Island students spend a day with author Joanna Cole

On Oct. 3 the Peaks Island School community welcomed students and teachers from the Cliff Island, Chebeague Island, and Long Island schools, who came to spend a day with children's author Joanna Cole.

A resident of Cliff Island, Cole is the author of many children's books, including When Mommy and Daddy Go To Work and Best-Loved Folktales of the World, as well as the popular Magic School Bus series, in which teacher Ms. Frizzle takes her class on wild science adventures. Her books being well known to many of the students, this was an opportunity for these young readers to get to know the author behind the characters and the stories.

At Peaks Island School, the students were split into two groups, grades K-2 and grades 3-5. Each group spent a couple of hours with the author, including a question-and-answer period during which the students asked questions they had prepared ahead of time. In addition, the younger students listened attentively as Cole told them the story of Bony Legs, a Russian folklore about a witch, and the older students learned from the author about the process of researching and writing a book.

Other activities throughout the day focused on Cole's books in various ways. For example, the K-2 students colored Magic School Buses and created paper bumblebees (the subject of the Magic School Bus Inside a Beehive), and the third, fourth and fifth grade students worked together to make book pages modeled after those in the Magic School Bus stories, which combine fact and fantasy. In addition, throughout the day the students had lots of opportunity to interact with their peers from nearby island schools.

Many thanks to the teachers and staff who worked to make this event possible, to the Peaks Community Fund for generously supporting this event, and especially to Joanna Cole, for sharing so much of her time and energy.