Author School Visits BY STATE!

TEN ON THE SLED holiday performance

2011-12-31T09:22:00.001-05:00

How adorable it this?! A school program (where, I don't know) where students performed my TEN ON THE SLED as a holiday song. Great job and so cute. I feel very proud -- like Cole Porter for kids!

FREE BOOKS FOR YOUR LIBRARY!

2011-07-14T11:05:00.005-04:00

Last year's Free Book special was so popular that I've decided to run another special for the 2011-2012 school year:
Any school that hires me for a 3/4 or full day author visit will receive a complete set of my hardback books for the library. If the school happens to be located in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, I'll even extend that offer for a HALF day visit!

See more about the offer on my website: kimnormanbooks.com

Kim Norman

A note from the Orange County Children's Book Festival

2011-03-21T08:43:00.003-04:00

Recently, I heard from a representative of the Orange County Children's Book Festival, asking if I would post a press release for them. I was happy to oblige....

Now in it's 8th year, the Orange County Children's Book Festival, is the largest children's book event in the country! The 2010 Festival had over 30,00 people in attendance for this ONE day event. We foster confidence through literacy and work to instill a true joy of reading!

2010 was also the inaugural year for our Teen & YA Stage and we ROCKED IT! With over two dozen authors on stage back to back we had an audience of fans that listened to readings, participated in conversations and bought books ALL DAY!

Booth costs are reasonable and we have a great cost effective option for Debut & Self Published Authors to be involved that is within your budget...you can find the 2011 Exhibitors Info on the website: www.kidsbookfestival.com

We are a non profit and do not have a budget to pay authors or illustrators however this event draws the top talent in the field, along with Media, Educators, Librarians and tons of Fans!

Let us know if you would like to be involved at any level with our event on the Orange Coast College Campus, Sunday October 2, 2011.

Contact Info:
Robyn Hawk, OC Children's Book Festival, Teen Stage Coordinator
Email: robynahawk@yahoo.com
Web: http://www.kidsbookfestival.com/
Twitter: @kidsbookfest
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/OCCBF

SCBWI listed publishers

2011-01-18T06:30:00.008-05:00

Here is a list of publishers which appear in the SCBWI Market Survey. (Larger publishers first; scroll down for smaller presses.) If you see your publisher on this list, feel free to write to me about adding your link to this site. I'm sorry to have to be so specific, but I've been spending a lot of time checking out obscure publishers and self-publishers.

If you are published by any of these houses, I'll be happy to add you to my listings. If you don't see it here, then submit your publisher to SCBWI for review. If they approve and add your publisher to their Market Survey, let me know, and I'll add it to my list, too.

Abrams Books for Young Readers
Aladdin
Aladdin/Simon Pulse
Albert Whitman & Co.
Alfred A. Knopf
American Girl
Amulet Books
Arthur A. Levine Books
Atheneum BFYR
Balzer & Bray
Barron's Educational Series
Beach Lane Books
Bloomsbury Children's Books
Blue Sky Press
Boyds Mills Press
Candlewick Press
Capstone
Carthwheel Books
Charlesbridge Publishing
Children's Press
Christy Ottaviano Books
Chronicle Books
Clarion Books
Cricket Books
Crown Books for Young Readers
David Fickling Books
Delacorte Press
Dial Books for Young Readers
Disney Press
Disney-Hyperion
DK Publishing
Dutton Children's Books
Egmont USA
Enslow Publishers
Facts on File
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc.
Feiwel and Friends
Frances Foster Books
Franklin Watts
Golden Books
G.P. Putman's Sons
Graphix
Greenwillow Books
Grosset & Dunlap
Harcourt Children's Books
HarperCollins Children's Books
HarperFestival
Heinemann-Raintree Publishers
Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
Holiday House, Inc.
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Katherine Tegan Books
Lee & Low Books
Lerner Publishing Broup
Little Simon
Little, Brown BFYR
Margaret Ferguson Books
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Marshall Cavendish Benchmark
Marshall Cavendish Children's Books
Milkweed Editions
Nancy Paulsen Books
National Geographic Children's Books
Orchard Books
PeachTree Publishers
Peilcan Publishing Company
Philomel Books
Pippin Press
Puffin Books
Push (YA fiction paperback series)
Random House/Golden Books
Razorbill
Roaring Brook Press
Robin Corey Books
Running Press Kids
Scholastic Press
Scholastic Trade Paperback
Schwartz & Wade
Simon & Schuster BFYR
Simon Pulse
Simon Spotlight
Sleeping Bear Press
Sourced Media Books
Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
The Child's World
The Rosen Publishing Group
Tricycle Press
Viking Children's Books
Walden Pond Press
Walker & Co
Wendy Lamb Books
WestSide

