A former Old Bonhomme Elementary student gave back to his school on Wednesday, Dec. 16, a gesture inspired in large part by his first grade teacher.
John Green attended Old Bonhomme in the 1970s from kindergarten through sixth grade; his first grade teacher in 1973 was Christine Williams.
Green now lives in New York City and is an Emmy Award-winning executive producer with ABC News; Williams taught at Old Bonhomme for 32 years before retiring in 2005.
Despite the time and distance, however, Green and Williams have remained close friends over the years.
In fact, it was Williams’ influence that helped inspire Green to take on the role of children’s author as part of his career.
Green paid a virtual visit to Old Bonhomme’s first grade classrooms on Wednesday and read two of his books to students, Dream Jumper and Dream Grabber.
The books encourage children not to be afraid of going to sleep at night and instead look forward to the dreams they’ll have.
Williams joined in on the call as she and Green shared stories and memories with the students; many of the students know Williams as she still serves as a volunteer reading specialist at the school.
Green also spent time answering students’ questions about being an author and what their school was like when he attended.
Each student received a copy of Dream Jumper, and Green also donated copies to Ladue Schools’ other elementary school libraries.