Behind the Books: A Great Week in Vermont

I had the great pleasure of spending last week with the students and teachers at Orchard School in South Burlington, Vermont. I spoke to the smart, curious K-2 students about bats and birds and frogs as well as the writing and book-making process. The enthusiastic grade 3-5 classes met with me twice for in-depth programs […]

Behind the Books: Wow!

School visit season is in full swing, which means I’m spending most of my days traveling around New England, meeting students and teachers. Every school visit is fun and special because each school brings their own creativity to the day. At Pollard School in New Hampshire, students got ready for my visit by doing readers […]

Behind the Books: A Look at Plagiarism

When I do school visits, the topic of plagiarism and piracy often come up. Well, actually it’s usually teachers who bring in up during the Q & A at the end of my presentation. My feeling is that the concept shouldn’t even be mentioned until grade 3. I think it’s fine for K-2 writers to […]

Behind the Books: A New Normal?

I began doing school visits in 2000, and for 13 years the pattern was the same. –No school visits in September. Teachers and students are busy getting used to one another and their new routines. –Plenty of school visits in October and early November. –No school visits in late November and December. The holidays are […]

Why I Love School Visits

This year I’ve had some of my most fun school visits ever. Last week, I ended my school visit season with a bang by visiting grades K-3 at Swift River School in New Salem, MA and grades 3-5 at Birch Hill School in Nashua, NH. The teachers and librarians at both schools had done a […]

Friday Fun: Why I Love School Visits

Last week I had a terrific visit with the students and teachers at Griswold Elementary School in Connecticut. The minute I walked into the school, I knew it was going to be a great day. Everywhere I looked I could see signs that the kids were well prepared and enthusiastic about my visit. The hard-working […]

Behind the Books: School Visit Season

I’ve been doing school visits for more than a decade and I’ve seen some big changes over the years. Up until about 5 years ago most schools preferred to hire fiction authors. But now, my friends who write fiction are complaining that school visit invitations are few and far between. My experience has been just […]

Take a Look: Playing with Dirt and Rocks

I recently spent the day at Armstrong Elementary School in Westborough, MA. My visit came in the midst of the first graders unit on rocks and soil, so we had a blast. First the students put on their thinking caps to decide whether or not some mysterious-looking objects I gave them were rocks or not. […]

Take a Look: Interactive Read Aloud

Here I am reading A Place for Frogs to 100 kindergarteners at the Salisbury Universty Children’s Literature Festival. I was worried about 100 wiggly bottoms, but those kids were great. They all stay focused. What was the secret of my success? Having them particpate the repetitive phrase “frogs can live and grow” on each spread. Thanks to […]

Friday Fun: A Very Special School Visit

I’ve been spending a lot of time at schools this year, but last Friday was a special treat. I was at Pownal Elementary School in Pownal, Maine. Pownal isn’t just any town in Maine. It’s where my brother and his family lives. And Pownal Elementary isn’t just any school. It’s where my two nieces and […]