Pictured from left are Gabriel Han, Angus Zoeller, Ezra Han, Mac Barnett, Jamie Cho, Calvin Chen, Cadi Zoeller and Nate Rogers.
By Samantha SLAYBACK
Last year, Monte Vista Elementary School implemented a book club for students. Since its beginning, the book club has taken off. Currently, students of the book club are reading the Brixton Brothers series, a children’s mystery series by bestselling author Mac Barnett.
Barnett, 32, currently resides in Oakland, California. Along with his Brixton Brothers series, Barnett is well known for his many picture books, including his bestseller “Extra Yarn.” In September, Barnett was featured as a speaker on “TED Talks” to discuss his views on writing books for kids, and last month Barnett paid a visit to Monte Vista to read to and meet the students at a special assembly.
“He did a reading of some of his picture books for the entire school and he was quite witty and funny,” said Liz Han, mother of one of the book club students. “He was very entertaining and easygoing and the children were laughing nearly the entire time.”
Han explained how excited all of the children were to see and meet him, especially because the members of the book club had recently finished reading the first book in his Brixton Brothers series, “The Case of the Case of the Mistaken Identity.”
Han’s 8-year old son, Ezra, has participated in the school’s book club since it started last year. He is now in the second grade and is loving the books he reads as a member.
“He is a big fan of Mr. Barnett and loves the Brixton Brothers series,” said his mom.
Ezra shared his mother’s opinion of Barnett’s performance at the elementary school, saying that he not only enjoyed the recitations, but also Barnett’s explanation of how he came to write his first book. Barnett told a tall tale of his writing endeavors and the threat of thieving pirates who attacked, trying to steal his books away.
“He was really fun, exciting, and funny,” Ezra said. “He read the books so that you would really like his books and would want to read more books by him.”
To Ezra’s delight, the book club will continue reading the other books in the Brixton Brothers series.
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