Precious Petaluma Postcards

These lovely postcards come from the students of Marry Collins at Cherry Valley School in Petaluma, California. Their entire school read The Eyes and the Impossible, and it looks like they enjoyed it! Each student wrote a short letter complete with watercolor illustration. They also gave a big thanks to the author for encouraging them to howl in public. Ha ha hoooooo! In addition to these postcards, students worked on class projects that celebrated favorite characters and scenes from the book. What a treat!

Click through the gallery to read their letters and view their artwork. We love seeing how every student envisioned Johannes and the other characters in the book. Thank you to school librarian, Ms. Rainey, for sending these wonderful creations! And thank you to all the students who shared their work with us. Keep howling!

What do you think Johannes looks like? To write a letter to Dave Eggers, mail it to 849 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110. He loves receiving mail the old fashioned way and answers every letter.

A most compelling mystery

One rainy day not long ago we received quite a surprise in the mail. Hundreds (if not thousands) of letters began to arrive all at once. While we are used to receiving large packets from schools or teachers, these letters did not appear in any way connected. Yet each seemed associated with someone named Austin Texas. After putting our most talented detectives on the case, here is what we were able to find. Firstly, the great tales of Johannes have travelled far further than we had ever imagined. While we are still unable to pin down exactly who or where Austin is, we are sure they live quite far away. Secondly, after a bit of digging, we have determined these authors may know each other, perhaps from a common fourth grade class that they share. Beyond these facts, we know little else.

Well, there is one more mystery to share, though we find talking about it to be exceedingly distressing. While many who wrote to us correctly identified characters like Johannes, Bertrand, Angus, or Sonja as their favorites, a few expressed pronounced adoration for the ducks. Unfortunately, this is one mystery we have not been able to solve as we believed it was quite clear that the ducks could not be trusted and were generally dull and not of use. In any case, we were excited to read these letters and hear what these incredible writers had to say. Thank you to all who wrote for your suggestions, questions, and other observations! We hope you will enjoy them as well!

Do you have any questions for the author? To write a letter to Dave Eggers, mail it to 849 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110. He loves receiving mail the old fashioned way and answers every letter.

Drawings from a land far away!

Today we highlight some more treasures of the postal service. This week’s collection comes from students at the St. Viator School of Las Vegas, Nevada—likely some 50,001 if not 50,002 miles away. Their entire school read The Eyes and the Impossible. That’s over 400 students and teachers! Mrs. Blank’s second grade class wrote to us to share some amazing drawings and very important questions for the author. While reading the entirety of their package would take many years, we’re sharing a sample of work from Ryan, Nora, Zach, Hunter, Kassie, Juliana, Alex, Charlize, and Estela.

A thunderous thank you to these students and the rest of their class for sharing their work with us, and a marvelous congratulations to the entire PK-8th student body who read about the adventures of Johannes and his friends in their One School, One Book program. Reading a book is always so much more fun when you have someone to discuss it with, and we can’t begin to imagine what it might be like to have hundreds of fellow students to discuss this beloved story.

Keep the mail coming! Would you like to write to the author? To write a letter to Dave Eggers, mail it to 849 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110. He loves receiving mail the old fashioned way and answers every letter.

Look up!

"Every Kid in a Park - Bird Watching Activity" by Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.

It is almost that terrible time of the year when the humans fill the night sky with that colorful thunder which is horribly loud and startlingly bright! But this week, we’d like to focus on a different reason to look upwards. We’re still not entirely sure why, but we’ve learned that many humans enjoy looking at birds in their free time. Perhaps you’d like to give it a try too. Did you know that every month the Golden Gate Bird Alliance leads free birdwatching walks through the San Francisco Botanical Garden? Here’s your chance to be the Assistant Eyes (for a few hours) and make sure that everything is in order. The next occasion is this Sunday, and you can RSVP here for all future dates.

