Create a collage with different mediums that explains what you know about yourself.

This workshop is inspired by the poem "What I Know About Penny Rooney" from the 2024 youth Novel Idea selection No Matter the Distance. Familiarity with the book is not required!

If you have or work with a child or adult that is neurodivergent and attending in-person programming is difficult or causes discomfort, please reach out to Erin at erinh@deschuteslibrary.org to request a take-home kit with instructions and materials. We will have a limited number of kits for neurodivergent children as well as autistic or neurodivergent adults that are interested in this program.

No Matter the Distance tells the story of Penny Rooney, who has cystic fibrosis, which means she has to do breathing treatments to help her lungs work. Some days, it seems like her CF is the only thing Penny knows about herself for sure. From her point of view, everyone around her can make sense of their place in the world. Then during spring break Penny spots something impossible in the creek behind her house: a dolphin, far from its home. As Penny’s CF worsens, she realizes that Rose needs to return to her pod to get better. Will Penny be able to help guide Rose back to the ocean, even if it means losing her friend?

Cindy Baldwin is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Where the Watermelons Grow, Beginners Welcome, The Stars of Whistling Ridge, and No Matter the Distance (a Junior Library Guild selection). She lives just outside Portland, Oregon, with her husband and daughter.


*cr* *yani* *ani*