(above) Klaudia Maziarz, grade 2 student and Mrs. Corey Rosen Schwartz, Warren resident and popular children’s author, stand together as Rosen Schwartz reads ‘The Three Ninja Pigs’ to the students of Mt. Horeb School.
Popular Authors Visit Mt. Horeb School
Submitted by Shannon Regan
For weeks, the students of Mt. Horeb School prepared for two very special visitors for Author’s Day, Mr. Dan Gutman and Mrs. Corey Rosen Schwartz. The hallways, classrooms and library were lined with the student’s artwork inspired by each of the author’s books.
Gutman, an American writer who lives in New York City, boarded a train the morning of the visit. He was greeted at the local train station by the Lader family, who kindly drove him to Mt. Horeb School. Gutman is well known by the Mt. Horeb students for his ‘My Weird School’ books. The series describes a school in which the kids are normal but the teachers are all insane. Popular titles include ‘Mr. Macky is Wacky,’ ‘Miss. Daisy is Crazy,’ and ‘Mr. Louie is Screwie!’
The students were lucky enough to hear an excerpt from Gutman’s book called, ‘Miss Blake is a Fake.’ Because the story is unfinished the students were left without knowing how the story ended. They all shrieked with excitement and are looking forward to the day the book becomes available.
Just down the hallway, local Warren resident, Rosen Schwartz, was introducing herself to a group of students. “My children attended Mt. Horeb School when they were your age and I’m so happy to be here with you today.”
Rosen Schwartz began her presentation by explaining to the students how she develops an idea for a book. “Much of my inspiration comes from my family, or as I like to call them, ‘the three knuckleheads’.”
Rosen Schwartz called upon four volunteers to help her highlight the characters from her book, ‘The Three Ninja Pigs,’ a fractured fairy tale. Rosen Schwartz designated three students to be Pig #1, Pig #2 and Pig #3 while the 4th student played the role of the wolf. As the book was read aloud the characters played along adding to the amusement! In the end, because of the determination of Pig #3, the wolf was run out of town.
The students smiled and clapped as Rosen Schwartz finished reading. Another special visitor came to the front of the room, Mr. Kyle Freeman, Master Instructor and owner of Freedom Martial Arts in Bridgewater, NJ.
Freeman helped the students identify the special qualities that Pig #3 demonstrated throughout the story, specifically perseverance. Freeman then asked all the students to rise to their feet and he gave them a short demo lesson on basic martial arts, Kiya!
The Mt. Horeb Parent Teacher Organization worked very closely with Mrs. Christine Burkhardt, Library Media Specialist, to provide an inspiring, fun and memorable day for the students of Mt. Horeb School.
Photos by Warren Township Schools
(above) Mrs. Christine Burkhardt, Library Media Specialist, James Carter, grade 1 student and Mr. Dan Gutman, author of the very popular, My Weird School series.
