Grade schoolers don’t usually leap for joy when a “special speaker” is on the schedule, especially when said guest is slated to arrive during gym class. But Bob Shea isn’t your run-of-the-mill speaker—and his presentations are anything but boring. “His humor reminds me of Toy Story,” says Colby Sharp, a third grade teacher at Parma (MI) Elementary School, who recently hosted Shea. “Kids crack up at his jokes and parents do the same, just on a different level.” Shea, who’s written and illustrated more than a two dozen picture books, including Dinosaur vs. Bedtime (Disney-Hyperion, 2011), I’m a Shark (Balzer + Bray, 2011), and New Socks (Little, Brown, 2007), visited Parma Elementary last month. “It was fantastic,” he says. “Giant posters of my characters greeted me, and the school walls were covered with welcome banners.” The kids watched him create his signature characters, some of which have appeared on Nick Jr and PBS Kids, on an iPad hooked up to a projector. “During the presentation I try and involve students as much as I can and when I ask for help, I make sure they feel like they’re on their own TV show,” explains Shea. The author likes the audience to give a big game-show round of applause to up the drama. Students end up feeling accomplished and pretty special. On this particular March afternoon, the author invited a child to join him at an easel in the front of the room to help draw Ballet Cat, a star of one of his book series. To the young audience, this second grader was chosen by chance, but Shea and Sharp knew otherwise. Before the presentation began, Shea asked about finding a kid who’s on the quiet side or perhaps a little blue and in need of a lift. Sharp knew right away that it should be Heidi VanSumeren. A few days before Shea’s visit, the eight-year-old lost her home and everything inside it—furniture, toys, books, clothes, even her pets—to a devastating fire. The author didn’t always have the habit of strategic selection. “When I first began, the selected student always seemed to be someone pretty confident and popular. But once I realized how exciting getting picked was, I saw the opportunity to prop up someone,” he explains. For a few minutes, Heidi got to stand at the author’s side, mimicking his lines and shapes and basking in his glow. It was a small boost on a tough first day back at school, less than a week after the disaster. Back at home, she excitedly reported that she’d been so lucky to help Bob Shea, but her mom, Beth, suspected otherwise. “I had a feeling something was up, but Heidi really thought her participation was random,” VanSumeren says. It turns out even more was up than VanSumeren thought. After Shea made Heidi feel like a rock star, he Tweeted about her plight, asking fellow authors, librarians, and other colleagues to help replace the books she lost. The response was overwhelming, quite literally. “A week later, the principal called me to say her desk was covered with boxes of books for Heidi,” says VanSumeren. Shea adds one of the reasons there was such a terrific response is that he’s almost never serious on Twitter. So when he does mean business, people take notice. “And then Colby Sharp, who’s a social media master, started tweeting, and the whole thing just snowballed,” he says. A few of Shea’s Twitter friends even got together and bought Heidi a new desk, chair, and bookshelf from high-end retailer Pottery Barn. Her beloved books were replaced many times over, arriving either signed by or with personal notes from the authors. “We’re incredibly grateful to them and to Bob Shea,” says VanSumeren. The world is made up of small acts, says Shea, and being considerate every day can make a big difference. “The kid lit world is an amazing group. I'm so fortunate to be part of it,” adds Shea.

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Jennifer Kelly Geddes is a freelance writer and reporter specializing in children's health and development, and the former research editor of Parenting.