By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
Princeton Day School students from pre-kindergarten through high school will have an opportunity to work with nationally acclaimed artists in illustration, childrens’ literature and poetry during the Imagine the Possibilities program from April 14 to April 21.
During the 14th edition of the annual arts appreciation program, Raul Colon, Kathi Appelt, and J. Patrick Lewis will spend two days on campus, talking with students and running workshops, according to Bev Gallagher, the third-grade teacher who created and now coordinates the annual program.
Mr. Colon is a well-known illustrator whose work has been published in The New York Times, Time Magazine, The New Yorker, and The Wall Street Journal, as well as in a variety of children’s books.
Some of Mr. Colon’s original art is currently on display in the Anne Reid ‘72 Art Gallery at Princeton Day School.
Filling this year’s author slot is Ms. Appelt, who has authored more than 30 books for children and young adults.
Ms. Appelt has won a variety of national and state awards including the Irma and Simon Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature, the Children’s Choice Award, the Teacher’s Choice Award, and the Oppenheimer Gold Award, among others.
She teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts, working in the masters of fine arts program in writing for children and young adults.
Mr. Lewis is an American poet and writer known for his children’s poems.
A one-time professor of economics, Mr. Lewis has devoted all of his time to writing since 1998, writing numerous poems and more than 60 children’s books, like “A Hippopotamusn’t”, “BoshBlobberBosh”, and “God Made the Skunk”.”
Previous artists and authors who have taken part in the Imagine the Possibilities program include author Mary Pope Osborne, poet Paul Muldoon, author Angela Johnson, poet Georgia Heard, and artist Kadir Nelson.
The program has previously featured Janet Wong, a local poet, who eventually became a Princeton Day School parent when her child enrolled at the school, said Michelle Reuss, the school’s communications director.
Ms. Gallagher, the program’s coordinator, said she works with teachers to select artists who can work with students across all grade levels, or “divisions”,” so students from the entire school can take part in the program.
”I think it’s really important to share the talents across divisions,” said Ms. Gallagher. “I make sure (they) can resonate with the students, and that they can talk to a 3-year-old or a 14-year-old.”
The program has traditionally featured a visual artist, an author, and a poet since its inception in 1996, according to school officials.

