AURORA - For author and illustrator Daniel Kirk, spending time talking to children gives him a chance to connect with his young audience.

“When my kids were younger, I used to read them all my stories,” Kirk said Saturday morning at the Aurora Free Library. “If it pleased them, I knew that I had something.”

Now that his children are grown, he relies on the opportunities he has to talk to kids at libraries and schools to gauge his readers' reactions to his work.

“Being an author is a solitary occupation, most of the time. It's nice to get out and share with kids because that's who I spend all of my time working for,” Kirk said.

“We've had a tremendous crowd here,” Sandra Groth, the library director, said. “This has been the most successful visit from an author we've had. He really connected with the children here.”

One gentleman came all the way from the other side of Syracuse with his grandson.

He wants to be a writer so he was interested in meeting Kirk and learning about what being an author is like, Groth said.

Sara Wells brought her two children hoping that meeting a writer might encourage them to explore their own talents.

“That was kind of my hope bringing my kids here today. That they might be inspired to bring out whatever creativity they have, either writing or drawing or whatever else,” Wells said.

One of Kirk's books, “The Library Mouse,” is all about discovering the “creative impulse,” Kirk said.

He hopes that his work and visits can help encourage them to explore their imaginations.

“When they realize that they can make their own stuff up instead of watching what's on the television it's really an empowering moment,” Kirk said.

Kirk's visit to the library was the last in the Family Arts Series which brings various performers for all ages to enjoy, Groth said. This year, the library worked with the local elementary schools where Kirk also presented.

“We weren't sure what the turnout was going to be like since most of the children had already seen them in school,” Groth said.

“This time they were invited to bring their families and anything they wanted signed though and it has gone very well. It was a win-win situation for the school and us,” she said. “We'd love to try and do it again.”