Tales from the Rushmore Kid

Ventura Reading Association - U.C. Channel Islands

For me, one of the best parts of being a published author is the opportunity to perform.  Being a natural born ham, I love it!  This is a picture of me at the Ventura Reading Association Children's Author Festival in April, where I was the spot light author. I dressed the kids like the Rushmore Presidents and had them hold the dolls of that particular president as I asked trivia presidential questions.  I had a blast, and I look forward to many more performances in schools in the years to come.

SCBWI Winter Conference - Interview with David Diaz

The SCBWI Winter Conference in New York City is always a blast. It gives me the opportunity to listen to and network with authors, illustrators and friends. This year at the Saturday night cocktail party, I pinned down my good bud, the fabulous Caldecott winner David Diaz, and interviewed him for the blog.

School Visits: An Author's Perk! (Barbara Jean Hicks)

from the files of
Educator & Children's Book Author
Barbara Jean Hicks

One of the great joys of writing for children is being with children!

I love visiting schools to talk to kids about writing and art, and it was a very special treat for me one day last Spring to go back to Central Elementary School in Ferndale, Washington--the school I attended as a child--as a featured workshop leader for their Young Artist's Fair. I spent all day working with several second grade classrooms, reading from MONSTERS DON'T EAT BROCCOLI and teaching an art lesson on color and pattern.

The great experience doesn't end with the visit. Often, teachers have their students write thank you notes that arrive a week or so later and make me understand anew why I do what a do. It's all about the kids!

The Case for Complexity - Barbara Jean Hicks

from the teaching files of educator
and children's author Barbara Jean Hicks

I've written before in this column encouraging authors doing school visits to pay special attention to their state's educational standards as they prepare their programs. An author's ability to tie her presentations to state standards makes her more valuable (and more saleable as a speaker) than an author whose primary focus is entertainment.

Not that we don't want to entertain! Every teacher knows that fun learning is the best learning, so a didactic presentation won't have the same impact as an entertaining one. The trick is to know what students at your target age level are expected to know and help teachers by supporting those concepts in your program in a fun and interesting way.

Understanding standards, as well as general trends in education, is also helpful for authors deciding what to do for their next project. What should you be writing to find a market for your work? How can your personal interests be presented in a way that meets educator's demands? How can your next project help teachers meet their classroom goals and help students learn what they need to know?

Here's some inside information about recent shifts in education policy in the U.S. that may help authors interested in meeting the needs of students and teachers with their next project: