Kids Are Amazing
On Sunday, October 11, I spent the afternoon at the Schlow Centre Region Library for their Meet the Authors event. It turned into one of my favorite days since the book came out.
The library set up five local authors at tables throughout the children’s area. Each child got a card and carried it from table to table, stopping to meet each author, talk about their book, and do an activity. At every stop they earned a stamp, a butterfly, a squirrel, a frog, and more. Once they collected all five stamps, they turned the card in at the children’s desk for a chance to win a prize during the drawing. It was a wonderful way to get kids moving, talking, and curious.
At my table, children colored the characters from The Hallway of Doorknobs. And a few small moments reminded me exactly why I wrote it. One little girl was coloring Cozy, and then Blazer. As she worked, she noticed something tucked into the corner of the doorframe on the activity page: a little plant. I told her that plant has its own quiet part to play in the book. Then I asked her, how do you think the plant would feel near Blazer, the one you’re coloring? She thought for a second and said, “Would it be on fire?”
That’s the right idea, I told her.
Another little girl wandered over, and the three of us went through the book together. I showed them a scene with Blazer where the plant is singed at the edges, a little smoke curling up from it. Their eyes got big. Then they wanted to guess how every other character affected the plant. When we got to Cozy, one of them guessed that the plant had a pillow. We looked and the plant’s pot had a soft blanket wrapped around it. She was very close and proud of herself.
This is only the second time a child has discovered the plant on their own, and watching them track it from page to page, feeling for how each part would change it, was so cool.
A little later, a thirteen-year-old stopped by. He sat at the table and read the whole book. “It is a really good book,” he told me, which from a teenager is high praise. I asked him which character he identified with most. He thought about it and said, “I think everyone has a little bit of every character in them.”
I am not sure I could have said it better myself. That is the whole heart of the book in one sentence.
Then a little boy was coloring Freeze. He looked at the picture and asked me what feeling Freeze had. He studied it again and asked, “Is Freeze scared?” We talked about deer, how when they sense something, they go completely still. On the outside they look frozen, and on the inside, they may be alert or scared too. He nodded. He understood it right away.
These are the moments I hoped for when I wrote The Hallway of Doorknobs. Not only that children would read it, but that they would notice things, wonder about them, and find their own words for big feelings. They did all of that, in a busy library, with a crayon in hand.
Thank you to the Schlow Centre Region Library for a beautifully run event, and to the other authors who shared the afternoon.
If you’d like to bring The Hallway of Doorknobs into your home, classroom, or therapy office, you can find it at lynnahaller.com/books/the-hallway-of-doorknobs/.
And that little plant the children keep discovering? There is a whole story behind it, and I will be sharing it soon.
- Schlow Centre Region Library Meet the Authors Event - October 19, 2026
- Behind the name: Jack - October 12, 2026
- Behind the name: Sara - October 7, 2026