School Visits

October 2009: Seven Days, 12 Schools, and 28 group presentations

Thanks to an invitation from The Literacy Connection in Kennewick, Washington, I recently spent 10 days doing school visits to grades K-5/6 in the Tri-City area of Washington State. It's in the south-eastern part of the state, surrounded by vineyards, mountains, and blue sky. What a trip.

"Stephanie Greene did one of the best jobs I've seen an author do of communicating to the kids her process of writing a book, from getting ideas to revision. She really compared what she does to the writing process that the kids do!"
-Dianne, Staff member, Kennewick, WA

I spoke to groups ranging from 75-90 children in the media center, to 400+ kids sitting on a gym floor. The schools were in Kennewick, Pasco, Richland and Walla Walla.

"I thought Stephanie was great! She has a great sense of humor and great stories that connected her with the students."
-Eva, 4th grade teacher, Kennewick

I tried to use some of the good-ideas-gone-wrong stories from my childhood to show the children how the lives they're living can be the stuff of stories and books. How, if they keep their eyes and ears open and ask questions, finding an idea can be as easy as opening their own back door. I made up a story for them based on the picture I took of an insect I found on my back stoop this summer...

"I liked the idea of how Stephanie look for writing ideas like with the example of the praying mantis she found and she thought that if he could talk, he would ask, 'Has anyone told you it's impolite to stare?'"
-6th grade student, Pasco

From seeing something, to hearing someone say something, to feeling a certain way in the middle of the night or when someone hurts their feelings... these are the things children need to pay attention to as writers. These are what make stories and books.

"I thought she gave a fabulous presentation! She had interesting stories and a great sense of humor. She definitely kept the students' interest. One thing that stood out to me, and I referred to it later than day when we were in writing class, was her example of revising and editing. It was wonderful that she brought her own examples to show and talk about the process she has to go through. It makes it more real for the students."
-5th grade teacher, Richland

Selling and Signing my Books
PTA groups can make a good percentage of the cost of my visit by pre-selling my books and sending order form homes with the children, preferably 6-8 weeks in advance. If they order directly from the Publishers, they can get a school discount of 40-50% and make a profit by selling the books for the usual price. Many schools opt to work with a local Independent bookstore which will often order the books, accept returns, and give the school 20% of the profits. Book sales can go a long way toward recouping the cost of my visit.

I can provide schools with a complete list of my books and ISBN numbers so you can order them and am very happy to sign them during my visit. So as to get the correct spelling of each child's name, I ask that it be written on a slip of paper and put inside the book.

For more information or my daily rate, please email me. I'll get back to you asap.

Thanks for your interest in me and my books. You and your students are the people I write for.