If getting to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is a bit of a trek, don’t fret. The best (and most frightening) part about birds is that they exist almost everywhere! So no matter where you are, go outside and you’ll likely find some. Bring a pair of binoculars if you have them, but if you can’t find any, don’t let that stop you either. While there are not many rules, we do have one important piece of advice for all. If you see any ducks, just keep walking. They are not worth your time or attention. And they will likely smell.

Not sure where to begin? Try starting here. Do let us know if you see Yolanda and her friends. Enjoy!

Have you seen me?

It’s rather difficult to draw a subject that moves at the speed of light!

This week, we’re sharing some more of the masterpieces from the binder put together by our friends at Word for Word, featuring these brilliant portraits of Johannes, Bertrand, Sonja, Angus, and more! You may not be able to see this dog running with your own eyes, but these readers have seen him with their own minds, and that is a whole other kind of knowing. Click through to see how each of these artists imagine Johannes and his friends.

Reflections on Local Fowl

The ducks may know nothing, but this group of young authors knows a mighty lot! We recently received a special edition of No Not the Ducks: Reflections on Local Fowl Golden Gate Park, SF, a completely factual and contemplative account of these strange animals. The book features a story about ducks on the roof of the de Young Museum, drawings of the ducks in a peanut-shaped pond, and even overheard conversations between ducks (see a sampling of its pages above!). Informative and imaginative, No Not the Ducks is a new favorite and a book everyone should read—and heed!

A huge thank you to the brilliant authors in Ms. Charpantier’s 3rd grade class at Grattan Elementary School in San Francisco, CA for sending us this book and for keeping the public informed about these local fowl!

Would you like to write to the author? To write a letter to Dave Eggers, mail it to 849 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110. He loves receiving mail the old fashioned way and answers every letter.

A million or bajillion letters!

A few days ago, our friends at Word for Word dropped off a most magical thing: a binder—bursting at the seams—full of drawings, letters, stories, and more by young San Franciscans who attended the production of The Eyes and the Impossible at Z Space last month! We are not math experts, but we believe there must be a million or even a bajillion messages and illustrations, including the ones above. We’ll post the binder’s marvelous contents for you all to behold! (And yes, ducks are morons.)

Thank you to our dear friends at Word for Word!

That’s a wrap! After two weeks of shows, our dear friends over at Word for WordPLAY and Z Space have wrapped their production of The Eyes and the Impossible. Swipe through the above photos to see some of the magic. From the colorful sets, to the inventive costumes, to the remarkable actors and production, we were awed by it all.

Thank you, thank you to the incredible director, managers, cast, crew, creative team, and everyone at Word for WordPLAY and Z Space for bringing this story alive on the stage, and thank you to every member of the audience and community who went to see it. Ha ha hoooo!

Directed by Delia Macdougall
Stage Manager: Karen Runk
Assistant Stage Manager: Tina Mosier

Cast

Nic Moore
Sofia Ahmad
Michael Craig Patterson
Carolina Morones
Hannah Mae Sturges
Tasi Alabastro*
Chloris Li

Crew and Creative Team

Scenic Design: Colm McNally, Sarah Phykitt
Costume Design: Laura Hazlett
Light Design: Jim Cave
Sound Design: Ray Archie
Props Design: Devon Labelle
Study Guide Artist: Linda Maria Girón
Production Manager: Trinity Wicklund

Design & Illustration By
Anna Salazar
Momoheddo Studio
@momoheddo

On the loose! Real stories of Golden Gate Park’s bison

Photo courtesy of SF Gate.

Freya, Samuel, and Meredith are not the first bison to stage a clever and courageous escape from their pen. In San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, there is a long history of bison exploring the world beyond their paddock—whether or not they received assistance from any dogs, birds, squirrels, raccoons, goats, or even ducks.

In 1924, nearly 20 bison escaped from the paddock when one brave bison named Portland, charged the fence and knocked it over. He and his friends broke from their captivity and roamed around the nearby Richmond district, trampling residents’ gardens and lawns, wandering the city streets, and even climbing on top of porches. It took 12 hours and 30 police officers to round them back up again.

In 1932, two bison toppled the fence together but remained near the paddock, lounging on the grass. They were discovered the next morning and returned to the other side of the then-repaired fence.

