What’s your favorite book and who is your favorite author?
I like Piggy and Elephant [by Mo Willems]. They’re really funny. I have one in my book bag right now. My favorite is Is There A Bird On My Head?
Do you have any special hobbies or talents?
Gymnastics and hulahoop. I can do cartwheels or this trick when I do a handstand off the couch and I land in bridge.
What is your favorite thing about writing?
How you get to create stuff in your story, and be creative, and add so many thing to it. I want to become an artist and writer.
What’s your favorite memory of 826CHI?
Probably the first time I ever came here. People were very welcoming and saying hi and very excited to have a new student around.
What’s something you’ve written that you liked?
“The Hamburger Ring,” which was published last year [in Paw Prints In The Mud/Huellas de garras en el lodo].
I love the part when we find out the thief in “The Hamburger Rings” is only four-years old. It’s such a cool surprise! Plus, she becomes president.
I like how the Hamburger Ring is big and think it’s funny that she’s so little! If I remember correctly, she is very sassy. She is very fun but very sassy at the same time, like “give me the cake.”
What inspired you to write “The Hamburger Ring?”
I was really hungry that time so I was like, “Why not make something out of McDonald’s?” So the first thing that came to mind was a hamburger.
What’s an actual hamburger ring look like?
Like a bun, tomato, lettuce, and cucumbers. You know it’s a ring because it has a little diamond in it and it can be edible. Or it can be chocolate or something.
Our 826 Day event on the roof of Ace Hotel Chicago was a beautiful celebration of our community from our donors to our students and everyone in between (pictured above is 826CHI supporter TASHA’s performance). Our book P.S. You Sound Like Someone I Can Trust was available in the hotel’s suites, Ace Hotel Chicago has hosted our annual love-themed print show featuring work by local artists inspired by our students writing on love, and their Senior Sales Manager, Tenasha Wilcoxon, spoke to our students in After-School Tutoring & Writing’s Speakers & Snacks series about what it’s like to work at a hotel.
The partnership between East Village Youth Program and 826CHI is a yearly collaboration to help students achieve their goal of being accepted into their college of choice and for many to be the first in their family to attend college. This fall, 826CHI staff and 12 volunteers worked with 13 high school seniors on their personal statements for college applications. The partnership continues in the Spring when 826CHI and volunteers will return to EVYP to support students as they apply for scholarships.
