POLLIWOG inspires sisters to create a book at Farragut Primary in Knoxville, TN

I spent the day at Farragut Primary in Knoxville, Tennessee, on January 19th, 2012.

Farragut Primary's Librarian, Wendi Lesmerises (left), Tammy Bronson (middle), and Matthew Bronson (right).

With over one thousand Kindergarten through 2nd grade students at this school, the librarian and teachers did an outstanding job sharing my stories with all the children prior to our visit.

Farragut Primary's Gym

We needed a very large space to accommodate five classes at a time (~150 students), so we set up in the school’s gym.

8:00-8:30  (Kindergarten) 5 classes

8:40 – 9:10  (Kindergarten) 5 classes

9:20 – 9:50  (Kindergarten, 1st grade) 5 classes

10 – 10:30  (1st , 2nd grades) 5 classes

10:40 – 11:10 (1st grade) 5 classes

11:20 – 11:50 (1st , 2nd grades) 5 classes

Lunch Noon – 1 PM

1:10 – 1:40 (2nd grade) 4 classes

1:50 – 2:20 (1st , 2nd grades) 6 classes

My program is designed to inspire children to create their own picture books. Generally kids make their own book after my visit, but at Farragut Primary two sisters combined their talents to create their own book prior to my arrival.

Tammy (left) with author Abigail King (middle) and her teacher, Katie Wheeler (right).

The author, Abigail King (2nd grade), said that my book, Polliwog, inspired her story entitled, Lilly Pad the Tadpole. Her sister, Jessica King, illustrated their story.

Lilly Pad the Tadpole, a picture book by Abigail and Jessica King at Farragut Primary.

Many thanks to the King sisters and Abigail’s teacher, Ms. Wheeler, for giving me this imaginitive story. I’m glad Lilly Pad learned to swim!

Read Abigail’s book, Lilly Pad the Tadpole (PDF).

My Visit to Crockett Elementary, January 18, 2012

I visited Crockett Elementary in Franklin, Tennessee on January 18th. They have over 640 students in pre-k through 5th grade, so I set up in the gym where I spoke to one grade level at a time.

Tammy (left) and Crockett's Librarian, Julia Andrews (right).

The librarian, Julia Andrews, prepared the students for my visit, introduced me at the assemblies, and provided me with lunch. I really enjoyed her tour of their amazing library.

Crockett Library's Reading Nook with Puppets

Many of the books are organized by topic. Books in a series have their own shelf. So do the “Princess” books!

Ms. Andrews and her shelf filled with "Princess" Books.

Ms. Andrews painted the walls to look like a castle.

Mural at Crockett Elementary

The murals were painted by another artist, but Ms. Andrews designed each mural with a variety of characters from beloved books.

Another Mural at Crockett Elementary

Thank you Crockett Elementary for a great day! I look forward to my next trip to Franklin, Tennessee.

Schedule:

8:50 – 9:35       Kindergarten and Pre-K
9:40 – 10:25      First Grade
10:30 – 11:15      Third Grade
11: 15 – 12:15      Author’s Lunch
12:15 – 1:15       Fourth Grade
1:20 – 2:05        Second Grade
2:10 – 3:10       Fifth Grade

Visiting Harvey Oaks Elementary, Omaha, NE

Friday, November 4th, 2011 was a full day of “Animal Antics” at Harvey Oaks Elementary. The school’s principal, Mrs. Dawn Marten, was the assistant principal at Neihardt Elementary, an Omaha school we visited last fall (November 8, 2010). Without a doubt, Mrs. Marten’s fond memories of our visit to Neihardt contributed to our warm reception at Harvey Oaks.

In celebration of my visit, students in kindergarten through 5th grade wrote stories or  drew pictures inspired by my books. We were amazed by the quality and quantity of creative work produced by the Harvey Oaks’ students.

Matthew Shane Bronson & Tammy Carter Bronson at Harvey Oaks Elementary

An underwater bulletin board featured original, multicolored sea horse art inspired by  “Sea Horse, run!”.

Close-up of sea horses by Harvey Oaks students.

First grade students painted lovely, underwater scenes inspired by Polliwog.