SMALL PRESSES
Azro Press
Barefoot Books
Bay Light Publishing
Beachhouse Publishing
Bess Press
Birdsong Books
Blue Apple Books
Blooming Tree Press
Blue Marlin Publications
Boulden Publishing
Bright Ring Publishing
Bright Sky Press
Bureau for At-Risk Youth
Caxton Press
Children's Book Press
Childswork Childsplay
Dalmation Press
Dog-Eared Publications
Flashlight Press
Flux
Four Corners Publishing
Fulcrum Publishing
Gifted Education Press
Graphic Arts Center Publishing
H.J. Kramer
Hara Publishing Group
Hendrick-Long Publishing
Hickory Tales Publishing
Humanics Publishing Group
Innovative Kids
Intervisual Books
Lawells Publishing
LIttle Pickle Press
Llewellyn Worldwide Publishing
Lucent Books
Magination Press / APA
Maval Publishing
Meadowbrook Press
Mountain Press
New Leaf Books
Northland Publishing/Rising Moon Books
Northwood Books
Perspective Press
Piggy Toes
Providence Publishing
Raven Tree Press
Scobre Press Corporation
Shen's Books
Sleeping Bear Press
Sports Publishing
Tanglewood Press
Turtle Books
Twin LIghts Publishers
Westside Books
Windward Publishing

Four on a sled!

2011-01-03T08:24:00.001-05:00

Lots of snow around here in southeastern Virginia. Deeper than my 17-year-old son has seen in his whole life.

The best sledding hill in this flat little tidewater town is right behind our house (lucky us!) so I went out with the super-sized Scholastic paperback of Ten on the Sled and found a quartet of good-natured models to pose with the book. So thank you to Kathryn, Emily, Marnie and Ev for being such good sports. And thanks to their moms and dads, too!

Happy sledding!

Kim Norman

ps: I think the super-sized Scholastic paperback (as well as regular-sized Scholastic paperback & an audio CD) are only available thru Scholastic Canada right now. I haven't seen it yet on the Scholastic US site -- but I could be wrong about that. The Sterling hardback is available... well... "everywhere books are sold" as the advertisements always say.

Hanging in the top ten!

2010-11-02T21:46:00.001-04:00

I took this screen grab from Barnes & Noble on Tuesday night. Check out the Bestsellers in the right hand column. (Specifically, the book at number 5.)

Take THAT, Justin Bieber, looking up at me from your lowly number 10 position!

:->

Yeah, I know it changes almost hourly, and usually young Mr. Bieber wins. But it's been nice for the past week, watching my TEN ON THE SLED bounce around.

Kim Norman

TONI BUZZEO'S NEWEST BOOK!

2010-09-30T21:46:00.001-04:00

Adventure Annie Goes to Kindergarten
by Toni Buzzeo; illustrated by Amy Wummer
Dial Books for Young Readers, 2010
ISBN: 978-0803733589

ORDER NOW!

About the Book: There won't be a zoo escapade or a high-flying circus exploit today for Adventure Annie. Instead it is her

VISIT TONI'S WEBSITE

FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN ADVENTURE!

Luckily with her zookeeper hat, her high-wire slippers, and her walkie-talkies tucked into her backpack, Adventure Annie is ready for anything--even Kindergarten! Her teacher isn't pleased when Annie tries to turn every activity into an adventure, but when the milk for snack time goes missing, it's

ADVENTURE ANNIE TO THE RESCUE!

