Loren Long Reads Us Our Favorite Christmas Story....."An Otis Christmas"

We have a favorite author at our school who is known for drawing the cutest little tractor ever.  The little people ask me to read his books over and over in the library.  They are always checked out and asked to be held more than any other picture books. Our guidance counselor, Eldonna Skahill, reads them to our elementary students as she talks about friendship, people, and "bucket fillers."

That's right.....I am talking about Otis and his wonderful creator, author and illustrator, Loren Long.

As we got his new book An Otis Christmas in the library, our students asked me over and over if we could Skype with Loren again. 

We first joined Loren and a few other schools in a Google Hangout for Read for the Record this fall. You can read about it at Otis and Loren Long Visits Van Meter To Celebrate "Read for the Record" With All Of Us.  It was great fun.  

This week after Loren showed us around his studio and told us about the book he is working on, he read to Lynne Caltrider's kindergarteners and Ann Volk's third graders.

 We all loved listening to the beautiful Christmas story.

 The illustration on this page is one of my favorites of all time.

It was fun to see all of the children so happy and excited about Loren being there with them.

After he read, it was time for them to ask Loren questions.  They always have the best ones to share.  

 This is my son Hagan who couldn't wait to ask Loren a question again.

They told Loren all about how Otis is a "bucket filler".  

When asked what his favorite book that he wrote was Loren told us the story about The Little Engine That Could. 

Having it be one of his favorites when he was little, it meant a lot to him when he got to create his very own version.

Thank you Loren for joining all of us to read our new favorite Christmas story.  It means a lot to us when you connect and share your stories and art work.  

On Loren's website, the kids love going to this page from An Otis Christmas.  

And there are a few games on Loren's website....one just happens to be an Otis Puzzle Game featuring An Otis Christmas too.

You can also find all of Loren's books on his website.  And find him on Twitter at @LorenLong