Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Author Norton Juster Joins Mentoring Program

Children reading The Phantom Tollbooth in the Doris Hiatt Mentoring Program got a special treat recently when author Norton Juster signed on to answer their questions.

Juster answered questions from a 5th grade girl about what was real and what was imaginary about the trip Milo takes in the book.

“It's sometimes hard to tell whether a trip is real or imaginary--Some of the best trips I've ever taken have been imaginary,” Juster explained. “The trip Milo goes on is about real things, real ideas and real thoughts, but it is imaginary since it is a story. Often times the best way to think about and understand real things is through stories--Milo is really traveling in his mind and in his imagination in this story. You can see how far you can go without ever leaving your room.”

We are so pleased to welcome Norton Juster as the first of our guest authors, He has been a long-time supporter of Reader To Reader. More guest authors will be participating in the coming months.

The Doris Hiatt Mentoring Program brings together children from low-income backgrounds and college student reading mentors to read books and discuss them online in a specially designed forum. The students not only receive positive feedback and academic support, but also much-needed role models.

1 comment:

Chris said...

I read the Phantom Tollbooth a bunch of times as a kid and loved it. I also read it last year to my son - I think he was a little bit young for it, but I could not wait any longer to read it again and wanted to share it with him. He loved it.

I think it is great that he is willing to share his thoughts and stories with the kids in this way. A big thank you to Mr. Juster.