Kate McMullan’s School Visits
I’m happy to be back doing school visits again. I’m starting out locally -visiting only schools that I can reach easily from New York City by train or
bus. If I widen my horizons, I’ll announce it here and on Face Book.
Preparation
I write picture books, beginning readers, and chapter books, so I'm able to talk
to a wide range of age groups. I usually have 3 large-group assemblies during a
school day: a 40-minute presentation for K - 1, and 55-minute presentations for
grades 2 - 3, and 4 - 5/6.
The more familiar your students are with my books, the more they will get out
of the author visit. Often, a teacher or librarian will read a particular book
aloud to a class or a grade level, which provides a common experience for the
students. You can find book-related activities on my Web site,
katemcmullan.com.
Presentations
For the assemblies, I travel with only a USB drive, so I'll need a laptop or
computer set up with Microsoft Power Point, a projector, a large screen, and a
microphone, preferably cordless so that I can walk around. If there’s a remote
with a laser pointer, all the better.
Each assembly features one or 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 starring a Zamboni, I'M COOL! )
THE I’M BAD SHOW:
Jim’s work-in-progress for the book jacket is the basis for much of this
presentation, featuring cover sketches that never made it onto the cover of a
book. Kids seem to enjoy discovering that grown-ups don’t always get things
right the first time either.
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 always seem to enjoy this participation.
THE PEARL AND WAGNER SHOW:
Meet Pearl, a bossy bunny, and her bff, Wagner, a mouse with lots of idea, but
not so much follow-through. I talk about how these characters and situations
were inspired by my own days in grade school, and encourage kids to write
about their grade school adventures.
THE DRAGON SLAYERS' ACADEMY & SCHOOL! SHOWS
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.
At the end of this show, I have a short ‘punny’ presentation featuring the book
SCHOOL: ADVENTURES AT HARVEY N. TROUBLE ELEMENTARY.
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,
that Theseus was the world's most forgetful hero, that Helen didn’t start the
Trojan War, and that Odysseus was a big liar.
I will work with you to plan the best visit possible for your students. If you
have a pre-k or a special needs classes, I’m always happy to stop by a read one
of my picture books so that they will be included in the school visit.
Book Signing
I’m always happy to sign books for students and to personalize them with a
first name. It’s helpful if the books have been organized beforehand with a
post-it with the student’s first name on the title page of the book. The post-it
should be placed so that I can see the student’s name and sign the book
without having to unstick the post-it. It’s always nice to have someone open
books for me.
Honorarium and Expenses
My honorarium for spending the day at your school, doing three presentations
and signing books is $2,000, which includes transportation expenses for day
trips. If you need a fourth assembly, my fee for the day is $2,200. It works best
if you can give me the check for the total amount of the visit when I arrive at
your school.
Ordering Books for a School Visit
Please visit my Web site, www.katemcmullan.com to see my books and get a
sense of which books would work best for your students. Books listed below
are the ones I can talk about during my Power Point presentations.
For K-1:
I STINK!
I’M MIGHTY!
I’M DIRTY!
I’M BAD!
I’M BIG!
I’M FAST!
I’M BRAVE!
(picture books published by HarperCollins)
PEARL & WAGNER: ONE FUNNY DAY
PEARL & WAGNER: TWO GOOD FRIENDS
PEARL & WAGNER: THREE SECRETS
PEARL & WAGNER: FOUR EYES
PEARL & WAGNER: FIVE DAYS TILL SUMMER
(beginning readers published by Dial Books for Young Readers)
FLUFFY, THE CLASSROOM GUINEA PIG
(Scholastic; a few titles are available as books; the entire series is available as e-books
on Scholastic’s Storia)
For 2-3:
THE DRAGON SLAYERS’ ACADEMY SERIES – 20 books
(chapter books published by Grosset & Dunlap)
SCHOOL!
(published by Feilwel & Friends, Macmillan)
For 4-5/6:
THE MYTH-O-MANIA SERIES – 10 books
HAVE A HOT TIME, HADES!
PHONE HOME, PERSEPHONE!
SAY CHEESE, MEDUSA!
NICE SHOT, CUPID!
STOP THAT BULL, THESEUS!
KEEP A LID ON IT, PANDORA!
GET TO WORK, HERCULES!
GO FOR THE GOLD, ATALANTA!
HIT THE ROAD, HELEN!
GET LOST, ODYSSEUS!
(published by Capstone)
SCHOOL!
(published by Feilwel & Friends, Macmillan)
How to Order Books
Books need to be ordered 6 – 8 weeks ahead of my appearance at your school to
make sure that they are there for the kids on the day of the visit.
The simplest way to order my books is through a local book store. (This is a chance to
support your local independent book store!) Often the store will send a representative
to help with book sales. Students pay full cover price.
You may also order through a wholesaler that carries books from all publishers. There
is often a 10 – 20% book discount.
Some schools like to order directly from each publisher, which is labor intensive, but
books are sold at a 40-50% discount for author appearances. The savings is
sometimes passed on to the students and other times, students pay full price for the
books and the profit may be used to fund a portion of the author visit.
Order information for individual publishers is below:
(People come and go in these positions, but this list is as up-to-date as I can make it.)
HARPER COLLINS:
Phone: 1-800-242-7737
Fax: 1-800-822-4090
Online: http://www.harperchildrens.com/teacher/order.asp
CAPSTONE:
Contact Jennifer Glidden, PR manager: J.Glidden@capstonepub.com
Tel: 952.224.0594
www.capstonepub.com
PENGUIN:
Includes Grosset & Dunlap: DRAGON SLAYER ACADEMY SERIES
And Dial: PEARL & WAGNER SERIES
Contact School & Library Marketing Director: Sara Ortiz
sara.ortiz@us.penuingroup.com,
212.414.3708.
SCHOLASTIC:
( FLUFFY BOOKS, BULLDOG’S BIG DAY)
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/visitkit/kate-mcmullan-author-visit-kit