Having a children’s book writer or illustrator can be a powerful motivating experience for your students—if you follow some common-sense guidelines from a writer who’s been there.
by Margriet Ruurs
When I was little, there were no author visits to my school, so I assumed that all authors were dead. Since then I have learned that real people write the books I love, and I grew up to be a writer myself.
I love to tell children about being a writer and to share my stories with them. They understand the quirkiness, the humor, the different viewpoints. I like them to know that not all authors are dead and that they, in fact, can be authors as well.
I also like to help you, as their teachers, to encourage them to be lifelong readers and writers. And so, in contrast to the days spent in solitude behind my computer, like many writers, I often find myself speaking to 500 students per day, flying across North America, addressing teachers and signing books.
Teachers, librarians, and media center specialists are in an ideal position to facilitate communication between a book’s readers and its creator by bringing authors and illustrators (each time you read “author visit” in this article, think “illustrator visit” as well) into the school. Author visits to schools can have a long-lasting impact and add new dimensions to the books on the library shelves. Author visits are a powerful tool to help turn kids into readers.
Children’s book author Tim Wynne Jones, in Making an Author’s Visit Your Best ‘Good Time’, says: “There is no better way to inspire students with the personal rewards and gratification of a writing career than by having an author describe the ropes.”
But an author visit doesn’t just happen. The visit must be carefully planned, prepared, and executed. It will require money, time, and commitment from the teacher or librarian, as well as from all staff in the school. Teacher and librarian Kathleen Turkington has coordinated many author visits. She says poorly planned author visits—where the author seems to just “happen by” and the students don’t know who the author is or why he or she is there—have a minimal benefit at best.
“On the other hand,” Turkington states, “an author visit, planned and orchestrated by a creative, insightful group of educators, can be the one event that can change the reading life of a child for years to come.... I believe that the author visit, in the hands of the best authors and educators, may be the most powerful, motivational literary experience which we can give our children.”
How positive and supportive the impact of an author visit is depends on the way the visit is conducted, not just during but also before and after the event. Let’s face it: author visits cost money.
So let’s look at how to make the most of such a visit. The first step will be, whom to invite? To help you decide, research your students’ favorite authors through their publishers or on the Internet. Most of them will have websites. Simply do a Google search for “Steve Layne” or “Sara Holbrook,” and you will find their websites.
Authors are often booked up months in advance, so it helps if you can plan ahead. Word of mouth will help you find an author who has conducted powerful presentations at other schools. Don’t be shy about asking for references. Authors can give you names of teachers and librarians at schools they have recently visited. Ask your colleagues for recommendations. If an author is not a good speaker, teachers will be able to tell you that as well.
Once you have contacted the author and set a date, it’s time to start planning. A contract will help spell out details such as date, schedule, equipment needed, etc. Ask the author if he or she would like you to share all of his or her books with your students. Or would they like you to only share a few, allowing them to introduce other books during the visit?
If your budget allows, purchase multiple copies of the author’s books to circulate to different classrooms. Inform and involve teachers. Don’t just read the books during library time when the classroom teacher may not be present.
Predicting is a great way to introduce students to the story line. What will happen on the next page? This will also help to generate questions for the author that you can start recording now.
Ask the author (or publisher) if promotional materials are available for the books. Some publishers will be able to provide you with posters, bookmarks, postcards, or coloring sheets for the books. Ask if teacher’s guides are available. Sometimes these can be printed for free from the author’s website.
Art projects based on the books are a great way to prepare students for the author’s visit. I have been to schools where hallways were plastered with chickens (my Emma’s Eggs series is about a confused chicken). Paperbag chickens, feathers made of children’s handprints, painted chickens, stuffed chickens, chickens in the staffroom, and even wooden cut-out chickens.
Working on this type of book-inspired art will help the students to remember that special occasion. Even a simple welcome sign and posters made of book covers, with the visitor’s books displayed in the school, add a welcoming touch.
If your PTA was involved in fundraising, keep them involved. Ask parents to handle the book order forms so that students will have an opportunity to order their own autographed books. Many authors or their publishers can offer books for sale at a discount, allowing the school to do some fundraising. Invite the PTA for the luncheon on the day of the visit. And of course, invite all parents to attend the author’s presentation.
If your visitor is flying in and staying at a hotel in your district, a special welcome basket might just make all the difference in the world to them. I recently visited schools in Burlington, Iowa, where I found such a basket when I walked into my hotel room. Fruit, a school mug, a Burlington T-shirt, postcards, and teas made for a memorable welcome to a city far away from home.
