I recently watched two little second grade boys work on an assignment that asked them to read a couple of books by a specific author. They boys dutifully did this laughing at the funny parts and enjoying the images in the book. When they were finished reading, they were to talk about the book and think about the author who had written them. I was amazed at the rich and thoughtful discussion that took place about the content of the books as well as the man who had authored them. Following this conversation, the boys were then to write a letter to this author. Again, I was impressed with the ideas and questions that these two were able to come up with and put on paper. All of this was done with little direction from their teacher and a lot of interest on the part of the two boys. No, these were not the gifted kids in the class either – just two ordinary little boys who clearly understood how to talk about books and think about the real people who write them. Having watched as they penned their letter, I am sure that the author they were writing to enjoyed getting their letter! For information on authors who have a presence on the web for students of all ages. See my links page.