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Author Julie Sternberg Highlights BFS in Recent Reading!

October 6, 2014
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Yesterday, at BookCourt in Brooklyn, author Julie Sternberg shared her brand new book The Top Secret Diary of Celie Valentine. This was especially poignant for a few members of our BFS community: Sonia A. and Santiago M., both students in the third grade here, were a part of the reading.

Santiago reading from his Life Book

There is a connection Julie Sternberg has with BFS. Her children were once students here. At the start of the reading, she announced to the audience that when her daughter was in third grade here at BFS, she was inspired by the nightly Life Book entries. So much so, she started to write her own version. Sternberg hoped it would someday hit the shelves and reach a wider audience. After some editorial suggestions and the publication of two other books, the idea was put on hold — until now.

During the course of her reading at BookCourt, Sternberg invited two of our students to read entries from their very own Life Books. This was very exciting for both the audience and the students. After Sonia read an entry about cucumbers, and Santiago read an entry about Jeter’s final game, Sternberg made connections from their readings to her new book, and read a selection from The Top Secret Diary of Celie Valentine.
While this is a very unique experience, one years in the making, this serves as a reminder of the connections we make (or don’t realize are being made) with the books we read, the writing we do, or the authors we meet. All reading, all writing, however public or private offers a window or a door into understanding the world around us. As Julie Sternberg pointed out yesterday, sometimes this comes when we least expect it.