“As a culminating event to our elementary school’s reading week, Anika Aldamuy Denise was invited as a visiting author. It was a Friday afternoon in June and many teachers were skeptical when students were asked to bring a notebook and pencil to the assembly. Anika immediately cast her spell over our students who were so enthralled by the presentation that they began writing things down with ferocious speed. You could hear a pin drop in the room. I was particularly impressed by the way Anika so naturally connected with students in all grades, but especially students in the intermediate grades. She was able to uniquely reach our school’s large MLL population. As we all know, representation matters.” —Alexandra Kanaczet, Reading Specialist, Holliman Elementary School

“Anika stole our hearts as teachers and librarians with her insightful discussions that were designed to pull the best from students. She honors heritage, language speakers, and indeed all children in her presentations and finds common points of connections with her observations and anecdotes. Her discussion of ‘voicing’ in the genre of picture book biography was the best I have ever heard. Our third graders were entranced and full of questions which she answered with great attentiveness and care.” —Frances Martindale, Librarian, Gordon School

“Anika was extremely engaging and struck a great balance of teaching through storytelling, conversation, and providing practical information about the art of the writing process for our fifth graders. She also managed to get the students excited to write and share their writing. As an educator of over 20 years, that is a tall order. I am looking forward to having her back to work with our students in the future. It was a pleasure!” —Lisa Kauffman, fifth grade teacher, Henry B. Burkland Elementary

“Anika Aldamuy Denise came to North Tama and spent time with our K-12 students for two days. It was a remarkable experience where she truly connected with our students and staff. She was so personal and fun! The students felt like they were left with a little piece of magic that gave them more excitement about reading and writing. It was an experience we will cherish and hope to have again.” —Anne Turner, Kindergarten Teacher, North Tama Elementary

“Anika served as our writer-in-residence in the Graduate Programs in Children’s Literature and Illustration at Hollins University for two weeks in 2020, delivering a lecture, visiting classes, and meeting with students about their work — all on Zoom because of the pandemic. Her lecture inspired, her teachings nurtured, and everyone loved her so much, we invited her back in 2022 for two more weeks on our beautiful Roanoke campus. Not only is she a talented writer and kind mentor, she is fun and funny. Invite her!” —Lisa Rowe Fraustino, Director, Graduate Programs in Children’s Literature, Hollins University

“Anika’s seminar on writing picture books with heart validated my commitment to writing stories for young readers. Her lyrical nonfiction picture books, the light they shed on important Latine figures, was the encouragement I needed to pour my heritage into my stories, unapologetically and without fear.” —Jasminne P., Writing for Young People Graduate Program, Lesley University