Our First Author Skype

Today, our class Skyped with the spectacular Katherine Applegate, the author of The One and Only Ivan,  Home of the Brave, Roscoe Riley series, and the Animorph series!
(When Mrs. Alaniz told us that Katherine Applegate would do a Skype call with us, we were pleased, excited, and loud!)

To prepare for the visit, we wrote down questions and comments and drew 
pictures. Mrs. Alaniz read the One and Only Ivan out loud to us. Many of us had already read the book, but we wanted to hear the story again to be ready!

We loved the book. One student said. "I didn’t want the book to end!"

Another student said: "I want to read it a thousand times!" He is rereading it now.

During the visit, each student got to ask Ms. Applegate a question.

She was meeting us from her home in her livingroom. She had her dog Stan 
with her. (Stan is a very cute dog!)

Ms. Applegate gave us some  tips on how to write or start a book. She said writers should:

1. Be comfortable (Wear pajamas or slippers!)

2. Make sure they have a chair, paper, and pencil handy.

3. Have a mascot.

3. Research. 

She told us how she got the idea for One and Only Ivan, and she showed us the many copies of the book she owns. She said some of these books were in other languages.

Here are some of the questions we asked:

What inspires you to write?
How did you come up with all the characters' personalities?
What are you working on now?

She also gave us this advice. Mrs. Alaniz just LOVED this:

"The first draft is never your last."

We made this banner for Katherine Applegate! We worked as a team to make it!

The next day, one of our classmates brought in a stuffed animal that looks like Ivan.

He also did some research on the real Ivan, and he showed us some of his paintings. 

One student asked this question: Are these real works of art?  The One and Only Ivan is a book that will make you ask these kinds of questions!

So if you haven't read Ivan's story, you should!