This energetic and laugh-out-loud story is sure to get every kid excited about starting their own Kindergarten Adventure.

From the Book

"Rise and shine, Adventure Annie,"
Mommy sings at my door.
I hop to my calendar.
AT LAST!
Adventure Annie kindergarten day.
"Will I have a wild animal zoo advenure?"
"Maybe not today," says Mommy.
"Will I have a high-flying circus adventure?"
"Maybe after school," says Mommy.
"What about a daring search-and-find rescue adventure?"
"Maybe on the weekend," says Mommy.
I throw my arms out wide.
"Well then, what adventure will I have at kindergarten?"
"Sometimes," says Mommy, "kindergarten is its own adventure."
I give her the Adventure Annie thumbs-up.

Toni shares "The Story Behind the Story"...

When the color art arrived from Amy Wummer for Adventure Annie Goes to Work, I fell even more in love with my rambunctious little character and knew she was going to light up her school when Kindergarten rolled around. I wrote to my editor, Lauri Hornik, and said, "I think Annie ought to go to Kindergarten."

She responded, "Write it!" and so I did.

Now, I was not at all like Annie in Miss Smiley's Kindergarten. I was shy and quiet and afraid of my rather cranky teacher. But as with so many of my characters, I think a high-spirited child lived inside me, the Annie I am able to channel as I write the Adventure Annie stories.

I knew I wanted to use the Pattern ofThree story structure again, as I had in Adventure Annie Goes to Work., and so I began by imagining what three adventures Annie might most like to have. Then I gave her a prop for each one (a zookeeper's hat for her wild animal adventure, high-wire slippers for her high-flying circus adventure, and walkie-talkies for her search-and-rescue adventure) to pack in her backpack. As in the previous story, Annie's exploits get her into a world of trouble, but in the end, it is Annie who saves the day--as I certainly would have, if my inner child had ever been allowed out!

Reviews and Awards

"Annie's good intentions, optimism, and curiosity make her a likable character and an excellent one to dispel fears for incoming kindergartners." ~Kim T. Ha, Elkridge Branch Library, MD School Library Journal 5-10

"Toni Buzzeo's jaunty text and Amy Wummer's jovial artwork convey a gentle message while keeping the tone effervescent. Use this bubbly book to introduce your own classroom rules and encourage individual exuberance." ~ Joy Fleishhacker, "School is Cool: Fabulous Books for Reading Aloud", SLJ Curriculum Connections 8-3-10

"With the help of this ever-spunky heroine, readers will discover that, as Annie's mother puts it, "Sometimes . . . kindergarten is its own adventure. " ~Publisher's Weekly 7-26-10

"Washed with bright, cheerful watercolors, the cartoon-style pencil drawings magnify the story’s humor and high spirits. A fine addition to the Adventure Annie series, this picture book offers a dynamic alternative to stories about shy kids with kindergarten jitters." ~ Carolyn Phelan, Booklist 5-1-10

"Buzzeo’s dauntless heroine’s attitude is infectious, and Wummer gives the curly-mopped tyke all the visual verve she deserves." ~ Kirkus 6-1-10

Ten on the COUCH!

2010-09-18T20:00:00.002-04:00

A few more than ten, in fact: a big fat box of my newest book, TEN ON THE SLED, scheduled for release from Sterling only 3 weeks from now, on October 5th. Very proud to have my name on this book, made so fun and colorful by Liza Woodruff's BRRRRilliant illustrations. (Get it? Brrrrrr-rilliant?... in the Arctic? Ar ar!)

Also got some great news about the book last week. Shouldn't really blab what, but it's good. It's really good.

Kim Norman

P.S.... Aaaannnd THAT didn't take long, did it? My cat cannot RESIST an open box, even if it's way too small for him to fit his fat feline rump into it.

Check out Mike's app!

2010-09-13T15:50:00.004-04:00

Mike Artell has a new iPhone app of his book, LEGS. Lots of fun. Check it out:

2010-11 Bookings get FREE BOOKS!

