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What Is An Author Visit?
“Marsha Diane Arnold’s visit was a “Big Vivid” that teachers, students and community members still remember and talk about today.”
“Jackie Baumgartner of Phillipsburg, Kansas refers to a ‘Big Vivid’ as cross-curricular learning moments, experiences that involve staff, students, and community so kids will have ‘Big Vivid’ memories of learning that they can carry with them forever.”
Author visits can be “Big Vivids” to author, student, teacher, and community. They can inspire children, making them want to write better and read more. A successful author visit will leave your school and your children richer from the experience.
My author visits have been called informative, inspirational, and entertaining. I always tailor my presentations to meet your students’ needs.
You may book me or request info about in-person school visits and other events by contacting Carole E. Weitzel at carole@authorsandmore.com or 512-914-2596, or by contacting me directly. For virtual visits, contact me directly.
TESTIMONIALS
In 28 years of teaching primary school, I’ve never heard a more engaging visiting Author presentation! Our students were fully engaged and attentive, as well as inspired to write! What more could we hope for? Thank you for the wonderful presentation! You are an amazingly talented author and a terrific speaker as well! I hope we see you here at Oakhills School again very soon!
Lynda Habedanck, Second Grade Teacher Brookside Elementary, Granite Bay, CAYou not only inspired the students but the teachers also. You reminded them of the joy of writing. You showed them ways to bring back the creativity to writing. You also showed them how much the children love to write. Sometimes we get bogged down with the testing and writing a 4-point response instead of just writing for the joy! You truly are an amazing person, writer, mentor and friend! Never stop writing because the way you touch the lives of everyone through your gifts is truly a blessing for all of us!”
Beth Coffey Green, Librarian Demmitt Elem., Vandalia, OHWithout a doubt you are the best we have ever had visit our school. Your presentation was superb and your interaction with the students and reaction to them and responses to their questions was simply perfect. Your writing resonates on many levels, so it touches people regardless of their age or stage in life. Your presentations were lively, geared for individual audiences, and kept students interested and actively involved. Thank you for what you brought to our school and the lasting memories that will linger in all of our memories through the coming years.
Cheri Balls, Third Grade Teacher, Phillipsburg Elementary, Phillipsburg, Kansas“When I think about your books, it’s like I’m in a magical place.”
Jasmine, Fourth graderYou inspired my friend Darian and I to write a book. We keep thinking of ideas. I have already written half a book!
Carolyn, 11“When Marsha Diane Arnold comes to visit a school, she goes all in! Upon arrival at our school, she greeted everyone like old friends and began setting up eye-catching displays, artifacts, and props she used in her presentations. She is a natural, down-to-earth storyteller who easily kept students’ attention. After her library visits were over, she changed outfits into her bright orange running gear and enthusiastically joined our yearly Pumpkin Run, which celebrates her book The Pumpkin Runner. Mrs. Arnold lives to share the stories she discovers and creates. I recommend her visits to any school, library, bookstore, or wherever people gather to be entertained!”
Todd McDonald, librarianMarsha Diane Arnold and her books treat kids as thinkers and speak of good things…kind of like Mr. Rogers.
Judy Northrup, homeschooler, former reading specialist and children’s librarianI remember a long time ago when I was just a little kid in second grade and we were going through all the books that had been brought to our school that day and among them I found Heart of a Tiger. After reading it, I was so excited to have you sign it with “Choose the name that’s in your heart.” I still have it to this day and, being 17 now, I’m glad I kept it all this time. It has always instilled in me a sense of honor, courage, and dedication. Please keep on writing wonderful stories, influencing and inspiring the kids of our future, just like you did to me.
Cody - teen who wrote me in 2010, a decade after my visit to his schoolSchool Presentations
My presentations last 30 minutes (for K and Pre-K) up to an hour for older students. Usually, I give four presentations during a one-day visit, plus autographing. One of the presentations is often a K or Pre-K session or a Funshop.
I am happy to create presentations to meet your school’s desires and needs. A school in Texas recently requested that I Share and Compare The Pumpkin Runner, published in 1998, with my recent Galápagos Girl/Galapagueña, published in 2018, as they are both inspired by real people, real events, and real places.
Funshops:
What’s a Funshop? Some people call these writing workshops, but we have so much fun, I call them Funshops. My goal is to get students excited about writing, to spark their imagination, to get them to write without worry. First, I use various activities, images, and brainstorming to get everyone involved together. Then, the Funshop attendees get to develop their ideas on their own.
Presentations:
I weave storytelling, information, and slides into an entertaining and inspirational presentation. My vision is to show students the fun of reading and writing and to inspire them to follow their own unique visions and dreams.
Presentations are modified in content and detail, according to the group’s age. They usually include a bit of ALL of the subjects below. I expand and contract and change the information to fit the age and needs of each group.
Scribbles and Scraps: We peek inside my idea file, where a jumble of scribbles and scraps live. I share how I capture ideas and encourage students to begin an idea file of their own.
How a Story Grows: I show the process of creating a book by demonstrating how the story and illustrations evolve from a scribble on a scrap of paper to a manuscript to galleys and finally into a beautifully illustrated book. I talk about first drafts, rewriting, and revising. I also share my illustrators’ early sketches. Students enjoy pointing out how illustrations change from the early sketch to the final illustration.
Ideas are All Around Us: I weave stories about where my ideas come from with fun information about my family life. Learning the “story behind the story” is a popular part of my presentation. Through the slideshow, students see that ideas are all around them and that they can use these ideas to build stories. My goal is to show students that authors are people just like them.
Readings and Skits from my Books: I always read all (for the younger) or part of one or more of my books. Where appropriate, the students interact with me, chiming in with books like May I Come In? or doing a short skit.
Rejections and Perseverance: Perspectives on rejection and perseverance are shared, including readings from some of my own heart-wrenching rejection letters. Students are always very sympathetic! But, more importantly, they see how important it is to “keep trying.”
Questions and Answers: There’s always time for Questions and Answers and my favorite time, Autographing!
Family Evening Presentations
These are to bring the family together for a reading/writing Fun Night. It includes family storytelling, a slideshow, and yes…writing. They love it!
Young Author’s Festivals, Reading Association and Library Conferences
I enjoy speaking at conferences to educators, parents, and others who love children’s books. I have been a speaker for SCBWI, the California Reading Association, the California School Library Association, the International Reading Association, and on the faculty of the Oregon Coast Children’s Book Writers Workshop.
Some of my talks have been:
- Achieving the Honorable in Children’s Literature
- Stories with Heart: Nourishing the Spirit
- A Literary Yellow Brick Road: To Oz and Home Again
- Tornadoes, Writing, and Other Scary Things
Virtual Visits
You can bring me to your school virtually! I do a very limited number of free 15 minute virtual visits per year, so please book early. I ask that the school or teacher buy one or more of my books for the school or classroom. A 45 minute presentation with screen sharing is usually $300, but always negotiable.
I’ve been using Zoom for my virtual visits. It’s easy and works great. If you haven’t used it, I’ll share how when you contact me.
It’s an exciting reading incentive and a nice memory to purchase a book written by a visiting author to take home, even if that visiting author is visiting through cyberspace. A bookstore close to your school can assist with advance book orders. Marsha is happy to autograph book plates especially to each student, which they can put inside their books.