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Golden Ticket to literacy: International author speaks with kids at Centre Hall Elementary

CENTRE HALL -- Centre Hall Elementary students are already reaping the benefits of its book vending machine.

This vending machine was launched at the school in February to excite kids about reading and writing through a local non-profit organization: Random Acts of Reading.

Random Acts of Reading (RoAR) has been supporting literacy and literary confidence through books and meet-the-author events since 2015. They aim to provide exciting and equitable access to quality diverse books, authors and opportunities as well as have students share their own writing and ideas through this innovative literacy program.

There were multiple prizes hidden throughout the books in the machine -- incentives to excite the kids and make them want to earn their RAM Stars and redeem them for books. The big prize, however, was hidden inside of one special book.

The golden ticket was the grand prize, and the child who found it not only got a book to read, but every student in the school got a copy of the book. On top of that, the author of the book met with the whole school.

Sara Sadik, author of the book "The Extraordinary Pause," joined Centre Hall Elementary from her home in Dubai.

During this "meet the author" event, students zoomed in from their classroom with their teacher and were able to ask Sadik questions.

Principal David Romanyshyn introduced Sadik to the students, educating the children on where Dubai is located, what the time difference is and giving a brief introduction on Sadik and her family.

Sadik describes herself as a Palestinian/Lebanese energetic mom of three who "delivers her distinct brand of warm candid humor with an extra dose of sass in a traditional Arabic coffee shop."

Sadik is also a well traveled individual, she's lived on three continents, in five countries -- though she has lived in Dubai for the past seven years. Sadik has written numerous other books, mostly based around her experiences in motherhood.

"Finding the Magic in Mommyhood" is credited as her favorite book she's written, and it recounts the struggles of motherhood she experienced with her first-born.

One of the main topics that book covers is how Sara adjusted when an X-ray revealed her baby had hip dysplasia-- which is a congenital misalignment requiring her to wear a brace.

They played a brief video of Sadik's children and all of the antics they got up to during COVID -- clips of her and her children baking, the children dancing with her husband and videos of them making the best of their time in quarantine in their apartment in Dubai.

"It's so amazing that (the) teachers and principal have organized this," said Sadik, addressing the children and speaking a little bit about her book. "I'm so thankful and grateful to be here."

The book is a reflection on the traumatic period of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and is a place to return to to reflect and help kids grapple with the social, physical and mental impacts of the pandemic.

It's a "tribute to the simple and remarkable efforts people made in the face of the unexpected and unknown."

Students were able to both ask their questions out loud to the author and have their teacher post the questions in chat to be answered.

The children asked a lot of thought-provoking questions. Such as:

Q: Why did you write the book?

A: I love this question so much. The reason I wrote this book was not to be famous, not to have opportunities like this, not to say "oh I wrote a book." I really wrote it because my kids were so confused about why we were all home, why birthday parties were canceled, why school was off, why I was teaching them -- all that craziness. They kept asking questions, and I didn't know how to explain it to them.

Q: How many times did you have to edit your book? And how long did it take you to write the book?

A: You're the first person to ever ask me that question! A lot. Maybe more than 100. I would crumple the page, and I would change a word. Then I'd change five words, or 20. If you're interested in writing a book and getting published, you should know that you'll get a publisher (who) fixes the book and edits it as well. I wrote it in one night and then spent a lot of time fixing it.

Q: What were some positives that you took from the pandemic?

A: Some of them are in the book because I was so affected by slowing down... I learned to just be okay with slowing down and appreciating every little thing.

There were many other questions relating to Sadik as a person, her family and her life in Dubai, the children all eager to learn everything they could about their visiting author.

Additional information about this program can be found at www.randomactsofreading.org.