We’re Back! Wow, seven weeks on the road.  Jeanne and I are worn out.  On the Spidy tour we visited fourteen schools in four states and read to 3335 students.  The principals, teachers, and students were wonderful.  One little story about out trip I would like to share.  We went to Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest just southwest of the Smokey Mountains and on the few remnants of eastern forest that wasn’t logged.   The forest is dedicated to Joyce Kilmer, the poet who wrote the poem “Trees” and was killed in action during World War I.  I was eager to see towering tulip trees, also known as yellow-poplars, stretch over a hundred feet into the canopy and some of the trees are four-hundred years old.  We started up the cove, leaving the Little Santeetlah Creek with native trout and lined with flowing rhododendrons (see pictures).

I was excited like a child on Christmas Eve.  We only got about a half-a-mile when we heard thunder.  It was at that point I looked to my right and saw a tree with a frightful lighting strike (see picture). I looked at Jeanne and we turned back, disappointed, but doing the right thing.  We came across some other people on their way up and exchanged greetings.  Back at the trail-head there were three women sitting on the wall of a stone bridge crossing the creek.  Another lady was sitting in her wheelchair.  They asked Jeanne to take their picture.  I asked them where they were from.  They got my attention when two of the ladies said they lived in Cherokee.  We exchanged names and I asked one on the ladies, Francine, if the Qualla area had their own schools or did the children go to public schools.  She said they had their own schools.  I told Francine I would be an honor to read my stories in her elementary school because stories are important to Native Peoples.  I hope this works out and I read Grandmother Sloth to the Cherokee children next May.  What do you think?  Was it coincidence thunder caused us to turn back or was I suppose to meet the Cherokee women?

A sidebar.  Remember the people we met on the trail, we saw them in the parking lot and they were excited.  “Did you see it?” one of the men asked.

“See what?” I asked.

“The rattlesnake.  It was only a few yards up the trail where we saw you.”

“I didn’t see him or hear him rattle.”

The gentleman had a look of amazement on his face.

Jeanne almost had her first encounter with a big ole timber rattler.  But, why didn’t we have an encounter?  Another mystery.     Thomas Sandusky  7.5.10

25 Questions Await Us at Paley Preschool

The preschool class at Paley didn’t waste any time…upon our arrival we were greeted with not only a class of excited students but they had also prepared a list of 25 questions to ask Tom. Now that’s what we called “Being Prepared!”

And even though the Paley School is a preschool, the children’s questions were very insightful and showed their eagerness to learn.  The students took no time and jumped right in asking Tom their questions. And Tom, answered them…one after the other, giving them the rainforest lesson of the day.

To show their graditude, the class gave him a stuffed paper spider monkey which they had made themselves along with a thank you note that they all signed.  We especially want to thank Sarah Cohen, a teacher at the school, for arranging this visit.

Tom was the “featured” author at this school.  Every year they have a “Young Author’s Day”.  The children celebrate the writing that they have done through the school year. Here is Tom with Ann Grosjean, 1st grade teacher, who invited Tom to the school.

A Celebration of Writing

Since it was a celebration of writing most of the questions were on the writing process.  Tom told them that if they like to write and they start now, that they can call themselves writers.  They all loved that comment – so did the teachers.  They like the encouragement that Tom gave them for writing and they were pleased that they could call themselves writers.  He told them that it takes about a year to complete the writing process – from the first idea to getting the printed book.  He also told them about Kathy and how she rhymes the story and then Gretchen illustrates the story.  He then sends it to the publisher who then sends it on to the printer.  He told them that he writes about the rainforest because he loves it so much.  He’s never gotten writer’s block and he feels he hasn’t had writer’s block because he writes about what he loves and what he knows.  The inspiration for Spidy was the page where they are walking hand in tail.  He saw this once in Costa Rica.  A little boy walking along the side of the road with his spider monkey walking beside him – hand in tail.  This stayed in his mind and when it was time to write Spidy, the Spider Monkey, this was his inspiration and the story grew around it.

They wanted to know his writing system.  First he writes his ideas on 4×6 cards and then arranges and re-arranges these ideas on a board. This is called a Storyboard. Then he writes the story on the computer.

Kelly Elementary School Gets a Lesson on Spider Monkeys

The rainforests are filled with wonderful creatures but today’s presentation at Kelly Elementary School was all about monkeys. The Spider Monkey to be specific. The students were excited to learn all about their habits in the rainforest. Here are some of the questions and answers that made this presentation very memorable on our tour.

Are spider monkeys predators? No they are not.  What are the largest monkeys in central and south America? The howler and the spider monkeys are the largest.

A little girl stumped Tom with this question?  At what age can female spider monkeys have babies? Female spider monkeys are 4-5 years old when they reach maturity.

The students hands were up and the questions just continued…another great question—Do spider monkeys have a communication system? Yes they do  they communicate through their barking and their calls to each other.  Also their grooming of each other is part of their communication system and the hierachy of the troop.  Usually a spider monkey is groomed by a monkey that is lower in the social hierachy.  What are spider monkeys predators? The harpy eagle and the jaguar.

We had such a great time here at Kelly Elementary and the students were a very captive audience. We want to thank everyone for inviting us to talk about the rainforest and hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Beck Students about Spider Monkeys

Beck Elementary School was the site of our next presentation. Beck Elementary School happens to be yet another school within the Shikellamy School District located in the heart of the Susquehanna Valley, PA. During the presentation, Tom asked the students to make predictions about the story. Tom further explains that after we see what happens he tells them… “This is what scientists do they make predictions and then set up experiments to test whether their predictions are correct.  So this means if you are all scientists. ” One little girl who was in second grade turned to me, with so much excitement and wonder, and says… “My whole life I’ve wanted to be a scientist – Now I am!”.  Then we had much excitement because this is the very reason why we come and present to schools…to bring excitement and wonder to young children and their dreams.

As with all the other schools we have visited, the students had wonderful and very smart questions for Tom.  “Do monkeys go in water?” asked one student. Tom answered, “Generally they do not because their instinct bewares them of the danger in the water–like crocodiles and anacondas.”

Some of the questions were fun also…another student jumped and asked, “Do any monkeys eat humans?” Trying not to crack a smile, Tom replied with a “No, monkeys don’t eat humans.” This question however started the discussion about what monkeys do eat. Questions like…“Why do they eat fruit?” They eat fruit for energy.  Spider monkeys are fruitivores.  They only eat fruit and sometimes flowers.  By eating only fruit, there is less competition with other types of monkeys because those monkeys eat new leaves or insects and small animals.  “How much do they weigh?” About 70 pounds.  There are 15-20 monkeys in a troop. 

The students also learned… “What are the biggest animals in the rainforest of central and south america?” They jaguar and tapir.