A Word on the Street Surprise

It’s always nice when a fan of one’s books comes up to you at the end of a reading, and yesterday at Word on the Street was especially so.  At the end of a long afternoon of reading and signing, on a gorgeous fall afternoon, a woman sat down beside me in the Little Reader’s Tent, and I knew who she was even before she introduced herself – even though it has been over 30 years since we worked together.

I was a student teacher in Gillian Al-Jbouri’s Grade Six classroom. I was not yet twenty years old. (You didn’t need a university degree to teach elementary school back then.) I still have the report she wrote up about my performance in her classroom.

Gillian was an excellent model for me, and after I’d completed my year at Lakeshore Teachers’ College, I had the privilege of being on staff with her for four years (at Millwood Public School in Etobicoke).

I was happy to be able to sign copies of A Pocket Can Have A Treasure In It for her grandchildren, and I hope she’ll visit my website and get in touch with me. I meant it when I told her I’d love to be able to continue our conversation.

This at the end of a session where I was lucky to have in attendance at my reading – in addition to lots of “little readers” and their parents – my daughter, my granddaughter, a grandson, my husband, my dad, his friend, and my dog! What a great Word on the Street afternoon!