Visiting Authors, Experts Engage Young Learners
From their first preschool phonics lesson to the final draft of their college admission essay, developing avid readers and exceptional writers is a cornerstone of a Barstow education.
During the 2024-2025 school year, popular authors and illustrators inspired students to develop their unique literary voices.
Award-winning writer Jacqueline Woodson’s October visit was a major event, highlighted by a reading from “The Other Side” for lower school and an engaging panel discussion for middle and upper school. Woodson’s candid conversation about her writing process and themes of identity and race resonated with the audience and reinforced the power of diverse narratives in literature.
Acclaimed author Gita Varadarajan (“My Bindi,”) captivated students with a writing workshop focused on creative storytelling techniques. She encouraged fourth graders to experiment with setting, dialogue and character. A middle and upper school panel discussion provided an intimate glimpse into her life as an immigrant, author and teacher. Both visits were funded by a Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation grant.
Even Barstow’s early readers met the creators of some of their favorite books. During the spring book fair, authors and illustrators Charlie Miley (“Something for You”), John Patrick Green (“Investigators”), Mike Boldt (“Just Try One Bite”) and Alastair Heim (“The Great Puppy Invation”) shared stories with students and parents. Their visits, along with one by John Gallagher (“Max Meow: Cat Crusader” series) were arranged through independent retailer Rainy Day Books.
Award-winning writer Jacqueline Woodson’s October visit was a major event, highlighted by a reading from “The Other Side” for lower school and an engaging panel discussion for middle and upper school. Woodson’s candid conversation about her writing process and themes of identity and race resonated with the audience and reinforced the power of diverse narratives in literature.
Acclaimed author Gita Varadarajan (“My Bindi,”) captivated students with a writing workshop focused on creative storytelling techniques. She encouraged fourth graders to experiment with setting, dialogue and character. A middle and upper school panel discussion provided an intimate glimpse into her life as an immigrant, author and teacher. Both visits were funded by a Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation grant.
Even Barstow’s early readers met the creators of some of their favorite books. During the spring book fair, authors and illustrators Charlie Miley (“Something for You”), John Patrick Green (“Investigators”), Mike Boldt (“Just Try One Bite”) and Alastair Heim (“The Great Puppy Invation”) shared stories with students and parents. Their visits, along with one by John Gallagher (“Max Meow: Cat Crusader” series) were arranged through independent retailer Rainy Day Books.
But Wait, There’s More
Special Visitors Deepen Students' Understanding of the World
- One of the last living Freedom Riders visited Barstow on Oct. 28. Joan Browning participated in political protests against segregation on buses in the American South in 1961.
- In February, the entire upper school attended Nathan Louis Jackson’s “Broke-ology” at the Kansas City Rep. The playwright’s widow, Megan Moscorro-Jackson, visited Barstow to deepen students' understanding of its complex themes of family, sacrifice and resilience.
- NASA aerospace engineer Alicia Cianciolo visited fifth grade in April, to talk about her career developing equipment that can travel, land and function on the moon and Mars.
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Jacqueline Woodson, author
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Gita Varadarajan, author
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John Gallagher, illustrator/author
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Joan Browning, Freedom Rider
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Alicia Cianciolo, NASA engineer
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