Neema's Reason to Smile

POSTPONED DUE TO AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES BEING CANCELLED DUE TO POOR WEATHER CONDITIONS. NEW DATE: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6th at 2:15 PM IN THE SCHOOL LIBRARY.  

Book based on the Jambo Jipya School in Mtwapa, Kenya

This year's author visit is a little unconventional - there is no author. There is no illustrator either. This year we are hosting Donna Rosenblum, a former librarian and now the supervisor of School Library Services for Nassau BOCES and the Executive Director of Reason2Smile, a non-profit organization on a mission to help provide educational opportunities for children attending the Jambo Jipya School in Mtqapa, Kenya. This organization also supports the needs of children living at the Jambo Jipya children’s home with food, clothing and healthcare.

This note is from the author, Patrica Newman of Neema's Reason to Smile.

"Story ideas come from a lot of different places. The idea for Neema's Reason to Smile grew out of a phone call with Donna Rosenblum, a librarian from New York. One of my author friends suggested to Donna that I would be a good fit for a project about the power of education. Donna picked up the phone and called me."

This year's visit focuses on research and how much of it goes into writing a book like this. Although Neema's Reason to Smile is a work of fiction, it is based on the real-life students at Jambo Jipya School. Author, Patrica Newman spent countless hours asking hundreds of questions to Donna and others associated with Jambo Jipya School to get a true understanding of the school, its teachers and students, and the surrounding community.

Mrs. Rosenblum will speak to our students about the conception of this book and how it came to be published. There will be an reading from the book. She will show us photos and videos of the students at Jambo Jipya School. She will discuss primary source interviews from the students in Kenya. Our students will have an opportunity to ask questions and color in their own dream basket (which we will display in the school library).

This visit will take place on Tuesday, February 12 at 2:15 pm in the school library. It is open to ALL of our students. It is an ELITE event. You can sign up here to attend.