by the student who spotted a dragonfly perched on one of the plants. I had to look carefully to see it at all, and the dragonfly was so well camouflaged that even in my photograph it is hard to spot. 

A path through the garden leads to a weather station.

There is always something new to see in the garden. I have been visiting Esperanza almost every school year since 2017. (There was a gap during the pandemic.) I look forward to going back next year and seeing how much the garden has grown and changed.

Dragonfly.

Blog posts of my previous visits to Esperanza: August 18, 2017, June 13, 2018, November 21,2018, February 26, 2020 .

 

LETTERS FROM STUDENTS

I always love receiving letters from students, especially in response to an author visit. Last February I visited third and fourth grade students in Elizabeth Williams’ class at Esperanza School near downtown Los Angeles. I recently received the letters they had begun after my visit, but didn’t finish because school was closed for the pandemic. I’d like to share a few of their comments. It is always so gratifying to find out how much the students learn from my visit. I hope that it won’t be too long before children are back in school and it will be possible to do author visits again.

“Thank you so much for coming to tell us a little bit about you. Something that I liked about you is that even when you were a little girl you liked to write.”

“You taught us lots of stuff that we didn’t know about. You showed us how big a California Condor’s wingspan is.”

“One day I want to be like you. I am an artistic kid. You inspired me so much. Thanks for the inspiration!”

“You showed me a lot of facts and surprised me with how many books you made.”

“I liked the book that you wrote All About Birds.”

“When I grow up I may want to be like you.”

“Thank you for coming. You took some time out of your schedule to come here. Not everyone is like you. Some people are too busy to visit us.”

“Thank you for telling us about global warming.”

“We are delighted and hopefully you can come again another time.”

AUTHOR VISIT at ESPERANZA SCHOOL, Los Angeles, CA

Welcome sign in Mrs. Oasay's 4th Grade Class at Esperanza School

A week ago I had a terrific visit at Esperanza Elementary School in Los Angeles, California, with two groups of Mrs. Williams students in the library (3rd and 4th grades) and with Mrs. Oasay's 4th grade students in their classroom. I could tell that the students enjoyed meeting a "real live author" and I was glad to hear what they have been learning from reading my books. Each group had been reading one of my recent books in advance of my visit. Mrs. Williams' third graders had read Watching Desert Wildlife and the fourth graders had read Birds: Nature's Magnificent Flying Machines.

With teacher Elizabeth Williams in the library. A life-size cutout of P-22 peeks out behind us.

Mrs. Williams also shared the students' pollinators books that they are working on as they learn in the school's natural habitat garden. What a great project!

A book made by one of the students about plant pollinators

She also showed me the story boards the students made for P-22 Day. (P-22 is a mountain lion that lives in the Santa Monica Mountains.) I loved the illustrations and what they wrote. They had presented their story at the P-22 Day in Griffith Park in October.

With Mrs. Oasay in her classroom

Mrs. Oasay's class was a very enthusiastic audience and had a lot to share about what they were learning in my book Too Hot? Too Cold?. I loved their own Too Hot? Too Cold? books, done backwards and forwards.

My book Too Hot? Too Cold? and one of the student's books with facts about animal adaptations for keeping warm and keeping cool.

The board in front of Mrs. Oasay's room was filled with questions the students had prepared to ask me. They were great questions, ranging from "What inspired you to write about animals?" to "Did you have any challenges as a kid?" I didn't have time to answer all of them, but we had a great conversation.
I thank super Principal Brad Rumble for arranging my visit and making it possible.  During my visit, Assistant Principal Mrs. Lexus Lee took good care of me and made sure everything ran smoothly.

National Geographics and an Urban Native Plant Garden at Esperanza School in Los Angeles

A week ago my 43 years of National Geographic magazines found a new home! Mrs. Oasay, a wonderful 5th grade teacher at Esperanza Elementary School in Los Angeles, is going to use them with her students. For many years I used the National Geographics for my research and I'm thrilled they are now getting a new life! Thanks so much to Principal Brad Rumble for helping to arrange this!

With Mrs. Oasay, Brad Rumble and Student with my boxes of National Geographics

After I delivered my National Geographic magazines at Esperanza, Brad took me on a tour of the school including the beautiful renovated library and the amazing natural garden filled with native plants, birds and other wildlife.

Principle Brad Rumble in the Esperanza School Garden

Bees were buzzing and a pair of doves was foraging in the plants along the path. Brad told me that two species of hummingbirds have been observed feeding on the flowers and that many other species have been seen and recorded by the children. The garden is an oasis in the heart of the city and a place where students can have hands on interaction with the natural world. This living laboratory is a wonderful asset to the school and to the neighborhood.
To find out more about how the garden project has impacted the whole school and the surrounding neighborhood, read Brad Rumble's excellent article Planting the Seeds of Change.