Tag Archive for James Preller school visits

Brochures Get Old . . . School Visits Never Do!

February 23, 2022 / / No comments

 

Here’s the “book side” of a two-page brochure I made for school visits — not too long before the pandemic shut us down. 

Missing here is Upstander, a sequel to Bystander, published in 2021. 

And coming soon . . . 

Fairy House in May, 2022, in a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure format. 

And a new series, EXIT 13, coming in Fall, from Scholastic. Can’t wait to share more about this one. Think: “Schitt’s Creek” meets “Stranger Things” with a touch of Pet Sematary. It’s a middle-grade novel/graphic novel hybrid. Mostly a novel that occasionally breaks out into GN format. Super cool, fast-paced, creepy and mysterious. 

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PLEASE CONTACT ME W/ ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT SCHEDULING A SCHOOL VISIT AT YOUR SCHOOL. I AM UNIQUELY ABLE TO SPEAK TO A WIDE RANGE OF READERS, K-8, WITH BOOKS THAT ARE AGE-APPROPRIATE FOR EACH LEVEL. 

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Category: School Visits / Tags: , ,

Fan Mail Wednesday #309: It’s Easy (and cheap!) to Arrange a Virtual Visit with Your Class

March 25, 2021 / / No comments
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“That was amazing!
The students are beaming and can’t wait
to talk about you!
They also can’t wait to write!”
— Rachel M, 2nd-grade teacher

 

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Here’s a correspondence that I enjoyed with a classroom teacher from Queens, NY. I wish I had more visits with classrooms or entire grade levels. They feel so positive, and cozy, and joyful. I especially believe in book-specific visits, where the class knows my work and we can engage in a lively Q-and-A conversation. I can do this with any title or series. 

Is it terribly expensive? No, nope, not really, no. 

Read on . . .

 

Hello there!

I work at a school in Queens, NY.  Currently, I am the teacher of 30 second graders…was previously the drama teacher:)

My students are fully remote, meaning that they are all home and we learn virtually during the day.

I have been reading your books to them as our read aloud, and they are LOVING them! We have created a class detective notebook, where along with Jigsaw, they write their guesses, clues, thoughts, and suspects.

They have just started their writing unit on realistic fiction.

I was wondering what your pricing was, and if you are still doing virtual visits?

I thought a virtual visit from you, where they can ask you Jigsaw questions, and get some creative writing tips would make them smile from ear to ear!

Please let me know, thank you!

Rachel 

 

I replied . . .

 

Rachel,

Thank you for this lovely note.

I would love to visit with your class.

I like to get $150 for a virtual visit — but if your budget is limited, I’d work with whatever you’ve got that seems fair and reasonable to you.

I appreciate that you share my books with your class.

James Preller

 

And shortly after our visit, Rachel wrote back . . .

 

That was amazing!

The students are beaming and can’t wait to talk about you! They also can’t wait to write!!! 

I may have to give them a whole afternoon of writing time because they are so excited!!

Again, thank you so much. Everything that you said was beyond perfect for them to hear.

Of course their first question was, when can they talk to you again…

So, you may hear from me again and next year and so on and so forth 🙂

I will of course share your information with other teachers and the parent coordinator at my school, who usually shares things with all other schools in the area.

Thank you again for everything, that was a wonderful experience:)

Rachel

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Category: Fan Mail, Jigsaw Jones, School Visits / Tags: , , ,

Thought for Teachers (and Parents!) on a Friday

February 7, 2020 / / No comments

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This meme speaks to a feeling that I experience on school visits every time I make a presentation, or even speak one-on-one with a child. And with that feeling comes an immediate identification with teachers, because I recognize that they must feel it, too, every single day.

As a parent, I’ve experienced it constantly. 

To the point where it must speak to the essence of what it is to be a teacher, to be a parent.

Scattering seeds to the wind.

On visits, I’ll have 45-50 minutes with, say, a group of 200 students. I’ll joke, tell stories, read something, explain my writing process, show photos of my dog, try to pass along my love of literacy, answer questions, maybe even impart bits of wisdom gained in 34 years as a published author. Then time’s up and they dutifully file out of the big room, shuffling off to what comes next.

And I wonder: Did I connect? Did my words make a difference?

Again, I could be talking about my four-mile walk yesterday with my son, Gavin, age 20. Did he hear me? Did I say anything of value? And also, along with that: What did I learn? Was my heart open?

In the end, we have to keep faith that our efforts have meaning. Yes, many the seeds will not thrive. In busy schools, the days are packed. There’s always the next thing, the next thing, the next thing. A flowing river of next things. But we also know that sometimes, for certain kids, those experiences miraculously do stick. A thought, a feeling, an idea clicks. Maybe not today. Maybe in five years it resonates anew.

