Good morning from Chestertown, Maryland, where it’s raining really hard and all the soccer games are canceled. It’s sad for the kids but it gives me a chance to post an update. It’s been a good stretch of days as we continue to seek the new normal.
 
Sometime last year, Alden decided she’d try running cross country when we got back to Chestertown. She ran when she could, but as we made our way home through Alaska and Canada, most of the campgrounds had unambiguous signs warning of bears.
 
She dived right in when we got home and has proven herself to be quite a runner. Her coaches are great, and her teammates are supportive. It’s been a joy to watch her discover another thing she loves.
 
Thursday was back-to-school night at Garnet Elementary. We got the chance to meet Jasper’s wonderful teacher Ms. Smith and reconnect with his art teacher Amy Boumiea, PE teacher Mr. Williams, and music teacher Jodi Bortz (Robbi’s former classmate and lifetime BFF). The energy in the school was incredibly positive. We feel so grateful Jasper gets to spend his days in such a warm and loving family.
 
My dad is in town for a week, and we’re filling every minute with errands and hugs. Dumbles loves my dad and follows him around, begging for affirmation. It’s weird and adorable.
 
I’ve been working on a new book series and having so much fun, getting up early to write before the household awakes. I’ve always wanted to be a person who writes with a schedule, such that the creative spirits learn to anticipate exactly what they’ll be called upon and are therefore more likely to show up. So far, the creative spirits have been willing to get up at 4:30am.
 
The boys’ new bunkbeds are built but yet unpainted. Our friend Ron Saunders did a fabulous job.  
 
We’ve continued to work on reinventing the barn. The process is slow but incredibly gratifying. (The living room floor is visible again!) We’ve donated 12 boxes of books, nine bags of clothes, and made three trips to the dump. Apparently, we’ve been living with sixteen contractor bags full of junk.
 
TLDR: We’re back to work on books. The kids have settled back with seeming ease. Normal is not just elusive but perhaps overrated. ...

Yesterday was a delightful celebration of several years of effort and big dreams—and the unofficial launch of an ongoing commitment to literacy and kids.
 
We gathered at Washington College with our friends from the research team—Drs. Sara De Reza, Bridget Bunten, and Nick Garcia—to talk about the tour and what they’ve learned so far from examining the data.
 
They’ve been trying to measure (for the first time at large scale) the impact of one-time author visits on how kids think about reading, writing, and drawing.
 
It was the first public presentation of the results, which are incredibly exciting: Across all age groups and all three categories there was a statistically significant “assembly affect”, meaning sizable bumps in student engagement and interest in the wake of our visits.
 
This data could be huge, friends—transforming the way authors, principals, boards of ed, and even publishers think about promoting and funding Title I school visits. The research team is planning a series of papers to detail their findings. More on all of it to come.  
 
After bus tours and ice cream treats, we headed into Decker Theater. Our key partners were all there. Alison Morris of First Book, bus whisperer Brian Thompson, John Schratweiser of Kent Cultural Alliance, and the fabulous research team. And so many others who’ve cheered us on across so many years.
 
Friends from college came, and kids who love our books. A first-generation college student, who felt honored and seen by the story we told.
 
Chestertown mayor David Foster made an official degree: September 14, 2023 had been deemed Robbi and Matthew’s Busload of Books Day. The way this town has embraced our project brings us to tears.
 
Thanks to Michael Harvey and Pat Nugent for their thoughtful opening and concluding remarks. And to Mary Alice Ball for creating such a lovely event.
 
We had dinner with the research team and friends from First Book, dreaming about ongoing partnership and how continue the momentum of this work while deepening the impact. It’s a thrill to share ideas with passionate people. Especially when oysters are involved.
 
#busloadofbooks ...