On March 16, Wescott and Willowbrook School third-grade students and teachers, with librarians Margaret Janavicius and April Eichmiller, welcomed author Kate Hannigan for a virtual visit.
Author Kate Hannigan Shares Her Secrets of the Writing Process with Third-Graders
On March 16, Wescott and Willowbrook School librarians, third-grade students, and teachers welcomed author Kate Hannigan for a virtual visit. Hannigan is the author of "The Great Chicago Fire: Rising from the Ashes," a graphic novel which ties in with the current third-grade unit about Chicago history.
In this book, she addresses the issues of scapegoating and immigration, while including some very surprising history of the city. Some of her other books include “The Detective’s Assistant” (she claimed this is one of her favorites), “Cupcake Cousins”, “A Lady Has the Floor,” “The League of Secret Heroes Mask- Book Two,” and “Summer Showers."
The author talked about how books are developed, including the creative process, language development, editing, rewriting (seven to ten times!), and eventually the publishing process. Afterward, she held a question-and-answer period with students. The most asked question centered on a photo Hannigan showed the audience, which displayed hundreds of people crammed into and on top of a streetcar, as they traveled to the first world's fair held in Chicago, "The World's Columbian Exposition of 1893." (See photo below, bottom right side)
Although Hannigan grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, she has happily lived in Chicago during her adult life, and claims to have “always loved language, interesting people, and is perpetually nosy.” Being the youngest of three children, she said that her siblings unknowingly inspired her to write, while she listening to them talk about their lives from behind a closet or kitchen door. Later, she would jot down what she heard in her journal.
One of her favorite memories in fourth-grade, was when her teacher had the kids create mysteries “in the spirit of Encyclopedia Brown," and read them aloud in class. Later, her early work on school newspapers from middle school through her early adult years helped hone her skills, and she then began dreaming about writing books. Today, after publishing many award-winning books, she spends much of her time researching and writing fiction and nonfiction.
This word aficionado notably has a special passion for stories that empower girls and women. Her picture book biography, "A Lady Has the Floor," received four starred reviews and was named a Junior Library Guild Selection. In addition to the 2016 Golden Kite Award for Middle-Grade Fiction, "The Detective’s Assistant" also received two starred reviews and was a Booklist Editor’s Choice, among many other accolades.
"Wescott and Willowbrook third-graders were so lucky to be visited by author Kate Hannigan today to learn about mining for research gold, the writing process, and 'The Great Chicago Fire.' Thank you @KateChicago!" shared Wescott School Librarian Margaret Janavicius.
Wescott Schol third-grade teacher Mindy Lamberti shared, “My class had a wonderful experience zooming in with author Kate Hannigan. She taught us so much about the Chicago Fire from her newest nonfiction graphic novel: ‘The Great Chicago Fire.’ She also explained to us how authors brainstorm, research, and ultimately publish their ideas."
"We loved having Kate Hannigan for an author visit today to teach us more about her book: 'The Great Chicago Fire.' We learned so much about this event and her process for creating this book. Thank you Wescott Librarian Margaret Janavicius, for arranging this visit for Wescott and Willowbrook School third-graders," said Wescott third-grade teacher Alexis Georgis.
The deadline to order book(s) from The Book Stall with a ten percent discount is March 19, 2021, at http://bit.ly/315pRg9 Order by phone: 847-446-8880, Monday - Saturday. from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Kate Hannigan home page
