Mary Casanova, Children's Book Author

Evaluations: 160 children responded to survey questions, 36 adults completed evaluations. In a survey of eight (8) children, prior to the program, 50% of the children responded they had never seen nor heard a presentation by an author. After the program, 100% of the children responded they would return to the library for another author program. 36 evaluations were completed by young adults and adults. Ratings of a program could be "Great, Very Good, Average, Below Average, and Poor." The ratings indicated by the attendees are: Great 22; Very Good 11; Average 2; Below Average 1; Poor 0. Results of the program: a 97% positive response to the program. The question "Would you attend another program of this kind if it were offered?" was asked on the adult evaluations. Out of 36 evaluations, 32 said "Yes", 2 responded "Maybe" and only 1 responded "No." Responses to "What did you enjoy most about this program?" included: "Learning about her childhood and as a reader (how) she struggled." "Having her read her book." Responses to "What did you learn from attending this program?" included: "Interesting facts about becoming an author." "Learning the back-stories of her books." "I've never heard of this author, so it was nice to get to know her and her books." "What American Girls series is about...haven't read any of those yet." Responses to "Please let us know what you think about this program." Included: "This is a great experience for kids of all ages." "Wonderful. Such a neat experience for little Grove City!" "This is a great opportunity for kids to see 'Real Authors' as people and intro new stories they may have not read yet."