Notify your local newspaper about the upcoming visit. It’s an easy way to get positive publicity about what’s happening in your school.
Make sure all teachers are aware of the day’s schedule and that teachers will remain present during the author presentation. This sounds obvious, but I have been to schools where the teachers dropped off their classes to the library and had their prep time scheduled during my talk. If the classroom teacher is not part of the presentation, there cannot be positive, constructive follow-up discussions.
Likewise, you’d be amazed at how many teachers sit at their desks and mark papers while the author talks. Your behavior will have an impact on the children. If your body language tells them that you have no time for this, it will be hard to achieve the powerful impact this visit can have on the reading habits of your students, no matter how well the presenter speaks.
Here are guidelines for making the actual visit go well:
On the day of the author’s visit, have greeters by the door. Welcoming your guest with a sign or display is a good start to the day.
Make sure you know what type of setting works for your presenter. I like dark gyms where my slides will show up. But other authors prefer the coziness of the library. It’s amazing how many media centers have brilliant skylights, not allowing for slide or overhead presentations. So check beforehand and have the required equipment (table, chair, screen, power cord, etc.) set up and in working condition. Give that old, much-used overhead projector a thorough cleaning for a brighter image!
If the author is speaking in the cafeteria, make sure the clatter of dishes doesn’t interfere with the presentation. If you know the visitor will be showing slides, make sure the room is darkened ahead of time. This will save precious time once your visitor has arrived.
If there are particularly keen readers in your school, ask them to introduce or thank the visitor. It’s a nice way to involve the students in the planning process.
Introduce your guest to the school’s administrator and ask him or her to attend sessions.
Providing your guest with water and lunch is a common courtesy. Using the occasion to plan a special luncheon in the staffroom can add a festive touch as well. I’ve been to schools where teachers had organized potlucks or had planned a special outing to a nearby restaurant.
On the other hand, some authors require a quiet lunch break without more talking, so ask your visitor for his or her preferences ahead of time.
At the end of your special day, ensure that you pay the author without him or her having to ask for it. If your district requires forms to be filed before a check can be issued, be sure you have done that in plenty of time to present payment on the day itself.
Some schools present the visitor with a special thank-you gift. This can be a school mug or pen. One of my favorite memories is of receiving a basket of small goodies in one school. Each teacher had brought something tiny—a packet of coffee, a little jar of jam, a travel candle. It made for a special souvenir after a long day.
Help your visitor to his or her car. Student helpers might be keen to carry the props.
If your visitor is staying overnight, check to see if he or she would like to be taken out for dinner. Some people do like company
at dinnertime but, before planning nightly dinners with staff, keep in mind that it has been a long day of talking for your guest and that he or she might prefer the quietness of a hotel room over having to make more small talk.
Follow up your author visit with more art projects, writing activities, and, of course, reading more books. Display books by other authors on similar topics. Have students write thank you notes. I have received wonderful letters from students that I treasure and often share in teacher presentations:
“Your presentation wasn’t even boring.”
“I like your books. You’re my third favorite author.”
“My name is Stephen. When I grow up I want to be an Arthur.”
Use the information that the author shared by having students record ideas for their own stories and by having them write about their own life, pet, or friends. In short, encourage them to grow as writers in their own right—to become authors not just for a day, but for life.
Anne Carter, author of Under A Prairie Sky and other books, received the following comments from a teacher at whose school she had conducted writing classes with students: “You’ve been the ‘affair.’ We’re the family member the kids have grown tired of. They hear the message from us about reading and writing and revising your work. And it’s not so fresh and exciting as it was in the beginning. But then they read your books. And shazam! There you are in person! Right in front of them wanting them to write their stories. All of a sudden it has new appeal. They don’t think twice about revising. They want feedback. And to revise again. Their parents can’t believe they’re coming home wanting to get to work on a project for school!”
Make sure you purchased extra copies of the author’s books for your library, because one thing is guaranteed after a successful visit: the books won’t be on the shelves for the remainder of the school year! Anne Lyle, teacher-librarian in Prince George, British Columbia, says “Eric Wilson visited our school and we cannot keep his books on our shelves, and we have 37 titles and multiple copies! But when he comes it is an unforgettable experience for the kids.”
And that was exactly the purpose of it all, wasn’t it?
Margriet Ruurs has published more than a dozen children’s books and has a master’s degree in education. Her website is www.margrietruurs.com.
Optimizing author visits, by Margriet Ruurs. (April 2005). Reading Today, 22(5), 20.
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