Author's Dog Buddy Inspires, Then Retires!
Award-winning children’s author Dori Hillestad Butler zoomed in with Sharon Latek’s class of remote first-grade students on March 10. She is the author of 63 books, but added that they weren’t all published yet!
She is a two-time Geisel honoree and Edgar Award-Winning Children’s Book Author. Most of the books are based on series, i.e., “The King and Kayla Series,” “The Dear Beast Series,” “The Treasure Troop Series,” “The Haunted Library Series,” and more. Ms. Latek’s class announced that their favorite is “The Buddy Files Series!”
"The children all agreed that 'The Buddy Files' series was the best ever, and we're so excited that you were able to take the time to Zoom with us today. Thank you so much!” said Ms. Latek.
After hearing that, Ms. Hillestad Butler showed the kids a tan dog with a white blaze on his forward sleeping peacefully on the floor of her home office.
She told them that his name is Buddy, and that "The Buddy Files" series was inspired by his life with her family. He was even a library therapy dog in his younger years.
“He is 13 years old now, so the stories are all based on his younger years!” she added smiling.
Some fun facts about Ms. Hillestad Butler from her website include the following:
- *I've always wanted to be a writer, but I didn’t know I wanted to write for kids until I was in college.
- *I write full-time. Other than part-time seasonal jobs here and there, the only other “job” I've ever held is “library page.” I worked in the library all through high school.
- *I've had nine dogs and three cats throughout my life. I also have a plaque on my kitchen wall that says: A home without a pet is just a house.
- *I have two grown children—Ben and Artemis. And a grand kitty named Simon. Simon was the inspiration behind my "Dear Beast" series.
- *She also plays for the Seattle Mandolin Orchestra, has a ham radio license, loves to hike, and play a good game of Scrabble.
There was time for a quick question-and-answer period. Some of the questions that the children posed included, how did she form her ideas for books, how did she organize her writing, and how many books had she written.
The author commented that she was impressed with the students' questions and mature vocabulary. Everyone then thanked Ms. Hillestad for her time and applauded in unison!
ADDENDUM from Ms. Latek: "What an AMAZING day! My class finished the ENTIRE Buddy Files series! They have written book reviews that will soon be displayed at The Book Bin. AND the author, Dori Hilstead Butler, did a private Q& A with my remote learners!" @WescottSL #d30learns #dorihilsteadbutler
