On our most recent visit, there was a table set up with the book Anasi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti by Gerald McDermott and some supplies to create a spider. It made me both excited and sad all at the same time because it was very recently that Gerald passed away. I knew of Gerald from a very young age because he was my dad's cousin (and they share a name!) and we had several of his books, but I didn't have the pleasure to meet him until a few years ago when he visited NYC. He came to dinner at our apartment, and I took him to the school I was teaching at the following day so he could read to some of the students and meet with our librarian. It was a wonderful visit, and Roy and I formed an instant connection with him. He was so excited about Leighton being born, and he gave us all the most incredible honor by dedicating one of his books, Pig-Boy: A Trickster Tale from Hawai'i, to Leighton. He was excitedly working on the book when he came to visit in NYC. Sadly, he never had the chance to meet Leighton or Riley. This spider's for you, Gerald.
After the spider making, we spent a couple more hours pushing, taping, cutting, plugging, stacking, and steering.
I don't think I shared any photos from our last visit in December. There was a fantastic set up of different houses in a multi-celebrational village to describe different traditions and celebrations around the world. It was beautiful, informative, and so well set up. There was also an installation of peddle cars. It was, as usual, a super fun visit.
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