VIRTUAL AUTHOR VISITS NOW AVAILABLE

LARGE GROUP PRESENTATION

A visual and interactive Powerpoint presentation about my path to publication and the importance of believing in dreams and setting goals. Science, technology, engineering, geography, history, and literature topics are covered as we discuss some of my magazine articles and published books. Students will be encouraged to challenge the possibilities as we discuss the lives of the real people I have written about in my biographies. Like astronaut Sally Ride once said, “You can’t be what you can’t see!”

Choose from grades K-5 or grades 6-8. Q & A follows each presentation.

WRITING WORKSHOPS

HOW TO WRITE PAGE-TURNING NARRATIVE NONFICTION

GRADES K-2: Topics discussed are fiction versus nonfiction, how to brainstorm and find ideas, research, who-what-where-when, great beginnings, great endings and the details in the middle. Workshop handouts supplied.

GRADES 3-8: Topics discussed are different types of nonfiction, how to harvest ideas, research, primary and secondary sources, the hook of the book, voice, organizing material, revision, the bibliography, and beginnings, endings, and the messy middle. Research handouts are supplied.

PRESENTATIONS BASED ON SPECIFIC BOOKS

PASSING THE TORCH OF A DREAM:

The adventurous spirit of Amelia Earhart inspired a very young Jerrie Mock. And although Amelia had disappeared while attempting to circumnavigate the globe, Jerrie Mock persisted in pursuing her childhood dream. After many bumps along the road, Jerrie Mock’s world-record attempt became a race against another female. On April 17, 1964, Jerrie Mock succeeded and became the first woman to fly solo around the world. Fifty years later, Jerrie mentored a young lady who was born in a refugee camp in Afghanistan. On October 4, 2017, Shaesta Waiz became the youngest woman and the first female from Afghanistan to fly around the world. While researching my book, The Jerrie Mock Story: The First Woman to Fly Solo Around the World, I had the privilege of sitting down with Jerrie Mock and getting the story first-hand. Talk about primary sources! This inspirational presentation appeals to all ages.

Bonded by Battle

A fascinating look into the powerful relationships and strong bonds between military dogs and solders from the Civil War to Operation Iraqi Freedom. A power point presentation explores how the dogs, who started out as companions, soon became the eyes and the ears of the soldiers on the battlefields of the world. And at present, after the government spent billions of dollars to engineer bomb-detecting devices, they have come to the conclusion that nothing beats a war dog team.

Colo’s Story: One Grand Gorilla

The Columbus Zoo began with seven reindeer donated by the folks at the Columbus Dispatch after they purchased the deer for a Christmas show. Over the years the zoo has grown to become the number one zoo in the country. The Columbus Zoo’s most famous resident, a western lowland gorilla named Colo, was the first zoo-born gorilla in the world. Before her death in January 2017, Colo set another world-record by becoming the oldest gorilla in the world at age sixty. Learn why Colo may be the reason The Columbus Zoo exists today. The author celebrates the life of Colo and her many offspring in this “wild” presentation. All ages.