I am a nine-times published author of children’s books. I've enjoyed
positive press in the Library Journal as well as Publisher’s
Weekly. My cartoon gags have appeared in more than 600 newspapers worldwide.
A 1982 graduate of John Carroll University, my essays and articles have
appeared in local and national magazines and newspapers. One of my works
has recently been recognized with a International Reading Association/Children's
Book Council "Children’s Choice Award," making the list with Shel Silverstein
and Roald Dahl. My books have been read on Minnesota Public Radio, and
the Junior
Library Guild placed an advance order of 4,000 copies for A Mink,
A Fink, A Skating Rink: What is a Noun?
Yes! I give a 30-60 minute "stand-up comedy" talk about my rise from an odd, quirky kid with a short attention span, to an odd, quirky adult with a short attention span. I've spoken at a number of International Reading Association meetings, and would be happy to provide you with references.
It depends on the grade level, but here are some scenarios. I can do a large, presentation-style gathering with an overhead, and microphone, in which I read from one of my books, and students volunteer answers, for instance, to what the double meanings are in pun words such as perch, china, cantaloupe, etc., or what it means to go to Grandpa's farm and ride on Istanbul. This teaches kids to play with words, and they teach each other the double meanings.
In small groups, such as a typical class (18-28) we break the group into four tables. First I explain what anagrams (like saint, satin, stain) are, what palindromes (like radar, racecar, did, bob) are, and a little bit about writing short verse or poetry. Each table has an assignment for the next 20 minutes and I drift around and help out, as does the teacher. One table is going to draft a list of as many anagrams as they can. We might say "The record, so far, is 26. See if you can beat that." Another table is going to write a story which includes as many palindromes as they can in a story that makes (at least a little) sense. A third table will finish the last two lines of a four line verse (which I've written the first two lines for), thereby co-writing a piece with a published author! They can illustrate the verse if they've got time remaining. The fourth group is frequently made up of kids who find these other activities frustrating and they try to roster a list of as many words as they can possibly derive from the full name of their school.
For older kids (junior high), I've had better luck talking to them more as an author who can answer a lot of career-type questions about publishing, and what it's like, and how to go about doing it, and what is good to read, etc.
Getting down to business with the wee folks.
While I have done K-8 in my many visits, I usually end up with more first or second thru sixth graders. The noun, verb and adjective books are great for first through third and the pun books are good for 2nd through 6th, depending on the book and the group.
A custom cake - one of the many cool things I've encountered
during an author visit to an elementary school.
Yes, but it is not at all a prerequisite for my visit that the books be made available. I simply offer them if there's enough interest.
Locally (that's the greater Cleveland area) I charge $590 for a half-day and $850 for a full-day. I'm willing to travel, but it's a bit more expensive. That runs $1,250 for a full-day plus travel and hotel. If a school or PTA can commit to buying a total of 100 books, (remember, I have 7 titles to choose from, so that's fewer than 15 copies of each) I can usually arrange to get a price from the publisher that allows the organization to pocket about $500, thereby funding much of the cost of a visit.
By phone, I'm at 216-889-1799. I can be reached via e-mail at BabeRuth60@aol.com (make sure in the little subject box you put school visit or author visit, because I receive a lot of junk e-mail which goes unopened).