Ruth Spiro Visits The Van Meter 3rd Graders To Share Her New Book, Made by Maxine!

Last week our friend and author, Ruth Spiro, visited Amy Garrison's 3rd graders on Skype. 

We were so excited to virtually welcome Ruth to Van Meter to celebrate her new book....

                             

Made by Maxine!  In fact, School Library Journal calls Made by Maxine, A fun and uplifting picture book for all libraries that encourages children to engage with STEM concepts.

This new picture book written by Ruth and illustrated by Holly Hatam, will inspire any young maker.  

This was also shared online about Made by Maxine, 

Meet Maxine, an inspiring young maker who knows that with enough effort and imagination (and mistakes), it's possible to invent anything.

Maxine loves making new things from old things. She loves tinkering until she has solved a problem. She also loves her pet goldfish, Milton. So when it's time for her school's pet parade, she's determined to create something that will allow Milton to march with the other animals. Finally, after trying, trying, and trying again, she discovers just the right combination of recycled odds and ends to create a fun, functional--and absolutely fabulous--solution to her predicament.

They loved listening to Ruth read her new book. 

It was special to hear Ruth read One day at school, Miss McMiller made an exciting announcement, since the teacher is named after me!  What a honor that is. It makes this book even more special. 

Afterwards, she got them thinking about using their imagination by showing them a juicer.  She asked them what they thought it was and their answers were so thoughtful and fun.

 Ruth also gave them lots of time to ask their own questions, while....

...encouraging them to use their imagination and never give up. This conversation was perfect for our students as we weave STEAM, Makerspaces and SEL throughout our classrooms, libraries and community.

We can't wait to Skype with Ruth again, as she is one of our favorite authors.

Several years ago, one of our first Skype's and projects were with Ruth. We Skyped, celebrated Bubble Gum Day and raised money for a charity.

You can read about this special day here.

 Since that, Ruth has went on to write Made by Maxine and several board books in the series,

 Baby Loves Science.  

These are perfect for our youngest learners as they learn science topics such as coding, engineering, physics, gravity and more.

Thank you Ruth for Skyping with our third graders and their teacher, Mrs. Garrison. We loved every minute!  Your new book, Made by Maxine, has inspired us as makers too.  

You can read all about Ruth and her books on her website, ruthspiro.com.