Main Street 4th, 5th Graders Connect In Person With Author

IRVINGTON, NY — Main Street School students were visited by best-selling author Tracey Baptiste at their school Nov. 4.

During her visit, she discussed her writing process, talked with students in smaller groups, answered their questions and autographed books for students and their teachers.

“Seeing an author in person is always exciting,” librarian Gayle Pulley said. “For a year and a half, we have continued to provide author visits but only online. The students were thrilled that an author was visiting with them in person.”

Prior to Baptiste’s visit, the students read her book “The Jumbies,” as part of their Global Read Aloud activities from October through November. They also learned about the culture and geography of Trinidad through lessons during library class.

“Tracey spoke to the students about the ‘Jumbie’ series and compared the jumbie characters to other well-known characters in literature, such as vampires and centaurs,” Pulley said. “Students were interested in knowing more about her writing process, how she develops her characters, and where in her process does she decide what will happen and what actions the characters will take.”

The author's visit was made possible thanks to the generous support of the PTSA, according to a district spokesman.