Mr. DiTerlizzi discussed how he was inspired to write a strong female character like Eva 9. Inspired by characters like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, Wendy from Peter Pan, and Alice from Alice in Wonderland, he created Eva 9, a girl also looking for her home. He also talked about how characters like Obi Wan, Gandalf, and Dumbledore made him create an alien that helped Eva learn, but left her to work out her problems on her own, like the protagonists in those stories. Students were thrilled to line up and have Mr. DiTerlizzi sign the WondLa series books, and some even brought some Spiderwick Chronicles from home. Our 15 copies of the WondLa books are all checked out of the media center now, and I predict long hold lines in the future.
What a wonderful day in the F.AVE media center! And now, on to the book festival!