On April 20, my sister Natalie and I had a great teleconference with the kids of Mesa Elementary School on the Navaho Reservation in Red Mesa, Arizona. We were all celebrating the re-opening of the Mesa Elementary School library, which was destroyed in a fire last September. We talked to the students and answered their great questions and encouraged them to keep reading. We also announced the donation of a 500 copies of Magic Tree House books to the school.
This event was sponsored by Eve’s Fund for Native American Health Initiatives. Since 2008, there’s been a joint literacy effort of Eve’s Fund and our Magic Tree House team. In fact, Natalie, my husband Will and I visited the Navaho kids in 2008 and had a great adventure. We traveled the vast reservation and visited the Four Corners, the only place in the United States where four states intersect at one point: Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. We also stayed overnight in a hogan, the traditional home of the Navajo people. The doorways of hogans always face east. When we opened our door early in the morning, the red glow of the rising sun flooded into the room. The air was cool and fresh and smelled of mesquite, and our breakfast of eggs and fry bread and beans was one of the best meals I’ve ever had. Best of all, though, was the time we spent with the kids on the reservation. They had great enthusiasm for reading and learning new things.