Last week I received a message from a school librarian. This kind of message is exactly why I keep writing for children:
“We have a girl in Y3 with severe Asperger traits. It’s incredibly hard to get her to stay in a class room let alone settle with a book. Any books she looks at are non-fiction, always science or weather and that’s been the case for as long as I can recall. Today she came flying out of her classroom with a TA in hot pursuit and ran through our library. I said, “Oh, just the person! I’ve been thinking about a book that I wonder if you might enjoy – Electrigirl – about a a girl with superpowers…”
I explained a bit more and I can hardly believe it but she and her LSA shared the book for an hour at least- I’m completely blown away! The LSA and myself gave one another looks of amazement! Honestly, these moments are priceless and breathtaking when they happen and make being a school librarian one of the most rewarding jobs. They’re normally allowed just one library book at a time in Y3 but I let her take Deadly Swarm, too, seeing as it’s half term! What a feeling! Thanks so much for reaching out to so many kids, and for making my job so easy!!”
Needless to say, this message made my day 🙂
Jo Cotterill 