Speyer Fifth Graders' One-on-One With Award-Winning Author Veera Hiranandani
Spotted on Zoom: That's best-selling author Veera Hiranandani visiting with Speyer fifth graders to talk about the summer book they read: The Night Diary. The Night Diary received many awards including the 2019 Newbery Honor Award, the 2019 Walter Dean Myers Honor Award, and the 2018 Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children's Literature.
Our fifth graders are beginning to explore certain elements of perspective writing, and Ms. Hiranandani was able to share her insights on that, as well as how she starts brainstorming story ideas and her thoughts on the theme of the hero's journey.
During their discussion, many of our fifth graders shared how they related to Ms. Hiranandani because she comes from a blended family. The conversation shifted to how they connected their own family's history to that of the main character, Nisha, because their grandparents also escaped conflict and oppression in their home countries.
A huge thank you to Speyer Librarian Ms. Mehler for arranging this wonderful "Author Zoom!" Our fifth graders sent their own "Thank you!" to Ms. Hiranandani in a very 2020-ish way via Padlet! Being able to chat with Ms. Hiranandani and hearing her tips on the writing process will no doubt inspire our young Speyer writers as they embark on their writing units throughout the year!