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Cost
and Availability |
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My
rates are reasonable, and travel expenses can be kept to a minimum with
enough lead time. Whenever possible, I try to schedule multiple days
in the same area so that schools can share travel expenses. (If you have
special financial concerns, please don't hesitate to let me know.)
For information about
available dates and my rates, please
contact me by e-mail.
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Number of
Presentations |
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A full day visit includes up to four
presentations. Each presentation can be different depending upon your
needs. I am also happy to give an extra presentation to teachers or
parents, before or after school.
I am always willing to eat lunch (or
share a snack) with
students (sometimes this is a select group of student writers or simply
students who are interested in meeting an author or sometimes students
who have won some type of contest). Use your imagination and dream up an
activity; I have done "Donuts with Deem," pizza
parties...whatever it takes to give kids a memorable day.
I schedule half
day visits (one or two presentations) only in my local area (Tucson, Arizona).
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Size of Audience |
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As a
former college
professor who taught reading, writing, and study skills, I am comfortable speaking to any
size group. However, smaller groups will probably benefit a little more from a presentation. The
key to a good presentation is the amount of preparation the students
have had before the visit. Even a very large group can benefit if they
have been well-prepared.
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Preparation |
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Children who
know about me or my books ahead of time will get much more out of the presentation.
Students who have read one of my books will benefit the most.
To help prepare students for a visit, I
have posted two scavenger hunts. One is
a website hunt; the other is a catalog hunt. Both may be used as is, or revised to better suit your purposes.
At Lounsberry Hollow, students who had the most correct answers were given an autographed
copy of one of my books.
Study guides to help teachers introduce my nonfiction books are
available. A teacher's guide for my
novel, 3 NBs of Julian Drew,
is also available. I'm happy to provide any other information that will help teachers or
students get to know me in advance; just let me know what you need.
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Follow-up |
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At the end of
my presentation, I share my website address with children and ask them to visit it and, if
they wish, write me.
As you can see, my website has many things for children to read and
think about, to reinforce my message about reading and writing. I also take a camera to my
presentations. When possible, I post a few photos to my website (hopefully by
the next day) as well as a letter to the children. This, I hope, keeps the experience fresh in children's
minds.
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Book Sales
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I
am always happy to autograph books when I make a school visit. I don't
sell books myself, but books can be ordered from your local supplier or
from my
publishers (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Enslow) who will offer a
substantial discount when I make an appearance. I can provide you with
contact information; please e-mail me
for more information.
If you choose to offer my books for sale,
it is helpful if you organize a pre-sale of my books to students and
staff. Here
are some suggestions for conducting a pre-sale. And here is a flyer
(.pdf) that you can adapt for use in a
pre-sale.
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