Archive for School Visits

The Artist’s Name Is Jeffrey

May 7, 2025 / / No comments

 

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On a recent school visit to Ichabod Crane Middle School — grades 4 & 5, oddly enough — or is it Intermediate? — I get so confused — anyway, moving right along — I noticed a bulletin board welcoming me to the school. Always a thoughtful touch. And there was a portrait of yours truly, based on a photo that still floats around the internet, long after I lost the hat I was wearing, along with a degree of youthfulness.

Later in the day, I had a chance to meet the artist, Jeffrey Dedrick, and asked for a photo. He obliged. For a young rapscallion, Jeffrey sure has talent. He made me look good! Jeffrey even managed to capture my lopsided, lazy right eye.

How did he know?

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Category: School Visits / Tags: , , ,

Here’s A Quick Video from James Preller to Share with Your Students

April 13, 2025 / / No comments

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I originally made this video a couple of years back and, coming across it today, I felt that the message about the value of reading was still relevant.

Maybe a librarian or teacher out there would like to share it.

Or, okay, not!

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Category: Fun Clips, In the Classroom, School Visits / Tags: , ,

School Visit Vibes: Photos & Captions

April 9, 2025 / / No comments

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We talked about Kurt Vonnegut’s dictum, “Make awful things” happen in relation to my book Blood Mountain. What rotten, horrible things can we do to these poor characters in order to show the reader what they are made of?

Well, young readers — I’ve learned — are frighteningly good at this stuff. Full to overflowing with awful ideas! Maybe they should be writers, too?

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PRO TIP: I sit when I present to the Prek-K crowd. I go soft and gentle. And it’s lovely and warm.

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After reading Two Birds and a Moose, I tell them about the upcoming title, Two Ballerinas and a Moose. Fortunately, we had some real, live ballerinas in the room who were delighted to come up and demonstrate some of the basic moves.

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Lately for grades 3-4, I’ve opened up by talking about Character, Setting, and Plot in relation to one of my new “Scary Tales” paperback (3 stories in 1). These stories always get their rapt attention, so it’s the strong opening I need. Note: I stand for the big kids.

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THANK YOU, ANNEMARIE & TO ALL THE GOOD FOLKS AT KENSINGTON ROAD ELEMENTARY!

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Category: School Visits / Tags: , , , , ,

“SHAKEN” Selected to the 2025 Kansas NEA Reading Circle List

April 2, 2025 / / No comments

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It was one of those happy times when my editor, Liz Szabla, sends me an email that begins, “I am excited to tell you . . . .”

These days, or maybe since time immemorial, authors usually receive emails that begin with the words “unfortunately” or “sadly” or “regrettably.”

Then the message gets worse after that. 

But not so on this fine, sunny morning!

My middle-grade novel, Shaken, still less than half a year old, was selected to be on the 2025 Kansas NEA Reading Circle List. 

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And no, I’m not exactly sure what any of that means. But I do know that these state lists are important for raising the profile of a book, and for getting those books into the hands of teachers and students.

Doing some quick research, I learned this: Since 1926, KNEA has published a list of recommended books by reading level as a service for school librarians and classroom teachers. 

MANY THANKS, KIND FOLKS IN KANSAS!

I’D LOVE TO VISIT YOUR SCHOOLS NEXT YEAR, GIVE ME A JINGLE!

 

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Category: School Visits, Shaken / Tags: , , , , ,

My Favorite Color Is . . .

February 19, 2025 / / No comments

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When I visit schools, young readers often ask questions in superlatives. What’s my favorite book? My favorite author, color, food, etc. And perhaps because I am an adult, I tend not to think about things in those terms. So I always fumble for answers, offering lame responses, since nothing I say makes sense to me. Except for color. I have, at last, a satisfactory answer to that one.
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My favorite color is gray.
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It wasn’t always that way. I guess it grew on me.
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(Sidenote: For blog purposes, I have to categorize posts. I didn’t know whether to put this under “School Visits” or “Scary Tales.”)
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Category: School Visits / Tags: , ,
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