Fourth grade at Charles C. Bell Elementary was abuzz today as local best-selling children’s author Robert Beatty paid the school a visit with advance copies of the new graphic novel adaptation of his book, Serafina and the Black Cloak. Each student received a sneak peak copy of the book and enjoyed a reading of the original novel by Mr. Beatty himself in honor of World Read Aloud Day. They also got to ask many questions of the author.
“Bell Elementary has a special connection with the Serafina series,” said media coordinator Amy Brown. “In fourth grade, it’s the first book we read. The students really love the series, so when Mr. Beatty said he was going to come read to the students, they were so ultra excited.”
The media center was decked out in a variety of student-made Serafina materials. Students had created several welcome banners for the author, as well as some signage made around iconography from the books. A series of drawings by the students hung from the walls, all using the same prompt from the book: “Our character isn’t defined by the battles we win or lose, but by the battles we dare to fight.”
The Serafina series, a blending of history, mystery, and magic, takes place in the Biltmore Estate during the Gilded Age and tells the story of a brave girl named Serafina who solves a dark mystery.
“It’s such a good book, and the students love it,” said fourth grade teacher Adrienne Smith. “The first year I read it, I had a class full of boys. When I finished reading our daily chapter and it was time for recess, they didn’t want to go! They were like, ‘Can’t we read more Serafina?’. So the author paying us a visit is a big deal and everyone is so excited.”