DANVILLE — About 350 fourth- and fifth-graders at Liberty Valley Intermediate School filled half the gymnasium to meet best-selling children’s book author Max Brallier Wednesday afternoon over Google Meets.
Brallier is the author of “The Last Kids on Earth” series of books, and he eagerly explained to the crowd how he became an author and how to write a book.
Brallier spoke to the students for more than 45 minutes and even paused to take about 10 questions from the kids — questions that clearly indicated they were familiar with his work.
The event was organized by home school parent Erin Hayes. Getting such a popular author to virtually visit Liberty Valley School took some luck, and a lot of work, she said.
“We have a Scholastic Book Fair twice a year, and from those we were able to earn Scholastic dollars and with those dollars bought books. Scholastic offers virtual offer events and it is very competitive,” Hayes said. “My son, who is in fourth grade, has read all his books. So he is very excited.”
Having events like this, said Liberty Valley Intermediate School Principal Lee Gump, “shows our students that authors are accessible. Authors are willing to take the time to not only create some really interesting stories, but also, beyond that to meet their audience. It’s also a way for authors to keep up to date on what is happening at schools.
“It’s an amazing time for kids to interface with well-known authors,” Gump said.
The Liberty Valley Home and School Association had distributed one of Max Brrallier’s books to every fourth- and fifth-grade student, “so they were really familiar with his work,” Hayes said.