Anatomy of an Author Visit Prep Packet

When a school signs up for an author visit, I send the school a confirmation packet filled with goodies that a librarian or teacher can use to prepare students for my program. Here is a sneak peek of the contents.

1 – Letter to the school confirming the date.

2 – Hardcover copy of Polliwog.

3 - Hardcover copy of Tiny Snail.

4 - Hardcover copy of “Sea Horse, run!”.

5 - Hardcover copy of Kaleidonotes.

6 – Four bookmarks (one for each book).

7 – Activity for Kaleidonotes.

8 - Activities for Tiny Snail including…
“Tiny Snail taught me…” Activity (For Bulletin Board)
Teacher’s Guide for Tiny Snail

9 - Activities for Polliwog including…
Frog Life Cycle Activity (Color, Cut, & Paste)
Teacher’s Guide to Polliwog

10 - Activities for “Sea Horse, run!” including…
“Sea Horse, run!” Teacher’s Guide.
Sea Horse Diagram
Brain Coral Maze
Draw Sea Horse with a Dot-to-Dot Activity

11 – DVD with videos of the books and me as the narrator.
Video of Tiny Snail.
Video of Kaleidonotes.
Video of Polliwog (English).
Video of Polliwog (Spanish).
“Sea Horse, run!” video is only available on the DVD.

12 – Timetable for a Successful Author Visit.

13 – Author Photo.

14 – Invoice for author visit fee and travel expenses.

15 – Book flyers for students who want to purchase books.

16 – Shipping label.

(17 )- FAQ by Teachers & Administrators / Program Outline for K-5 (not pictured above).

Want an author visit at your school?

Email books @ bookaroos.com for cost and availability in your area.

Fan Mail From Liberty Christian School

As I sorted through a large pile of envelopes on my desk this afternoon, I found a stack of fan mail from students at Liberty Christian School. Here is a sample of pictures and letters the children made for me. (Read my original blog post about the author visit at Liberty Christian on November 1, 2011.)

“Sea Horse, run!” and TINY SNAIL covers drawn by Hayden B.

TINY SNAIL cover drawn by Emily C.

TINY SNAIL cover drawn by Madison.

Polliwog cover drawn by Hayden S.

TINY SNAIL cover drawn by Tye.

A few students simply wrote letters instead of drawing a picture. This student forgot to sign their letter, but TINY SNAIL‘s message of perseverance and never give up made a big impression:

“Thank you help me want to read more and to learn more of things learn as much I can and inspir’d me to write a book and write and try and never stop from your book the snail book”

*     *     *     *     *

Thankfully one student found my program both inspiring and entertaining:

“Thank you for coming. It helped me to do beter [better] in things. My favorite part was when you droo [drew] a frog. You inspired me to never give up. You’re very funny. Love Laura”

*     *     *     *     *

“Dear Mr. and Mrs. Bronson,

I have always wanted to be a writer. I have [been] making up stories since I was three years old. Thank you for coming and talking to us about your books. My favorite book is ‘SEA HORSE, RUN!’. I really want to do picture books. Thank you for coming to the school and sharing about your books. You should keep writing!

Avery”

*     *     *     *     *

One student sent their letter in a separate envelope they decorated especially for me!

“Dear Mr. & Mrs. Bronson,

I had a great time when you came to our school and I really like your cute books and I can’t wait to read new ones that you wrote! I love to write and illustrate. I also want to be the same thing you are right now! You inspired  me that its not those big animals that always matter. Your books tell us that even the smallest creatures are very special because God made them that way! Thanks!

Love from Liberty Christian

Bella

TIP: Keep writing!”

I will keep writing, Bella!

*     *     *     *     *

A BIG thank you to ALL of the students at Liberty Christian for sending such wonderful pictures and letters. I keep my fan mail, and I will treasure your words of encouragement. You keep writing, too!

Almost 25,000 copies of TINY SNAIL in print

After more than a decade, over 18,000 copies of Tiny Snail are inching their way around the world. Many teachers wanted access to a video of the book for the classroom, so in March 2010 I posted videos of my books on YouTube. Polliwog and Kaleidonotes have been viewed a few hundred times, but in eighteen months the Tiny Snail video has been viewed 2,610 times! Tiny Snail is by far my most popular book, and last week she entered her 10th printing. Our shipment of books arrived  Tuesday, October 25th. Unfortunately the truck did not have a lift, so we unloaded 53 boxes (4,300 copies) by hand.

