After two-year delay, Author Chris Grabenstein visits Marion County students

Sophia Veneziano, Marion Star
·4 min read
New York Times Bestselling Author Chris Grabenstein visited Marion County third through fifth graders April 14 after postponing his presentation in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
New York Times Bestselling Author Chris Grabenstein visited Marion County third through fifth graders April 14 after postponing his presentation in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

"I need three volunteers who are not afraid of making a fool of themselves in public," Author Chris Grabenstein announced Thursday from the stage of the Palace Theatre to a full house of Marion County third through fifth grade students.

With a silly sense of humor, funny voices and the personality of the stand-up comedian he once was, the New York Times Bestselling Author had the kids laughing in their seats throughout his entire presentation, absorbing his writing advice of "show, don't tell" and "don't be boring" through their laughter.

Chris Grabenstein invited three students from each presentation on stage with him to help illustrate the power of strong verbs as he had them walk and strut across the stage.
Chris Grabenstein invited three students from each presentation on stage with him to help illustrate the power of strong verbs as he had them walk and strut across the stage.

A graduate of the University of Tennessee in communication, Grabenstein moved to New York City with seven suitcases of typewriters and $1,000 to land a writing job in hopes of making it as a comedian. He then spent many years working in advertising before experiencing a personal tragedy and realized that life is short: he wanted to be a writer.

"Fortunately, I had saved up enough money that I could quit. That's my advice to all young people. Save up some money," he joked.

After first writing books for adults that his "two dozen" nieces and nephews shouldn't read because of the adult content, he adapted a manuscript he had already written to be a book for younger audiences and it was picked up by Random House.

His career as a bestselling children's author took off from there and he eventually would write his bestselling "Mr. Lemoncello" series.

"That's what I discovered I'm truly meant to do is write for kids," he said.

A steady line at the Marion Public Library formed of students and their families to meet New York Times Bestselling Author Chris Grabenstein Thursday.
A steady line at the Marion Public Library formed of students and their families to meet New York Times Bestselling Author Chris Grabenstein Thursday.

Grabenstein's spring visit in Marion was originally planned for 2020, and 2,350 copies of his book "Shine!" that he wrote with his wife J.J. were distributed to third through fifth graders throughout the county's districts just before the event was canceled due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Made possible through a grant from the Marion Community Foundation, the much-awaited visit finally happened Thursday, and the author spoke to two groups of Marion County students from the Palace Theatre Stage in his first speaking engagement to kids in over 2 years.

He then headed over to the Marion Public Library for a book signing event at 5 p.m.

Marion Public Library Communications Manager Diane Watson was pleased with the turnout at the book signing, seeing so many students and families attend that library staff needed to wrap the line through the stacks of books in the children's section in order to manage the crowd.

Watson worried that the kids who received a book through the grant funding in 2020 wouldn't be able to locate their books for the signing event, but was relieved to watch as one after another students showed up with books in-hand.

One of these students, River Valley Heritage Elementary fifth grader James Skaggs, was the first student Watson saw arrive in the library. He and his classmate, Chase Fabian, were among the first students to meet Grabenstein, pointing out their teacher, Elizabeth Sawzin, who was behind them in line.

"He's very popular, and I've never met someone as popular as him, so I'm really excited to see someone that's that popular, fascinating, interesting," Skaggs said.

Chase Fabian (left) and James Skaggs (right) are fifth graders at River Valley's Heritage Elementary. They had been waiting to meet Grabenstein since they were in the third grade before the onset of the pandemic.
Chase Fabian (left) and James Skaggs (right) are fifth graders at River Valley's Heritage Elementary. They had been waiting to meet Grabenstein since they were in the third grade before the onset of the pandemic.

Sawzin said the kids had a great time at Grabenstein's presentation earlier in the day, and she felt happy they finally got to see him in person.

"It's nice to get back to some normalcy around here. My fifth graders were supposed to go when they were in third grade, so it was nice for them to get the experience after all," she said.

Each student took a photo with Grabenstein at the book signing event, receiving personalized attention from the author, who asked the students for their story ideas and offered them advice or the answers to their questions about his life or career.

One of the last students to meet Grabenstein asked him if it is emotional to write a book.

Though often a comedian, Chris Grabenstein describes to a student how it can often be an emotional experience to write a book.
Though often a comedian, Chris Grabenstein describes to a student how it can often be an emotional experience to write a book.

"Yes, sometimes I'm actually crying," he responded. "You have to go through a dark night for the sunshine that comes after."

His advice to her? Keep reading.

"It teaches empathy better than anything else," he said. "You get to be someone else for a couple of hours. You get to walk a little bit in their shoes."

Story by: Sophia Veneziano (740) 564 - 5243 | sveneziano@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Bestselling Author Chris Grabenstein visits Marion County students