Watercolor paintings by 1st grade students at Harvey Oaks Elementary inspired by POLLIWOG. .

9:00 – 9:35 am Kindergarten
9:45 – 10:30 am 2nd Grade
10:50 – 11:25 am 1st Grade
11:30 – 12:30 pm Lunch provided by Bear Creek Coffee Cafe
12:30 – 1:15 pm 5th Grade
1:25 – 2:10 pm 4th Grade
2:20 – 3:05 pm 3rd Grade

More POLLIWOG art by 1st graders at Harvey Oaks.

Fourth grade students wrote stories that utilized a character trait from Tiny Snail. Some stories demonstrated attitude, self-esteem or how to set goals, while other stories reinforced attributes such as courage, perseverence, or gratitude.

A wall of stories by 4th grade students at Harvey Oaks Elementary.

Tammy C. Bronson and the Harvey Oaks Librarian, Sue Hillman.

The school’s librarian, Sue Hillman, presented us with a gift basket featuring foods made in Nebraska.

Harvey Oaks Elementary Gift Basket

Ms. Cook, a 3rd grade teacher at Harvey Oaks, applied for and won a grant from the Milliard Public Schools Foundation. This “Animal Antics Grant” supported my author visit which focused on snails, frogs and sea horses. The grant also paid for a complete collection of World Books of Animals for the school library. Later this year, the grant will enable Harvey Oaks students to connect with animals through a trip to the Henry Doorly Zoo.

The new World Book collection at Harvey Oaks Elementary.

Congratulations, Harvey Oaks, on winning your grant, and thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of your “Animal Antics.” We will treasure the memories!

My Visit to Morton Elementary in Omaha, NE

Morton Elementary went “to infinity and beyond” when they organized an Enrichment Day based on my author visit. It was amazing!

Every hour of Enrichment Day was designed to support one of my books. A representative from the Henry Doorly Zoo spoke with students about ocean animals, a program that supported “Sea Horse, run!”. Another talk entitled “Project Wild” included real toads and frogs in honor of my Polliwog book and was presented by the Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium in Gretna, Nebraska. A violinist and a percussionist demonstrated instruments and talked to students about the orchestra. Both orchestra programs reinforced the educational aspects of our Kaleidonotes book.

Meanwhile, in Morton’s library I discussed how I wrote, illustrated and published my picture books.

Students’ art decorated windows and walls throughout the school, and I especially loved the welcome sign taped to the office window.

Shane admires the welcome sign in the office window at Morton Elementary.

"Welcome Guests" Sign by Morton Students

Close-up of the Sign by Morton Students

The students and staff of Morton Elementary presented us with a Certificates of Appreciation.

Certificate of Appreciation Presented by Morton Elementary

Morton’s librarian, Heidi Neumann, did a fantastic job organizing and hosting the event, and we are so grateful to Karen Adams for making our visit possible by handling the book sales on behalf of Barnes and Noble.

Left to Right: Morton Librarian Heidi Neumann, Author Tammy C. Bronson, Karen Adams of Milliard Public Schools

Thank you, Morton Elementary, for making November 3rd, 2011 a day to remember!

My Author Visit at Liberty Christian School

The students and staff at Liberty Christian School in Argyle, Texas gave me a warm welcome Tuesday morning, November 1st.  My program was in the Fine Arts Auditorium where they had a giant screen that lowered in front of the stage. The librarian, Yvonne Lacy, provided a document camera so I could project images of my books on the screen for 3rd through 6th grades.

3rd/4th Grades from 8:40 to 9:25 am
6th Grade from 9:45 to 10:30 am
5th Grade from 10:35 to 11:20 am

Mrs. Lacy did a fantastic job preparing the students for my visit. Many of them were serious writers in their own right and very interested in the publication process.

Librarian Yvonne Lacy & Tammy Bronson

Some popular questions from students included…

How many rewrites did you do for “Sea Horse, run!”? Answer: 19
How many copies of Tiny Snail are in print?

