Meeting The Authoress ~ Anna Wilson (part 2)

Last Wednesday the children were invited to sit at our school hall to meet a special person – a children’s book authoress named Anna Wilson. The children knew about Ms Wilson very well since posters of her were displayed all over the school and had several opportunities to read about her as well as buy some of her famous animal story books. What they didn’t know was that they were in for a real treat. The children were instantly hooked on the sweet but lively way Ms Wilson spoke about the journey of what made her become an authoress, especially when she got to meet her favourite author, Roald Dahl. They were in awe and especially when she showed them some of her original work and photos her own pets that inspire her work on a powerpoint presentation. Later on the children got to dialogue with Ms Wilson where they asked intelligent questions which they prepared beforehand. At the end of the meeting Ms Wilson autographed and wrote the children’s names on all of her books with so much patience, offering a smile to each child.

Children’s book authors and illustrators are like celebrities to kids. Really big. They are the people who created some of their favourite fantasy characters and worlds. One of the main ben­e­fits of an author’s visit is to arouse a child’s inter­est in lit­er­a­ture. Children’s inter­est in read­ing is stim­u­lated when they are made aware of the peo­ple behind the cre­ation of the books: the authors, illus­tra­tors, and sometimes trans­la­tors. This certainly was an unforgettable experience for us all at Siġġiewi Primary. We will be looking forward to meet another great author(ess) in the future for sure!

Ms Claudine