Here Comes Ingo is IndieReader Approved, is recognized by The National Parenting Center (Seal of Approval), is the winner of Creative Child Magazine Book of the Year (picture book category), and recipient of the Mom's Choice Gold Award. Turn out workshopping Here Comes Ingo, a picture book that reminds us how important it is to learn how to be understanding, tolerant and kind is the gift that keeps giving. I introduced Ingo to a wonderful group of second graders (Brooklyn School of Inquiry) in the hope that they would enjoy the book as much as I loved creating each and every one of the hand-crafted collages filled with fun details and wrapped in Disney-like colors.

I entered the classroom eager to invite the students to:

• make inferences as to what the characters were thinking, feeling and doing. I invited them to immerse in Ingo's dream world of unexpected vistas, colors and shapes.
• be open to new things, even if they may not make sense at first glance (after all, it is not everyday that one gets to see a shark eating cupcakes with gusto or a merry band of birds& frogs piggybacking on a chubby fish or even a solitary wolf improbably wrapped in a rainbow).
• not feel discouraged and scared in front of the unexpected and the unknown and, much like Ingo, rely on their ability to keep an open mind in order to embrace what at first may seem strange because it is very important to learn how to face challenges.

I left the classroom reminding students that one's voice is one's own and each of us should do our best to cultivate it.

To my great surprise and absolute pleasure, the very next day a thick stack of Thank You Notes was delivered to me. Each child wrote and illustrated his/her take on the book concept. A few thanked me for coming to their class and spending time with them. Others were enthused by the hands-on interactive open end creative experiences we all shared. Others yet felt encouraged to "write" their own stories.

Thank You Notes BOOK is one I will cherish for a very long time alongside Here Comes Ingo.