Saturday, March 3, 2012

Peter H. Reynolds and Carrie Hillman- Conspiring to Inspire

Today I had lunch with my favorite boy, my nine year old great-nephew. He can be pretty shy around other people, so I was shocked when he told me he wanted me to ask Peter H. Reynolds if he would illustrate the book he was writing. I sent Peter a text message and the boy smiled from ear to ear.

I was asked to find the blog post he had written in school on my phone and send that along to Peter to help encourage him to be his illustrator. Yes, a lot of nine year old's have dreams, but in the beginning of this year, this little boy thought blogs were stupid and he hated to write....now he wants to be an author.

Fortunately for me, my favorite boy has the world's best teacher, Mrs. Hillman. Almost every day I wonder what the world would be like if every kid had a teacher like her. She encourages the kids, nudges them to take steps outside of their comfort zone, and loves them into success. I had the good fortune to be able to spend a morning in her classroom and I was just amazed by the way she handled the class.

I am also blessed with a dear friend in Peter H. Reynolds. An inspiring author and illustrator and a great human. My favorite boy has many books signed by Peter and he loves them. I love the gentle nature of the books and how they inspire kids to greatness. His work encourages kids by letting them know they matter, that they are important, that they can make mistakes and move on.

Today, I am overwhelmed with gratitude to these amazing people and the gift they have given children everywhere, and especially my favorite boy. Imagine a world where every kid thinks they can be an author (or painter, astronaut, chemist, etc) and being surrounded by loving caring people who made them think anything was possible.

Dream Big!

3 comments:

Wm Chamberlain said...

A lucky boy, indeed!

Carrie Hillman said...

It is so fun to have him in my class! I love seeing his eyes light up when he gets inspired. These moments are why I went into the education field!

carole hart said...

I'm moved to tears to read about all of you. Peter, I love you. Carrie, I'm inspired by you. TJ, Thank you.
Namaste--From the light in me to the light in all of you.
Joyfully,
Carole