Tag Archive for James Preller photos

PHOTO DUMP: School Visits

June 9, 2026 / / No comments

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I’ll be honest: Sometimes I look at photos that I receive from school visits and it’s a little bit stunning. There I am, speaking to all these kids, dancing as fast as I can. It’s such an honor — a privilege that I don’t take lightly. And, yes, there’s pride, too. I’m good at this. I may not be able to fix a car or figure out the television, but I can talk books and writing with young people and keep them happy and engaged and, for some of them, even inspired. 

Below is just a random assortment of shots with no particular rhyme or reason. A variety of settings. Sometimes it’s a cozy visit with kids on the library floor, or some bigger with older audiences in an auditorium. And everything in between. 

The one type of photo I’m missing here is from all those one-on-one moments that take place after a talk, or during smaller “cookies & conversation” sessions. Just me and some kid, an author and a reader, talking. I love those unscripted moments.

For the majority of an author visit, I am broadcasting. That’s the nature of the arrangement. I am putting out signals and messages. But in my real life, and as a curious writer, I am much more interested in receiving. The give-and-take. 

Lastly, again: Please consider me for an author visit to your school, no matter where in the country that might be. I love it when a school district teams up and can offer me 3-5 days of visits (at a discount). I’ve never figured out how to promote visits; I’ve always gotten work (and much needed revenue) via word of mouth. Unlike most authors, I have a range of age-appropriate books for readers PreK-8. And by virtue of being old as dust, I do bring a lot of experience to the table. Thanks for the thought. 

Anyway, enough of that!

 

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AND IT’S A WRAP!

GOODBYE TO THE 2025-26 SCHOOL YEAR. 

Write to me at [email protected] and we can discuss the details to see if I’m the right fit for your students.

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Category: School Visits / Tags: , , ,

Thankful for a Thousand Different Reasons

November 23, 2022 / / No comments

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I’m lucky in a thousand different ways. I realize that. And one of those ways is that I get invited to participate in children’s book festivals. Rochester, Chappaqua, Hudson, Princeton, Morristown, Thousand Islands, Warwick, all over. Best of all, sometimes I even get invited back.

The continuity becomes part of the experience for organizers, authors, and attendees. I used to think that people would get tired of seeing the same authors and illustrators sitting behind tables — it’s important to bring in fresh faces, diverse talent — but there’s a particular beauty to the familiarity. The kid who you saw last year, or two years ago, coming back for another book, another conversation. But this time reaching for a title that’s a little longer, a little older. Or maybe just completing a series, finding that last book for the autographed collection.

Last time in Chappaqua, a familiar face strode up to the table. A good-looking kid, clear-eyed, sturdy & athletic, still wearing soccer gear, still smiling. He knew me and I knew him. “You’re back!” I said. He grinned. There had been a few meetings over the years, now stretching out across the wide pandemic. I was grayer, he was taller. His mother asked, once again, for a photograph. And in turn I wondered if she had kept any of the old ones.

A week later, she sent these along with a brief note: “Below are the photos from the Chappaqua book fair that you requested. It was amazing to see you again, and I loved talking to you as always.”

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Like I said, I’m a lucky guy.

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P.S. Hey, my friend, if you ever do start that soccer blog, please let me know. I’d love to read your work for a change!

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Category: Fan Mail, Happenings, Upstander / Tags: , , ,

Author Visit Revisited: Action Sequence!

March 26, 2018 / / No comments

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I was recently sent a whole mess of photos from a recent school visit, so here’s a sampling. Note: I sit for very young readers (very quiet and calm for the kindergartners), stand for everybody else.

Of course, the best shots are of the faces looking up at me — eager, excited, bored, inspired, amused — but it’s perhaps not my place to post too many faces on the internet. So I humbly give you a Jimmy Overdose.

All I can add is that I consider it a great honor and responsibility (sort of like Spidey Powers) to enter a school and speak before young audiences. It is also, mostly, a lot of fun. One of the best parts of my job. I try to make a positive impact. Share my enthusiasm for reading, writing, thinking, literacy, creativity . . . and hope that my visit helps create a few sparks.

Now is the best time to start planning school visits for new year. In 2018, I’ve already spent a week in Texas and a week in Ohio, in addition to my normal circuit in New York, New Jersey, etc.

I’m ready to hop on a plane to visit schools near you.

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Category: School Visits / Tags: ,

Gone Camping: Smiles All Around!

August 25, 2014 / / No comments

Actually, we’ve just returned from our annual weekend camping trip to Forked Lake Campgrounds. There’s something so comforting and yet revelatory about tradition. You go back, do the same thing every year, more or less with the same people, but each time feels unique. Familiar, yet changed in small ways. A big part of that is our children, growing up before our eyes. The kid you used to watch like a hawk is now out on the kayak, muscles rippling.

This year school year our oldest will be a senior in Geneseo. He missed the trip, already gone. The middle child, Gavin, enters 10th grade; he’ll begin the year on the JV Volleyball team — a new sport for him. Our youngest, Maggie, just 13, enters 8th grade.

They are growing up.

Here’s a fun snap taken in Long Lake, outside of Hoss’s legendary (Triple-S’s!) store. That’s Gavin in the Cape Cod sweatshirt; Maggie, standing beside him, apple in hand; I’m up above in gray (shirt and hair), fondling the bear; and Lisa, my wife, is on the other side in the light-blue tee and vest. Those other folks? No idea how they got in there.

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Category: Family / Tags: , ,

Four Old Family Photos

May 29, 2012 / / No comments

Busy day yesterday, as I drove down to CitiField (300 miles round trip) with Gavin and Nick to catch the Mets. My attendance record stands now at 0-3, and each game fairly abysmal. This is the price I pay, I tell myself, for being in attendance for Game 5 of the 1969 World Series, when the Amazin’s won it all and later went on The Ed Sullivan Show to sing, “The Impossible Dream.” Oh well, my boys were happy. It was a sweltering day, the sun beating down on our heads, and I spent more than $40 on water at the park.

Water!

Anyway, I wanted to post two photos yesterday for the holiday . . .

My father served in the Air Force. This photo was taken during his basic training in Tennessee, 1944. He wrote on the back of the photo, presumably sent to his parents in Queens, NY: “Here I am all dressed up. My hat is on cockeyed. Don’t I look independent?”

My brother Bill, the second oldest in the family, served in Vietnam. I figure this shot for somewhere in 1967-68. I remember when he was over the there, and the body counts on the nightly news, a little boy wondering, hoping. When he came home, I ran and jumped into his arms.

When you warm up the old scanner, it’s hard to stop. This is from my sister Barbara’s 8th-grade graduation from St. Frances de Chantel in Wantagh, NY. Back in in June, 1965, when the number one songs for the month were: “Help Me, Rhonda,” The Beach Boys; “Back in My Arms Again,” The Supremes; “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),” The Four Tops; and “Mr. Tambourine Man,” The Byrds.

Music was really, really great when I was a kid. And it was about to get even better. (I think 1967 was the best year for music in the 20th century, since you asked.)

I used to be two years old. Go figure. This is from April, 1963, and I’m next to my sister Jean, age 5, going on 6. She was something with those straight bangs. On school visits, I’ll sometimes joke that there are no photos of me, because nobody bothers taking pictures of Kid #7. There’s truth in that, of course, but I’ve found some scattered old photos, too. Usually I’m standing next to somebody else, or a brother’s new car. These photos have become my small treasures.

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Category: Family / Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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