Author Eileen Meyer Visits Mark DeLay and Lace Schools

“Tallest, wisest, most studious -
Lincoln was simply superlative!”
(Eileen Meyer, 2020)

Did you know that Abraham Lincoln is the first president to sport a beard? Did you know that Abraham Lincoln is in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame? Acclaimed author, Eileen Meyer, visited Mark DeLay and Lace Schools in Darien, Illinois, to teach students about Lincoln and to tell students what it is like to be an author. She has published 4 picture books, and her newest book is, The Superlative A. Lincoln: Poems About Our 16th President (2019). This poetry book contains 19 ‘bite-sized’ poems centered around lesser known facts about Lincoln and each poem tells a story about Lincoln’s life. Historical facts are explained on the bottom of each page and the reader will appreciate the extensive research the author conducted in order to write this book.

Meyer’s books have been granted numerous literary awards, including the 2020 Illinois Reads selection for Grades 3 - 5, and the Silver Medal for Older Children’s Literature from the Florida Book Awards for 2019. Meyer is also a long time member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

Meyer began her presentations by telling students that she never had an author visit her school while she was growing up. She feels passionate about being able to bring her presentations to students so they can learn about writing and publishing from a ‘real live’ author! Meyer loved to read as a child and it helped her to become a writer. Early in her career, Meyer began publishing poems in children’s magazines and then she was able to publish her first picture book in 2012 (Who’s Faster?: Animals on the Move). She also published Sweet Dreams, Wild Animals! : A Story of Sleep (2015). Both books use poetry and prose to tell students about different animal characteristics. Each book includes sidebars giving facts about the animals.

Meyer also published a poetry book about a grandfather and his grandson attending a baseball game. It is written in poetry and prose format and the illustrations are colorful and cheery.

“It’s our big day -
just us two.
We have our gloves,
and mine’s brand new.”

(Ballpark, 2014)

Students learned about the power of perseverance through a visual prop that the author shared during the assemblies. Meyer taped together 83 rejection letters she received from publishers when she was trying to break into publishing by submitting a variety of different book projects to a wide range of publishers. Students un-rolled the letters much to the amazement of the audience. They stretched across the entire room! Meyer explained that because she did not give up, she was able to finally get her first book published.

“Success comes one step at a time.”
(Eileen Meyer, 2020)

During the presentations, Meyer gave the students a “Pop Quiz” with questions about Abraham Lincoln. She also read a variety of poems from her book. One poem, “Best Advice: Why Not Whiskers?” is about a 12 year old who wrote a letter to Lincoln in 1860 suggesting that he grow a beard. Lincoln took Grace Bedell’s advice and grew a beard! Hence, he became the first United States president to sport a beard.

Another poem Meyer read was, “Best Wrestler: Tips from the Champ.” In his youth, Lincoln was a wrestling champ and at 6’4” tall and 185 pounds, he was able to declare victory after most of his matches! However, he was always a good sport and helped his opponent up after a match. Meyer used this poem to talk to students about ways to be a good friend and how to use kind words with each other.

“Talk bold and loud.
Attract a crowd.
Claim you’re the best.
Take on the rest.”

(The Superlative A. Lincoln, 2019)

Charlesbridge Publisher paired Meyer’s book with illustrator Dave Szalay. Just as Meyer did, Szalay researched Lincoln extensively while illustrating the book. Meyer showed students how Szalay illustrated the cover of her book. Lincoln resembles a superhero, with his frock coat looking like a cape and his stance is strong and heroic. An interesting secret feature in the book, is that the illustrator drew his family into one of the pictures, as well as the author and her family. (Hint: look on page 40). Szalay illustrated the book using a computer and you can watch him draw a cover design on this link:

https://youtu.be/hxYr93K9FzU

To prepare students for the author visit, each library class read poems from, The Superlative A. Lincoln: Poems About Our 16th President. At DeLay School, students worked on a “Decorate a Stovepipe Hat” contest and students answered the question, “If I had a hat like Abraham Lincoln, I would keep ___________ in it.” I think that Lincoln would have loved all of these!

At Lace School, students wrote acrostic poems about Lincoln. Mrs. Petersen, the Lace School Library aide, read poems from The Superlative A. Lincoln: Poems About Our 16th President and taught students about Lincoln. She collected the poems and displayed them in the library. Ten students won a copy of the book if they entered the contest. Thank you to Charlesbridge Publishing, who donated 20 copies of Meyer’s books which were used for prizes for the literary contests.

Another part of our author preparation during library classes was to practice appropriate behavior for an author visit and preparing thoughtful questions to ask the author.

To read more about Meyer and her books, here is a link to her webpage:

https://www.eileenmeyerbooks.c...

Would you like to see the author read, “Most Surprising Friendship: Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln,” from her book? Click here:

https://youtu.be/6Yz6REZ1YYY

Finally, the importance of hosting authors is extremely valuable to our school library program. Thanks to the generosity of the PTA, we can bring new and exciting authors in every year! Reading for pleasure, reading for information, inspiring future authors, providing positive role models -- these all lead to the promotion of reading and writing.

Diane Nelson
District Teacher Librarian
Darien District #61
dnelson@darien61.org
@d61Library