On a recent visit to Chelsea Heights Elementary School in Como Park, award-winning author Mary Bleckwehl brought her books to life with a dynamic presentation that included magic tricks, costumes and an important message.
Bleckwehl, a former teacher and author of Henry! You’re Late Again! and Henry! You’re Hungry Again?, read from her books to students in grades K-3. She visited each grade separately and catered her talk to the students’ reading levels and interests.
Kindergartners and first-graders got a rousing recitation of her book Henry! You’re Hungry Again? while the older students received some insight into publishing and becoming authors. Bleckwehl’s experience as a teacher was evident in her presentation. The students beamed when she asked them what they were writing about and congratulated them on being real writers. She encouraged them to continue telling their stories and using their creativity.
Henry! You’re Hungry Again? is Bleckwehl’s second book and delivers a clear message on healthy eating with a hilarious narrative and lively illustrations by Duluth artist Brian Barber. Henry is always hungry, and more often than not, he succumbs to the lure of junk food and sweets to fill his grumbling belly. In spite of his gym teacher’s best efforts at instilling a love for broccoli in his students, Henry chooses french fries again and again. But when he discovers that all that junk makes him weak, he ends up being the one to teach the grownups a lesson about good nutrition and healthy choices.
You can find out more about Bleckwehl and her books at www.marybleckwehl.com.
