You may not have heard of author Suzanne Selfors, but ask a 10-year-old, and they probably have a book written by her.

Selfors, from Bainbridge Island, is a national bestselling author of more than 20 children’s books. She visited students at Hillcrest Elementary Friday as part of the Sno-Isle Libraries Mega-Fun, Biblio-Trivia, Rockem-Sockem Third Grade Reading Challenge.

Say that three times fast.

It’s a program for public school students in Snohomish and Island counties that encourages children to enjoy reading and hone their literacy and teamwork skills.

The children read up to six books and compete in teams against other schools in a knowledge bowl style competition.

“They are so motivated,” said Jane Lopez-Santillana, a children’s librarian at Sno-Isle Libraries Oak Harbor branch. “They enjoy the experience without it feeling like a test.”

Teachers have told her students who struggled with reading discover they like it after participating in the program.

Sno-Isle tries to choose books for both “high and low” readers that demonstrate diverse backgrounds and situations that would appeal to a broad range of children.

Indeed, when the librarian asked the assembled third graders at Hillcrest whether they liked the books, every hand shot up in the room.

And were the kids surprised they liked them? All the hands shot up again.

Selfors wrote one of the six books in this year’s competition. “The Sasquatch Escape” is the story of two kids who discover that the town’s veterinarian runs a secret hospital for imaginary creatures.

Elementary schools in Oak Harbor don’t get too many author visits, mainly because Whidbey Island is out of the way for most regional authors, said principal Paula Seaman.

The third graders at Hillcrest loved Selfors and her books. They came clutching copies for her to sign. Hands waved in the air when she asked them to help her come up with some new story ideas and characters.

Selfors started writing at age 39 when her daughter headed off to first grade and she realized she had some time on her hands.

She wrote two adult novels and received 12 rejection letters from publishers. She switched to children’s novels, after watching kids play in a tidepool. She imagined the most interesting thing she could find in a tidepool -— a baby mermaid. That premise became the first of her books, some of which are written under a pseudonym.

“If you really want to do it — stick with it,” she advised the students. It’s advice she wishes someone had given her at that age.

Hillcrest Elementary third grader Saxon Gluth, 9, seemed a little in awe. He described the author as “nice and funny” — just exactly the way he thought she would be after reading her books.

“I never met anyone like her,” he said. “I really like her books.”

The semifinals for local schools is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. March 16 at Oak Harbor Elementary.