PJ Haarsma and KNTR Volunteers Visit Higley Elementary and Middle School
On January 25, 2008, Kids Need to Read volunteers Kristen Klein and Denise Gary were fortunate to be able to attend a PJ Haarsma school presentation for his book, The Softwire: Virus on Orbis 1. We met up with PJ at Higley Elementary and Middle School in Higley, AZ and had the pleasure of getting to know media specialist (fancy name for “librarian” these days) Kris Ramsey.
We were surprised to find Captain Jack Sparrow announcing the presence of KNTR founder PJ Haarsma at the school. He didn’t say much, but carried a nice sign.
We got to enjoy two of PJ’s presentations that morning. He puts on a terrific show for the children, engaging them in many activities, including an amusing demonstration on the vast distances of space. Here he demonstrates how translation codecs are implanted on a very brave volunteer!
PJ takes the kids through a Hollywood audition process. It’s a lot of fun, not only for the “actors”, but for the audience as well.
PJ tells an entertaining “close encounter” story based on an experience from his childhood. This story was the genesis for The Softwire series. Here is PJ acting out a scene from this fun tale.
Of course, PJ is always happy to sign books for his fans.
Here is Kristen attempting to confiscate a case containing a secret artifact from PJ’s childhood close encounter.
Denise saved the priceless treasure from Kristen’s treachery. (Or was this her own attempt to gain custody of the highly valued item?)
When questioned about the futile ploys to seize his precious property, PJ had the following reaction:
Thank you, Kris Ramsey, for being so welcoming to us and taking us all out to that scrumptious lunch. We had such a great time!
