Sixth graders at Eastchester Middle School received a letter from Newbery Medal-winning author Katherine Applegate after their teacher invited her to visit.
Applegate, whose novel Wishtree is a central text in the school's sixth-grade English Language Arts classes, wrote to students with encouragement about reading and kindness, the Eastchester Union Free School District said Oct. 23.
Teacher Marina Caputo had invited Applegate to visit in person. Caputo said the invitation was inspired by her own experience as a sixth grader at Eastchester Middle School, when she reached out to poet Ted Scheu for a class assignment. Applegate could not make an in-person visit but sent the letter instead.
The students were thrilled.
Wishtree is told from the perspective of a 216-year-old oak tree and explores themes of empathy and inclusion. Caputo's classes recently finished reading it.
"It's a wonderful book to read as a class at the beginning of the year because it gives us a meaningful way to talk about kindness, belonging, and what it means to be a part of the community," Caputo said.
In her letter, Applegate told students that hearing they were reading Wishtree "means the world to me." She described the inspiration behind the novel, saying she wanted to tell a story about welcoming others and landed on the idea of a tree as narrator after watching an oak in her courtyard.
Caputo said the letter made the reading experience feel authentic for her students. She said they learned their enthusiasm for a book can reach the person who wrote it.
Applegate is a #1 New York Times bestselling author known for The One and Only Ivan and the Animorphs series. She lives in Nevada with her husband, author Michael Grant, according to her website.
Caputo said she hopes the experience inspires students to learn more about authors whose books they have read, or even reach out to them directly.
