POLARIS tour: a fantastic voyage to Illinois!

4 days…
8 schools…
9 presentations…
4,000 kids!

Ahoy, mateys! I just returned from an amazing week in and around Plainfield, IL, where I visited eight fantastic schools for Scholastic Book Fairs. I was a little nervous about the trip since it was the first time I’d be giving my new presentation built around POLARIS. It was bittersweet to retire my old TombQuest presentation (which I gave 125+ times!) but I was excited to talk about high seas, historic ships, and one very creepy monster. Fortunately, the new presentation was a big hit (PHEW!) and the enthusiastic students from the Land of Lincoln were willing to weather even the most ARRRRRduous of pirate talk. Here are some photos from my fantastic voyage:

A sign of the times: A warm welcome on my first morning!

A sea of students: Presenting to more than a thousand kids at Heritage Grove Middle School!

After that, I clearly needed some water!

Navigation was an issue, but my student guides got me where I needed to go.

It was smooth sailing at Hadley Middle School, where I earned the rank of Captain Northrop! 

Thanks so much to Scholastic Books Fairs and all of the amazing librarians, teachers, and administrators who made this trip such a success. And of course, thanks to all the awesome students who made it such a joy!