“It’s always exciting to see authors in person and to realize they’re real people. It makes me appreciate the talent and work that goes into any book,” lower-school librarian Cary Kelly said.

Kelly, along with high-school librarians Joanne Melinson and Emily Blodget, recently attended the Authors Readers’ Theatre, where she watched from the front row as children’s authors Avi, Pam Munoz Ryan, Sarah Weeks and Brian Selznick read parts of their work.

“It was like an audio book except with people, so you could see their gestures and expressions,” Blodget said.

The event took place at the Sacramento Convention Center on Oct. 18, and was part of the California Reading Association Conference.

Although the authors read from children’s books, the show is aimed at teachers and librarians and it is preferred that children under nine do not attend.

Authors Sharon Creech, Avi, Walter Dean Meyers, and Weeks founded the group in 2006.

Since then ART (Authors Readers’ Theatre) has included Katherine Paterson, Richard Peck, Ryan, author and illustrator Selznick, and Rachel Vail.

“Avi’s written a lot. He’s prolific. I think Selznick is brilliant so [seeing him] was just really cool for me,” Melinson said.

Avi has published over 60 novels, but Melinson and Blodget agree they have not read enough of them to pick a favorite. Well-known books of his include “Crispin the Cross of Lead,” “The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle,” and “Nothing But the Truth.”

“I’ve read ‘The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.’ I learned the word ‘grotesque’ from it. I thought the story was thrilling and really suspenseful,” junior Parker Murray said. “I like how Avi contrasts hopeful tones with morbid details.”

Paterson is the author of “Bridge to Terabithia,” a fifth-grade classic at the school and now a film.

“I remember liking [the book]. I thought it was an interesting story with a surprising ending,” junior Marco Siragusa said.

Weeks, author of bestseller “So B. It,” was the first guest speaker in the new lower-school library. Her visit, paid for by the Cochrane Libraries Fund, was on Oct. 16. Pre-K through eighth grade students listened to her read from her books, talk about them, and answer questions.

“[Weeks] had a great sense of humor which meant the middle school kids were interested in her too,” Melinson said.

“I thought [Weeks] was really nice and sort of funny. I really liked it when she talked about her sons,” said sixth grader George Cvetich.

Although each author participates at some point during the ART season, only four authors perform per show.

The authors, who do six to 10 performances a year, help each other with their character voices by reading from a script on a music stand. While one author reads as a character from their book, the other three authors help play different characters.

A projection screen is behind them so the audience can look at pictures from the stories while they listen to the dialogue. But aside from the projector, there are no costumes or props used during the performance.

“[The authors] adapt the books a bit for a faster, more dramatic performance,” Blodget said.

The show lasts for about 90 minutes and includes two scenes from each author. Every author participates in each scene, which is usually 10 minutes long. There is a time to ask questions, to get books signed, and to get pictures taken at the end.

“I love doing Readers’ Theatre. I think it’s a wonderful new way to explore not only other authors’ work, but my own writing as well,” Weeks said.