And maybe the memory of that experience lingers for a lifetime.

Imagine that.

Imagine making that kind of impact on a life.

It’s what teachers do every single day.

The seed finds fertile soil. The rain comes down, the sun shines warmly. And one day a green sprouts lifts its head, says “I am,” and starts to grow. 

All we can do is keep scattering those seeds, doing what we can, hoping for ears that listen, hearts and minds that are open.

Every time I am invited to a school, I am grateful for that opportunity.

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Look for All Welcome Here, by James Preller, illustrated by Mary GrandPre, coming this June.

 

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

Killer Review from SLJ for BLOOD MOUNTAIN

February 1, 2020 / / No comments

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“A thrilling purchase

for middle grade collections;

perfect for fans of adventure novels

by Jean Craighead George,

Peg Kehret, and Gary Paulsen.”

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Gr 4-6–A simple family hike unexpectedly becomes a six-day struggle for survival for two children and their dog. Carter, 11, his sister Grace, 13, and their dog Sitka become separated from their father, who lags behind and suffers a heart attack at the trailhead. The siblings’ situation becomes dire when they realize they’re lost and Grace cannot walk after being severely injured in a fall. Carter sets out on his own to seek help, leaving Grace and Sitka in the forest. Preller, best known for his “Jigsaw Jones” series, ratchets up the urgency, crafting additional threats that shadow the separated children, including a cougar on the prowl and a mysterious mountain man. The result is a page-turning adventure, skillfully using alternating points of view to give readers a direct line to each character’s heartbeat. Readers walk in characters’ footsteps thanks to the vividly realized setting. While both children experience an epiphany regarding their place in the natural world, it’s the strong supporting characters who round out the novel. D.E.C. Ranger Makayla provides fascinating survival facts and mountain man John embodies the novel’s themes of non-materialism and finding oneself. Occasionally graphic, consistently suspenseful, this title will make a lasting impression with an emotionally stirring and complex conclusion. VERDICT A thrilling purchase for middle grade collections; perfect for fans of adventure novels by Jean Craighead George, Peg Kehret, and Gary Paulsen.

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Category: Blood Mountain / Tags: , ,

Summer Hours, School Visits, Free Books

July 1, 2019 / / No comments

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I blinked and July appeared. No, that is not my new secret power. My blinking didn’t cause the calendar to turn. I was more trying to make a point about . . .

Nevermind.

Let’s try this: Whoa, July already!

Over the years, I’ve learned that readership slows during the summer months. In response, I don’t put up as much new content. Think of me as a turtle overwintering in the mud — but it’s summer, and it’s a blog, and there’s really no connection whatsoever.

I mean to say, it’ll be quiet around here, but not silent.

SCHOOL VISITS

Yes, please! Send your queries to me at jamespreller@aol.com. School visits are an important aspect of what I do, the role I play on this planet, and they mean the world to me.

For more information, click on the “School Visits” toward the top of your screen. Or just write to me to get the ball rolling. It’s friendly and personal and you will be dealing directly with me. I’m not a huge consortium of anything. Just Jimmy, trying to earn a living. Happy to speak on the phone.

BOOKS

I have two books coming out this summer. In fact, just got my complimentary author’s supply in the mail, a big box of The Big Idea Gang: Bee the Change.

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I like this series a lot, and I’ve been grateful for the positive reviews.

To me, these are political books that came directly out of our current reality. These are simple stories about empowerment, about young people making a difference in our world. And by featuring persuasive writing as a subtext, the books help provide some of the tools that are necessary for changing minds, for becoming powerful instruments of positive change. Hopefully they will be inspiring to a new generation of budding activists. Check them out.

Or, hey: If you are a classroom teacher or school librarian interested in sharing these books with your students, drop me a line at jamespreller@aol.com. Make the subject heading: FREE BOOK. I’ll sign it and send it out to you while supplies last. 

On August 6th, we’ll see the publication of an all-new Jigsaw Jones title, The Case of the Hat Burglar. I’m so happy with this book. I had written 40 books about Jigsaw and Mila, and then there was a long fallow period when I was off writing other things (Six Innings, Bystander, The Courage Test, Better Off Undead, etc). I didn’t think I’d ever get the chance to visit those characters again. But things changed, opportunity knocked, and I was able to write a new Jigsaw Jones book after about ten years away. Thing is, I believe I’m a better writer today than I was 22 years ago when I wrote the first book in the series.

Thank you, faithful readers, so grateful you stopped by. Have a great summer — and please think of me for school visits. It’s one of my favorite things in the world to do.

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Category: Big Idea Gang, Jigsaw Jones, School Visits / Tags: , , , , ,
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