Tiny Snail Boxes on the Truck

Although a couple of boxes were damaged, the books inside were unharmed.

24,786 copies of Tiny Snail are now in print!

TINY SNAIL	Date	Soft cover	Hard cover
1st Printing	3/18/00	2200
2nd Printing	12/27/01		2200
3rd Printing	9/23/02	5495
4th Printing	12/16/04		2000
5th Printing	4/18/05		500
6th Printing	2/28/07		889
7th Printing	1/28/08	4376
8th Printing	10/25/08		950
9th Printing	10/19/10		1860
10th Printing	10/25/11	4300
	TOTALS	16371	8399

Go, Tiny, go!

Three Author Visits October 12th and 14th

Norma Terrell (Left) and Tammy Carter Bronson (Right).

On the morning of October 12th I drove through a massive downpour to reach Dobbs Elementary in Rockwall, Texas. I don’t like to unload my posters, boxes, and displays in the rain, but thankfully the school had a covered walkway that I could park very close to. About 230 Pre -K through second grade students were inspired to try creating their own stories. Many thanks to the librarian, Norma Terrell, for investing so much time preparing the students for my visit. The children were divided into three groups:

1st Grade 8:20-9:00
Kinder & Pre-K 9:10-9:55
2nd Grade 10:05-10:55

After quickly signing a few books for teachers and students, I drove to Springer Elementary School for an afternoon author visit in the same district (Rockwall ISD). Thankfully the rain storm ended before I left Dobbs, so unloading was not a problem at Springer.

Springer Elementary, Rockwall, Texas

Kindergarten and 1st Grade 12:45 PM – 1:20 PM
Book Signing
2nd and 3rd Grade 1:45 PM – 2:30 PM

Over 150 students in each group (around 320 students total) squeezed into the library to hear me talk.

My Display in the Springer Elementary Library

My husband, Matthew Shane Bronson, handled the book sales.

Matthew at Springer Elementary

Friday morning (October 14th) I visited Redeemer Montessori School in Irving, Texas. The first two groups met in the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer community room. After speaking to two groups of about 25 children each, I quickly moved my displays to the school’s main building, Story Hall. The last presentation was in the 4th through 6th grade classroom.

8:45 – 9:25 AM  Kindergarten
9:35 – 10:20 AM 1st – 3rd Grades
10:30 – 11:20 4th – 6th Grades

The intimate setting with only about 15 students allowed for great one-on-one interaction with the children. After the program, the students were eager to share the illustrated stories they created for a recent class project. Although this was one of the smallest schools I’ve ever visited (only ~65 students total), it was certainly one of the most rewarding!

Redeemer Montessori, Irving, Texas

Links:

AM Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Dobbs Library Website

Dobbs Elementary School Main Website

PM Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Springer Elementary School

AM Friday, October 14, 2011

The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer

Redeemer Montessori School

My Author Visit at Jackson Primary School

Jackson Primary School, Atlanta, Georgia

This afternoon I spoke to about 330 kindergarten and first grade students at Jackson Primary School in Atlanta, Georgia. The students were divided in to four groups:

K 11:45-12:15
K 12:20-12:50
1st 12:55-1:25
1st 1:30-2:00

My visit was sponsored by the Jackson Primary PTA as part of their fine arts program, so today’s presentations focused specifically on illustrating picture books. Although each presentation was only thirty minutes, I packed in lots of great information about…

Storyboards, miniature “practice” books (a.k.a “dummy” books), and final art.

Using colored pencils, watercolor paint, cut-outs, collages, and/or real objects in art.

Artists research the animals or settings they want to draw by checking out books from the library and using video or digital cameras to take pictures.

I also shared different drafts of my drawings. Students saw firsthand that sometimes shapes and colors do not look right the first time I draw it. I draw and redraw the pictures then I test each picture on my audience, both children and adults. If my audience does not understand the picture, I draw it again. Practice, practice, practice!

Ms. Webb (pictured left) in front of the beautiful murals in the Jackson Primary Library.

Many thanks to the librarian, Teresa Webb, for investing so much time preparing the students for my visit. Ms. Webb read Tiny Snail, Polliwog, and Sea Horse, run! to the children. Thank you Jackson Primary PTA for inviting me to your school!