Feb. 14, 2008 — Ask Sharon Draper how many books she's written and she ponders, stares ahead and says, "25 — no, maybe 26," then laughs and declares, "I guess I should count!"
Whatever the number, her tabulation skills are challenged by her love of writing, which keeps those books coming and coming. The New York Times bestselling author of children and teen books and five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Literary Award was on St. Thomas for a jam-packed two-day swing through the imaginations of students, whom she met in droves Thursday, and teachers, whom she met Friday.
Thursday night was dedicated to the public. But based on the 200 chairs lining the banquet room at the Marriott Frenchman's Reef and the two dozen people occupying them, it was clear that romance trumped literature on Valentine's evening. Still Draper's humor didn't flag, nor did her enthusiasm for the audience.
Asked by an eager 10-year-old girl what her next book would be about, Draper invited her to become one of the first readers of the new story, whose character is named "Sassy." She offered to send the child a galley copy of the book — a pre-publication version.
"You may get to be one of the first people in the entire world to read this book!" Draper told the girl. "If I send your mom a galley copy, you must send me a review. I don't want a summary. I want to know what you liked about it and what other fifth graders might think about the book."
The girl agreed.
"I have my first reviewer in the Virgin Islands!" Draper said to applause.
Draper's trip was sponsored by the Department of Education, as well as the Marriott Frenchman's Reef, as the culmination of Education's 2007 Summer Reading Adventure program, whose theme was Dive into Good Books.
"This was the first time we had a district-wide summe reading program," explained Cedelle Niles, the district's language arts coordinator. "Before schools selected what they wanted to read, but this year, we had a uniform program."
Niles said they were able to offer Draper's books to children practically across all grade levels. Students who interacted with Draper Thursday were enthusiastic about meeting an author whose books they had read.
"How exciting is that!" Niles proclaimed. "They were so thrilled. More than 30 students stood in line to ask her a question today. They were very involved and really excited."
Draper met with hundreds of students Thursday during sessions held in the gymnasium at the University of the Virgin Islands. And she seemed as excited as the students.
"It was wonderful," Draper said. "I read to them, I made them laugh. We talked about books, did a little poem, did a chant about books. I brought them onstage and we acted out parts of the book. By the time I was finished, they thought reading was cool, they thought books were cool, they thought I was cool. It was interactive activities and making books come alive for a child."
A teacher for 30 years, Draper's foray into writing came courtesy of a student challenging her to enter a short-story contest. She beat out a field of 20,000 contestants, got published in Ebony magazine and earned $5,000, as well as the respect of renowned author Alex Haley.
"Alex Haley wrote me a note and said, 'Mrs. Draper you're a good writer.' Alex Haley told me I could write!" she exclaimed to the audience.
And while she encouraged would-be authors to pick up their pen and just start, she also cautioned that the road to getting published is long and hard. And once you're published, she said, "Don't give up your day job."
Asked if her books carry an African-American theme, the teacher in her replied, "You don't teach to just the African-American kids in your classroom, you teach to whoever shows up. So I want that book to be accessible to whoever picks it up. I write about kids who happen to be — oh, I never even noticed — African-American. They are teenagers first, but their color is secondary. In many of my characters, there are no racial definitions at all."
What about books for adults? She leaves that to other authors. Kids are her inspiration.
"They're more interesting to me than adults," Draper said. "Adults don't interest me. I think kids are fascinating."
And the V.I. kids were especially impressive to her.
"They were on task, polite," Draper said of her day at UVI. "They were still excited and engaged, but very polite and respectful, and I appreciated that so much. They seemed to have a sense of pride that American children of color do not necessarily have. They stood tall and felt good about themselves."
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