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Lower Schools Host New York Times Bestselling Author
agra deedy

As part of their September focus on Hispanic culture, both the Bolles Lower School Whitehurst and Ponte Vedra Beach Campus librarians hosted live – and completely captivating – storytelling events with New York Times bestselling children’s book author, Carmen Agra Deedy.

agra deedy

Agra Deedy, a Cuban-born refugee raised in Decatur, Georgia, visited the Bolles Lower School Whitehurst Campus on September 21 and the Bolles Lower School Ponte Vedra Beach Campus on September 22. She spent most of the school day on each campus, sharing crowd-pleasing stories from her childhood with students in every grade level. Told with great exuberance and humor, Agra Deedy’s stories gave students a firsthand account of the cultural differences she – and many other children of Hispanic heritage – experience in some communities. Students were most swept away by her lively sounds and punctuated storytelling, learning lessons in empathy and cultural understanding all the while.

Ponte Vedra Beach Campus Librarian Christina Karvounis and Whitehurst Campus Librarian Jennifer Moore hosted the daylong events.

Deedy is the author of 12 books for children including “The Library Dragon,” “The Cheshire Cheese Cat,” “Martina the Beautiful Cockroach” and “14 Cows for America,” which is a New York Times bestseller. “The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet!” was released in 2017 and “Rita and Ralph’s Rotten Day” was published in March 2020. Deedy’s personal stories first appeared on NPR’s “All Things Considered” and her narratives are culled from her childhood as a Cuban refugee in Decatur, Georgia. She is host of the four-time, Emmy-winning children’s program, “Love That Book.”