NEW SHARON – Maine author Lynn Plourde visited the Cape Cod Hill School last week to read to students and explore different aspects of storytelling and writing with them.
Plourde, the author of ‘Happy Birthday, Maine!’, read different books to students, tailoring her presentations to their grade levels.
For the first grade students, Plourde asked the kids to become pattern detectives – listening closely to the story to find word patterns and action patterns that repeated through the story text.
By giving students a task to do, she captured their attention and engaged them in the story.
“Books are old friends,” Plourde told students, reminding them that it’s okay to read the same book more than once; re-reading a book is like visiting an old friend.
Plourde discussed the difference between fiction and non-fiction books, adding that while her story ‘Baby Bear’s NOT Hibernating’ is a make-believe story, she was a tricky author and snuck in some real facts about Maine’s wildlife into the back of the book.
“I think I’m a pretty good author, most days, because I was a good first grade author,” Plourde told the first grade students.
For another class, Plourde instructed a short play; another learned a couple signs that went along with the story she read to the class.
A 2020 publication for the bicentennial year, ‘Happy Birthday, Maine!’ celebrates Maine and its history. Plourde shared with Cape Cod students that Maine turns 203 on March 15, 2023. “She’s an old girl,” Plourde said.
For more information on Lynn Plourde and to view her library of books, including the graphic novelization of Donn Fendler’s ‘Lost on a Mountain in Maine’, visit LynnPlourde.com
