2008 Woodie Awards
Children's book author, Elise Broach, visits Bridgeport
Joanne Martorana
Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: News
Elisa Broach, children's book author, visited Luis Muñoz Marìn elementary school in Bridgeport on March 10. This was her second time visiting the school.
She was invited from the Mi Amigo Program, which is a mentoring program at Marin school for students in grades two through five.
Mi Amigo has been a Sacred Heart University mentoring program for six years. There are 37 Mi Amigo mentees and 18 Sacred Heart University mentors. The program pairs up university student mentors with elementary school mentees, where the mentors act as a role model and a guide to the children.
The mentors meet one hour each week with their mentees to help them with academic areas they are struggling with, to discuss social and family issues they may be having a hard time dealing with and to provide a sort of stronghold that adds some support and consistency in their lives.
The students at Sacred Heart also arrange monthly enrichment activities including visiting the Discovery Museum, attending plays, visiting the Maritime Museum, carving pumpkins, baking cookies and duckpin bowling.
Broach read two of her picture books; "When Dinosaurs Came With Everything" and "Cousin John is Coming."
Her newest picture book, "When Dinosaurs Came With Everything," illustrated by David Small, was chosen by Time Magazine as the No. 1 children's book of the year for 2007.
Broach came to the classroom ready with a presentation on her work and used an overhead to showcase her first two manuscripts for her newest book.
Broach said she got her idea for this book from watching her children's toys from McDonalds always breaking; she wanted a story about "toys that didn't break and a prize that was real."
She explained to the Mi Amigo Program that authors "have to be open to new ideas" when starting to write a new story.
"In really great picture books, it is important to have 'momentum throughout the book' so children want to keep reading and the story needs to 'depend on pictures' that help tell the story as well," said Broach.
She was invited from the Mi Amigo Program, which is a mentoring program at Marin school for students in grades two through five.
Mi Amigo has been a Sacred Heart University mentoring program for six years. There are 37 Mi Amigo mentees and 18 Sacred Heart University mentors. The program pairs up university student mentors with elementary school mentees, where the mentors act as a role model and a guide to the children.
The mentors meet one hour each week with their mentees to help them with academic areas they are struggling with, to discuss social and family issues they may be having a hard time dealing with and to provide a sort of stronghold that adds some support and consistency in their lives.
The students at Sacred Heart also arrange monthly enrichment activities including visiting the Discovery Museum, attending plays, visiting the Maritime Museum, carving pumpkins, baking cookies and duckpin bowling.
Broach read two of her picture books; "When Dinosaurs Came With Everything" and "Cousin John is Coming."
Her newest picture book, "When Dinosaurs Came With Everything," illustrated by David Small, was chosen by Time Magazine as the No. 1 children's book of the year for 2007.
Broach came to the classroom ready with a presentation on her work and used an overhead to showcase her first two manuscripts for her newest book.
Broach said she got her idea for this book from watching her children's toys from McDonalds always breaking; she wanted a story about "toys that didn't break and a prize that was real."
She explained to the Mi Amigo Program that authors "have to be open to new ideas" when starting to write a new story.
"In really great picture books, it is important to have 'momentum throughout the book' so children want to keep reading and the story needs to 'depend on pictures' that help tell the story as well," said Broach.
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