In 1942, while park officials were moving the herd, Annie, a large female bison, charged from the group and was captured soon after on Fulton Street.

Read more about these bison, their escapes, and their history in Golden Gate Park here in SF Gate and here in SF Chronicle.

Photo courtesy of SF Chronicle.

Want to teach The Eyes and the Impossible? Check out our page for educators!

Snail mail is not the only thing we receive from schools around the country; teachers, librarians, and other educators often send us lesson plans that they use in their classrooms. These plans include learning objectives, independent and group activities, discussion questions, assessment opportunities, teaching standards, and culminating projects. Some of these educators have kindly allowed us to share their lessons on this site so that others can use them, too. Click over to our For Teachers & Librarians page and see how educators teach The Eyes and the Impossible!

If you have a lesson plan of your own to share, feel free to send it to speaking@hawkinsproject.org. We’d love to feature it on our site!

Behold! A package transported on the shells of snails

Not everything moves like Johannes, at the speed of light. Some things move less at the pace of a dog, and more at the pace of a shelled gastropod gliding along on a trail of mucin. That is, some things—often, the very best things—arrive by snail mail, and the package pictured above is perhaps the finest example of this great truth.

A group of fourth graders at Hillendale Elementary School mailed their drawings, their original song lyrics, their proposed epilogues, their hand-crafted bookmarks, their questions, their ideas, and their own stories all the way from Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania to San Francisco, California. It is a treasure to behold their work, and so we are sharing it so that you can, too. A gigantic thank you to Ms. Fahey and her reading group for creating and mailing this wondrous package!

Would you like to write to the author? To write a letter to Dave Eggers, mail it to 849 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110. He loves receiving mail the old fashioned way and answers every letter.

Johannes and his friends take to the stage!

Ha ha hooo! Z Space and Word for WordPLAY present a bold new stage adaptation of The Eyes and the Impossible. Experience the fully staged production on Z Space’s Steindler Stage, presented in classic Word for Word style. Directed by Delia MacDougall.

Show schedule:

Previews: Thursday 2/26 and Friday 2/27

Opening Night: Saturday 2/28

Run of Show: 2/26 - 3/15

Community Night: 3/6

Afternoon with the Author: Sat 3/7 at 2pm

The greatest map these eyes have ever seen

Take a look at the wonderful project created by sixth graders at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans, Louisiana! Along with their teachers Ms. Rovetto, Ms. Mattesky, Mr. Valette ,and Mrs. Damare, these students creatively plotted locations in Johannes’s park where a notable character development took place. Follow their map to find Bertrand at the archery range, Freya, Samuel, and Meredith behind the fence, and, of course, Johannes wherever the eye can see! Thank you to these clever and imaginative 6th graders for sharing these characters’ perspectives—and theirs, too!

Possibly the best film made by humankind

We recently received this incredible video made by Mr. Johnson’s fifth graders at Grant Center for the Expressive Arts in Tacoma, Washington. It has been truly remarkable to see students’ engagement with The Eyes &the Impossible , and this video is one of our favorite examples. The costumes! The backdrops! The detailed lyrics! Even the ducks! Thank you to Mr. Johnson’s class for this wonderful video and for transporting Johannes and his friends off the page. Freedom really matters!

Produced by: Caris, Cybele, and Ruby

Cast:

Johannes: Gwen

Bison: Caris, Cybele, and Ruby

Sonja: Audrey

Bertrand: Landon

Ducks: Eliana, Jacob, McKenzie

Goats: Cedar, Charlotte, Everett, Kaplin, Kai

Cameras: Kaplin, Quinn, Sebastian Lyrics: Audrey, Cailyn, Caris, Cedar, Charlotte, Cybele, Eliana, Enzo, Everett, Ezra, Gwen, Jacob, Jane, Kai, Kaplin, Landon, Maxine, McKenzie, Obie, Oliver, Parker, Quinn, Ruby, Ryder, Sam, Scarlett, Sebastian, Treyson, Zavier, Z