‘These are my people’: Library hosts Edwardsburg native, children’s author for storytime event

Published 3:10 pm Monday, August 19, 2024

By Max Harden

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EDWARDSBURG — As a retired teacher, Denise Halgren is no stranger to reading books.

She estimates that she has read thousands of books to students during her 30-year teaching career. That being said, reading her own children’s book to friends and former co-workers and students in Edwardsburg was a new, refreshing experience.

The Edwardsburg Branch Library, 26745 Church St., Edwardsburg, welcomed Halgren Monday for a special storytime and meet and greet event for her book titled “The Crazy Cat Lady.” Written by Halgren and illustrated by Bhagya Rathnaweera, the children’s book follows a teacher who retires from spending all day with children to spending all day with cats. The book can be purchased on Amazon.com.

“We are so excited to be able to have a local author that was a former resident and teacher here in the community,” said CDL Edwardsburg Branch Manager April Hughes. “It just brings community events like this alive and brings everybody together. It’s been such a wonderful morning with her reading and sharing her love of literature. Her visit with former students and families has been such a wonderful community event and we’re so excited to be able to host events like this in our community.”

More than 100 community members – many of which former students and co-workers – attended the event. Halgren had copies of her book for sale and signing. 

“An unbelievable turnout today. I’ve had so many former students and co-workers visit today. It really melts my heart.”

Halgren retired from EPS two years ago and currently lives in Maryland with her husband, who is in the military. As part of her storytime event, Halgren shared facts about cats to children in attendance.

“Today, I got to be a teacher again,” she said. “It felt good to be in my natural element again. These are all my people. These are my friends, these are my former students, these are my people. They all came back to see me so it’s very heartwarming. It’s very touching.”

Halgren did not set out to become an author. After retiring from teaching, she volunteered at her local food pantry and in the local schools but realized that she missed the interaction with children. She said her daughter jokes that her book is “almost an autobiography about me.”

“It was kind of therapy for me,” Halgren said.

Halgren is also working on two other books – “Kara Creek Ranch: A Wild West Alphabet Adventure” and “Kayla’s Story: Foster Care to Adotpion.” She said she plans to write a series of Crazy Cat Lady books, with the next installment titled “The Crazy Cat Lady Takes a Vacation.” Halgren encourages children to send her story ideas of what to write about next. Ideas for the Crazy Cat Lady’s next adventures can be submitted to crazycatladybooks@gmail.com.

“I want children to help me with these books,” she said. “If they have ideas, I want them to use their imaginations; I want them to give me ideas. If they want me to use their names or ideas in my stories, I will do that because I want kids to get off of their tablets, off of their phones, off the technology and start laying outside in the grass, looking up at the clouds, looking up at the trees and start using their imaginations and going into the libraries and start reading more books.”

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