School speaking events are often tied to a theme or part of the curriculum. Librarians also book authors across year levels. Show teachers and librarians how your book and workshop aligns with what schools are doing, and what year levels it would be suited to.
—Benefits of author visits:
-Hostingauthor/illustrator visits are a wonderful way to create excitement about books

-Reading is fun and educational

-Combine science with fun!

-I host Interactive workshops in the k-3 age range

-Engaging children's natural curiosity about the world.

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***The teaching value of creative non-fiction—

A teacher who bought Octopus Escapes Again said: “My students loved this book and were able to learn so much about an octopus without realizing they were conducting "research."
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workshops

"VISUAL" LITERACY WORKSHOPS-developing both observational and writing skills
-Picture books rely heavily on art to clarify, illuminate and enhance a story.
-K-3
In this workshop:
A--Kids become writers and artists--they create their very own stories with both pictures and words (picture book).

What is learned:
-They explore how the both the pictures and words go together to create a story.
-Provides emerging readers insight into how the pictures give clues about the story--how the pictures and text are related--are connected.
--observation skills--kids pay close attention to the pictures
--compare and contrast--

1--Kids become information "detectives"!
I discuss the importance of research and ways to explore, inquire and discover how to organize their research.

2--What does it feel like to be a bird?
(read article--"what it feels like to be a bee")
-After reading my book "Perch Paddle Climb", I invite kids to pretend to be one of the birds in the book. They search for food using each particular foot adaptation in their particular habitat.
-Kids explore, inquire and discover ways to find ideas for a story, and how to gather and organize information to make a story.

LISTEN!
Click on the links below:

GREAT HORNED OWL HOOTING

RED BELLIED WOODPECKER DRUMMING

Exerpt from Carol Malnor, editor at Dawn Publications:
The WOW! Factor consists of the elements of a book that cause readers to exclaim, “Wow, I didn’t know that!” or “Wow, that’s really cool!”
However, the WOW! Factor is much more than the simple reporting of amazing information or incredible facts. There is a host of books that abound with isolated tidbits of information. A well-crafted book also embeds those facts within the context of a story. Stories put science into a meaningful context—one that engages the reader through personal connections. So, too, must the passion and excitement of the writer be evident to readers or a book becomes nothing more than a compendium of random data.
When children read WOW! Factor books, they gain a true appreciation for science in their everyday lives. When combined with the elements of good storytelling those facts become personal and intensely meaningful. Children begin to sense that learning about the world in which they live is a passionate affair—one that puts all the senses on full alert—and one shared by the author as well as the reader. To offer less is to deny children the joy of discovery and the thrill of adventure that waits under one rock or up in a tall tall tree!

The teaching value of creative non-fiction—

A teacher who bought Octopus Escapes Again said: “My students loved this book and were able to learn so much about an octopus without realizing they were conducting "research."