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Adam Gidwitz, author of The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog, visited the library and spoke to fourth and fifth graders about the novel, an adventure set in medieval France. Gidwitz thrilled (and horrified) students with tales of everyday life in the Middle Ages and shared stories he heard while traveling with his wife, a Medieval historian. He explained how those stories—about things like quicksand, book burning, and a dog revered as a saint—gave him ideas for the book, which won a Newbery Honor this year. Gidwitz, a former Saint Ann’s teacher, also wrote A Tale Dark and Grimm, In a Glass Grimmly, and The Grimm Conclusion, as well as So You Want to Be a Jedi.
Earlier in the year, Saint Ann’s alum Denis Markell thrilled sixth graders with a reading from his novelClick Here to Start, a page-turner that combines video games, history, mystery and priceless treasure. Denis answered questions about his writing process and the ways in which his family’s personal history inspired him to write the book.