Index
Visiting Schools is a good way for me to meet my
readers! And it is a good way for my readers to find out how
I ‘make’ the books
they are reading. My aim is to encourage kids to write, illustrate
. . . and read.
My schedule fills up quickly; if you are interested in a visit, please book at
least 6 months in advance.
My
Program
I do an interactive program, talking about publishing,
writing and illustrating.
My program is best suited to K-4, although I often present a
more in-depth program to
grades 5–6.
Slides
I use Apple Keynote (similar to Powerpoint) to tell the
story about how I wrote and illustrated my first stories, where
I got my ideas and how I eventually found a publisher. The slides
include pictures of my family, my animals, my editor and of me
as a young reader.
With older students, I talk a little more about
the writing and illustration process and what publishers do.
(I will bring my own Apple powerbook and can
also bring my projector, if necessary.)
Drawing a story
With students making suggestions,
I draw the first couple of pages of a story. How does the story
end? That’s up to the students
to figure out back in their classrooms. I will leave my drawings
with the school.
NOTE—This exercise is most valuable if teachers
make some time after the presentation to work on the story!
Questions and Answers
I welcome any questions. Students who are well acquainted
with my books often have many.
Arrangements
How to set up a visit
You can contact
me through my website or contact Debbie Turvey at VisitingAuthors.com.
Visiting Authors handles all arrangements for my school visits
and speaking engagements and will answer questions about fees,
availability, travel, lodging, contracts and anything else you
might need to know.
Preparing
your students
Be sure you have enough time to prepare!
In many schools, librarians read my books to the students.
It is
also helpful if the teachers, whose students are attending
my
program, are familiar with my books. I would recommend that
each teacher be given:
- A copy of my school program description
- My web site address,
www.christelow.com
- A list of my books
Reading
All students should be familiar with my books!
I've found the more prepared the students are, the more
they get out of my program. So, READ! READ! READ! Read AS
MANY DIFFERENT titles as possible. I know I'm famous for
the monkey books, but I've written many other popular
titles!
Start reading my books at least six weeks before my visit.
Discussion
Discuss what an author/illustrator does. Read my books, What Do Authors
Do? and What Do Illustrators Do? Discuss what questions students might
want to ask. (With the youngest students, talk about what a question
is.)
Projects
Teachers and students have created plays, bulletin
boards with graphs, charts, illustrations and stories, word
games, puppets, quilts. . .all pertaining to my stories.
These projects seem to generate a lot of excitement and enthusiasm
about the author's visit.
Need project ideas? Look at the "Classroom
Connections " page on my website.
Thanks to schools in Ohio and Iowa! They sure were excited
about the pig books!
Autographing
and Book Sales
Signing Books
I am happy to autograph
books with a signature and drawing. Each book should have a slip
of paper with the FIRST name of the person to whom it is to be
autographed. I prefer not to autograph books while students are
waiting in line. (It takes much longer and in my experience,
all that waiting is hard on students and stressful for everyone.)
I will also provide a template
for a signed and illustrated bookmark which you can run off on
a copier. This will give everyone an autograph.
Book Sales
The best reason to
have an author/illustrator visit is to make books come alive
and to motivate kids to read. For this reason, most of the schools
I visit feel that it is important for the students to have a
chance to own a book, Houghton Mifflin makes my books available
for author visits at a substantial discount. Most schools pass
on part of the discount to their students and use the remainder
to raise funds for the next author visit.Many find this a
very successful and relatively painless fund-raiser. In some
schools the PTO/ PTA handles this part of the author visit.
Don’t
be afraid to order extra books! It’s amazing
how many people suddenly want books the day I visit. Unsold
books can be returned to the publisher. The invoice is paid
after the author event. You pay only for the books you sell
plus shipping.
You can also order books through
VisitingAuthors.com. The discount is not as big, but the advantage
is that they deal with the publisher and can help you decide
how many books to order, etc.
Checklist for Author Visit
A month
or two before the visit
Start reading my books! Do you have
at least eight or nine different titles available in the school
library? Are the students and teachers reading them?
The teachers
should have
-
My school program description
-
My website address
-
A list
of my books and access to as many titles as possible.
Book Orders
-
-
Make an order form to send
home with students.
Equipment—a week or two
before the visit, check to
see if you have
-
A microphone Does it work?
(needed if the groups are large)
We can discuss whether I need to bring my projector.
-
A large
roll of white art paper If I'm going to speak to
large
groups, they must be able to see what I am drawing! We will
need to
cut at least 3 sheets, 4-5 ft long for each group. Do you
have scissors
to cut the paper? Drafting/Masking tape to put it up?
-
A surface
big enough to mount the paper on - a moveable black
board, a large table on end or a smooth wall
-
A few large
black markers
-
A schedule I'd like to know what the schedule
will be. I'd like to
know what grade levels and how many children will be in each
session.
If I am driving, I'll need to be sure that I can arrive at
your school in
time. I'll need directions on how to get there.
If you have any questions, please e-mail
me through my website.
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