Santa Barbara County upper elementary and junior high school students from the Santa Maria-Bonita to Carpinteria districts are gearing up to meet writers and illustrators at the 45th annual Author-Go-Round.
Each year, the Santa Barbara County Education Office sponsors this event with a focus on books for young people, at which attendees will get the chance to hear four presentations and then spend 15 minutes asking questions and interacting with each of the authors.
This year’s participating speakers are Joan Bransfield Graham, Joe Cepeda, Robin Mellom, and Alexis O’Neill. About 125 students from the Ballard, Blochman, Buellton, Carpinteria, College, Cuyama, Goleta, Guadalupe, Hope, Los Olivos, Montecito, Orcutt, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria-Bonita, Solvang, and Vista del Mar districts will be attending. They will form small groups and sit on carpets while listening to presentations from each author or illustrator, then rotate at a musical cue to the next presenter. The students will also explore creative writing and illustrating avenues, read works by well-known authors, and discuss what they’re learning.
The event also includes carousel-themed decorations and activities with prizes. Each day of the five-day event, one student will be chosen as best overall winner in the four activities categories to receive a custom-made T-shirt signed by the four presenters.
The Author-Go-Round runs Jan. 26 through 30 at the County Education Office Auditorium, 4400 Cathedral Oaks Road, Santa Barbara. The sessions will last from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each day.
“This annual event pays tribute to the reading and writing of children’s literature,” County Superintendent of Schools William J. Cirone, whose office coordinates the annual event, said in a press release. “The students come away with a sense that they have been involved with a real ‘literary happening.’”
For more information, contact Matt Zuchowicz, director of educational technology services, at 964-4710, Ext. 5222.
This article appears in Jan 22-29, 2015.