On Thursday, October 23, several members of RIF HQ attended a very special Reading Celebration at Joint Base Andrews in Prince George’s County, Maryland, a short drive away from our DC offices.

“It’s RIF – I know RIF!”

“Is Kareem here?”

“I know who Kareem is. He’s an author!”

Finishing their after-school snacks and then filing into the gym past tables of books, most of the kids at Joint Base Andrews had some idea of what they were in for. Many remembered our reading event last year with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, award-winning author and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

RIF’s Vice President of Literacy Services Dr. Judy Cheatham kicked off the event and got the kids pumped up to meet not just one, but TWO famous people! Our special guests for the event were celebrated author Cynthia Leitich Smith and renowned illustrator R. Gregory Christie.

Cynthia is a New York Times best-selling author of fiction for children and young adults. Her story Jingle Dancer, about a young Muscogee (Creek) girl who wants to honor family tradition by dancing at the next powwow, was featured in our 2011 Multicultural Book Collection and continues to be one of our favorites!

In addition to books like Jingle Dancer and Indian Shoes, in which she tells the stories of modern children and families with Native American heritage, Cyn loves to write all kinds of funny and fantastical fiction (and yes, that sometimes includes werewolves!).

With Cynthia, herself a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Law, the kids learned about all different kinds of storytelling: telling stories about what you know – your own life, where you grew up, and the people around you; stories about wonderful made-up things, like superheroes in comic books or supernatural creatures; even stories in a courtroom, where lawyers present two different versions of one tale.

After speaking with Cynthia, the kids heard from Gregory, who showed them new ways to tell a story.

Greg’s first question to the kids was whether any of them liked reading. One enthusiastic girl shouted, “I love to read! I was born to read!” – just the kind of answer we at RIF LOVE to hear!

R. Gregory Christie may be a self-proclaimed shy guy who used drawing instead of talking as a way to express himself as a young boy, but he had every child jumping to answer his questions and contribute to their collective illustration.

What started as a drawing of a rainbow became a pot of rainbow-colored gold on a boat heading to a distant land. When asked, “How much money do you have?” by one curious youngster, Greg didn’t hesitate to answer: “All the money in that pot of gold!”

Greg has illustrated over 50 books, and collaborated with clients like The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and the Kennedy Center, to name a few. He operates a children’s bookstore, where he holds workshops and classes and encourages children and adults to express themselves through drawing and painting. He’s traveled the world doing art, and made sure to teach the kids at Andrews some important geography. Particularly, the capital of Malaysia… do you know what it is?

Kuala Lumpur.

After getting to know Greg and Cynthia, all of the kids selected one book by each of them to take home and keep for themselves. The books were Jingle Dancer and Indian Shoes, written by Cynthia Leitich Smith, and It Jes’ Happened and Philip Reid Saves the Statue of Freedom, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (and featured in our 2013 Multicultural Booklist). They also picked up our activity sheets to get the most out of each book, along with a RIF bookmark, bracelet, and backpack to keep their books safe and clean.

We had a blast with Gregory, Cynthia, and the kids at Andrews – and looks like they did, too!

We’re thrilled for this year’s WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE Gala on May 9 for so many reasons. Case in point: illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi’s generous donation of artwork to be auctioned off at the Gala. Tony is one of several incredible illustrators who is paying tribute to Maurice Sendak’s classic work through donated artwork to RIF’s gala.

From sketches to final product, Tony has been updating us with Twitpic, Instagram, and Facebook posts about his progress. Learn about Tony’s process and his inspiration here: http://diterlizzi.com/home/rifs-where-the-wild-things-are-gala/

And remember, tickets are still on sale. Learn more: http://www.rif.org/us/get-involved/2013-where-the-wild-things-are-gala.htm