Mrs. Lytle’s 6th grade class wanted to know…

How many published titles do I have. Answer: Four. Tiny Snail (2000), Kaleidonotes (2001), Polliwog (2004), and “Sea Horse, run!” (2011)

How many awards and honors have I received. Answer:  “Sea Horse, run!” has won two awards: 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Award for Best Picture Book, and it is a Finalist in the USA Best Book Awards in the picture book category.

Three interesting facts about me.

Who or what has influenced my writing. Answer: My fellow Arkansas author, Darcy Pattison.

I was very impressed with the students, staff, and the amazing facilities at Liberty Christian. I thoroughly enjoyed the visit!

Here is a link to the lovely article about our visit on the Liberty Christian Website:

LCS Library Welcomes Visiting Authors

My Author Visits in Bryant, Arkansas

In April 2001 I visited Grace Hill Elementary in Rogers, Arkansas. It was one of my first author visits, and at that time I only had one book, Tiny Snail. Katie Thomas, a former teacher at Grace Hill, is now the principal at Collegeville Elementary in Bryant, Arkansas. I was amazed to learn that ten years later Katie remembered my 2001 author visit at Grace Hill, and when it came time for her to select an author for a program at Collegeville, she chose me!

My visit to Collegeville Elementary was Monday morning, October 24, 2011. Collegeville shared the day with Salem Elementary, and both school programs were in the gym. Since there were about 200 kids in each presentation, the schools provided a document camera so smaller visuals could be projected on the wall. Despite the size of the groups, students were very attentive and asked great questions.

K-1st Grades 8:30 AM – 9:05 AM

2nd – 3rd Grades 9:15 AM – 10:00 AM

10:00 AM-10:20 AM Autograph Books

4th – 5th Grades 10:20 AM – 11:05 AM

11:05 AM – Noon Finish Autographing Books and Lunch

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Drive to Salem Elementary and set up in the gym

4th-5th Grades 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM

K- 1st Grades 1:50 PM – – 2:35 PM

2nd-3rd Grades 2:30 PM – 3:15 PM

3:15- 3:45 Autograph Books

I am very grateful to both Katie Thomas and Salem’s principal, Mark Scarlett, for taking time out of their busy schedules to organize the author visit and to meet with me personally on the day of the event. It was a lively and very rewarding day.

Students are welcome to keep in touch and send questions via e-mail at books@bookaroos.com.

 

Good Shepherd Episcopal School

My first author visit of the 2011-2012 school year was yesterday at Good Shepherd Episcopal School in Dallas, Texas. We spoke to kindergarden through 2nd grade, and the presentations were in the new library which houses almost 29,000 books, an aquarium filled with corals and tropical fish, two parakeets, and a yellow rat snake! Their amazing library is located in the school’s new Center for Creative Learning which is the first elementary school in Texas to be awarded LEED Gold certification established by the U.S. Green Building Council.

From left to right: Author Matthew Shane Bronson, Author/Illustrator Tammy Carter Bronson, and Librarian Liz Fleskes.

Both the librarian, Liz Fleskes, and her assistant, Claudia Hinton, made us feel very welcome. They treated us to lunch from the Corner Bakery along with coffee, snacks and a beautiful display featuring our books.

Good Shepherd's Book Display

The students were well prepared for the visit. They were familiar with every story, and several students sent us fan mail after the program. My favorite is from the youngest student to ever send me an email:

“Hello–My name is Jordan. I am a pre-Kindergarten student at Good Shepherd Episcopal School. Thanks for coming to visit with us today. I wish that I had brought you some flowers. I hope you can come and visit us again.

Jordan

P. S. My daughter was insistent on sending you this thank you email. You obviously made quite an impression today. Thank you.”

What a perfect visit to begin the new school year! Thank you, Good Shepherd Episcopal, for inviting us to your school. We enjoyed meeting your students, and we are grateful for the wonderful memories!

Corals in the Good Shepherd Aquarium

Good Shepherd Episcopal School Author Visit

Thursday, September 8, 2011

9:10-9:40 – Kindergarden/Pre-K (~50 students)

9:55-10:40 – 2nd Grade (53 students)

10:40-11:35 Book Signing

11:35-12:15 First Grade (55 students)

12:15-1:30 Lunch

1:30-2:00 Kindergarden/Pre-K (~50 students)