SCHOOL VISITS

Assemblies

Equipment:

I'll need a laptop or computer set up with Microsoft Power Point ( I travel with only a CD Rom), a projector, a large screen, and a microphone, preferably cordless so that I can walk around.

Each assembly features two of the following Power Point presentations:

THE I STINK SHOW:

“Behind the Garbage Bags” shows how Jim and I researched and created our award-winning picture book, I STINK!. At the end of the show, I read
I STINK! and ask kids to chime in on the Garbage Alphabet. (I also give a sneak preview of our work-in-progress, I'M BAD! )

THE FLUFFY SHOW:

This show features FLUFFY, THE CLASSROOM GUINEA PIG and tells how this character was informed by my own childhood guinea pigs, George and ZaaZaa. I encourage kids to write about their own pets and experiences. I finish by asking teachers to select kids to come up and read stories from the screen with me, taking the parts of Fluffy, Kiss, Duke, and Lucky Sue. Readers and listeners alike seem to enjoy this participation.

THE DRAGON SLAYERS' ACADEMY SHOW

This show stars Wiglaf, his quirky pals, and their even quirkier teachers from the DRAGON SLAYERS' ACADEMY. I use this school setting to explore various aspects of writing: where ideas come from, how characters are developed, what makes an exciting story, using sensory language, and humor.

THE MYTH-O-MANIA SHOW

This show explores the Greek Myths, slightly twisted by Hades, Ruler of the Underworld and not-all-that-reliable narrator of the MYTH-O-MANIA series. Kids will learn how Zeus really became Ruler of the Universe, how Persephone hitched a ride to the Underworld on the back of Hades' chariot, that Medusa wasn't always a Gorgon with snakes for hair, that Hercules had a bad temper, and that Theseus was the world's most forgetful hero.

THE GEORGE SHOW

This show introduces young George, the protagonist of my novel MY TRAVELS WITH CAPTS. LEWIS AND CLARK BY GEORGE SHANNON, who was hardly more than a boy when he set off with Lewis and Clark on their famous Expedition. I'm a descendant of Shannon's, and I hope this presentation will encourage kids to find out about and write about their own ancestors

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