2010-06-13T20:40:00.004-04:00

Kim Norman here. Just doin' my bit to add value to my school visits: I'm offering free books for every classroom in schools who book me for the coming year, (2010-2011.) Details on my website. CLICK HERE!

Croc on CD. So cute!

2010-06-05T09:36:00.000-04:00

My editor sent me sample versions of my new Crocodaddy Scholastic paperbacks. Very nice job. They look good. She also sent a handful of read-along CDs that Scholastic had created. They're adorable! The guy doing the reading (an actor named Marc Thompson) does a good job with pacing and rhythm. They added sound effects and music, which really do enhance the story. I am very proud to see my name on these new versions of my book.

Kim Norman

Thank you, Courtland Elementary!

2010-06-02T12:00:00.001-04:00

What a fun author visit I had yesterday at Courtland Elementary School in Fredericksburg, Virginia! Thank you a thousand times over to Tammy Jones, who coordinated the visit. Also a big thank you to Mrs. Steele, the principal, who was a good sport about manning the cute new Crocodaddy puppet I bought in Florida last month. I was delighted to learn that the students knew every word of "The Storytime Boogie," so another thank you to Mrs. Lipscomb for taking the time to teach it to the students before I arrived. And of course, an extra big thank you to the PTO for making the event possible. God bless them. What would we do without our school PTOs?

And now, most charming of all, a collection of thank you notes from 2nd graders, some of whom got to hold up some of the colored papers I use when we do a read-aloud of I KNOW A WEE PIGGY WHO WALLOWED IN BROWN. (Still 2 years away from publication.)

I wish I'd had time to scan them all, but here is a sampling. I love how accurately some of them drew my "Crocodaddy-colored" green suit... all the way down to my green sandals! Thank YOU, Courtland students, for making me feel so welcome!

I love that this student used artistic license and added a green bow to my hair. Maybe I need to add that to my outfit!

The above is a reference to my "Evil Inner Editors" who say ugly things inside my head when I'm struggling with a first draft. Kids really seem to get the concept, especially since I pair the sayings with funny, distorted images of myself saying things like "What makes you think YOU can write a book?"

Kim Norman

My shiny new book!

2010-05-18T21:17:00.000-04:00

Ten on the Sled IN THE HOUSE! Received my first advance copy today. Gorgeous, colorful illustrations by Liza Woodruff; cool, silver foil-stamped title on the cover. Granted, Collin reading here is a little old for the book, dedicated to him and his brother Skylar. Hey, I wrote it as quickly as I could! And Sterling Publishing produced it fast, too. Great people there at Sterling.

It'll be in stores nationwide in October, just in time for the winter holidays!

Kim Norman
proud mama and author

FREE BOOKS!!

2010-05-14T10:37:00.006-04:00

Yup! FREE!
I'm trying a new promotion for the coming school year: To each school that schedules me for a FULL DAY visit during the 2010-2011 school year, I'll bring along a free copy of Jack of All Tails for every classroom in that school. (If the visit requires air travel, I'll ship the books for 50 cents apiece. But I usually drive to most visits within a 6 hour radius of my home in southeastern VA, in which case I can simply bring the books in my car.)

Jack of All Tails is a Penguin (Dutton) hardback WITH dust jacket; original manufacturer retail price: $15.99.

Details on my website at KIMNORMANBOOKS.COM

I love free stuff, especially free books. Don't you?

Kim Norman

5 Little Crocodiles

2010-05-03T10:24:00.001-04:00

Here's a PowerPoint presentation I created for my "5 Little Crocodiles" (Based on "Five Little Monkeys," obviously.) I tried to go the lazy route, using clipart, but there was no way I was going to find clipart for 5 different crocodiles in matching styles. If there's anything I hate, as a graphic artist, it's a flier that has been thrown together using a dozen pieces of clipart that look like they were drawn by a dozen different artists. (Right up there with my peeve about using too many typefaces or using a fancy font in illegible caps.)

So I went ahead and drew 5 little crocs. My drawing skills are pretty rusty, but it was fun. Super high tech: did the drawings on white printer paper. Scanned into Photoshop for coloring.

The basic rhyme is:

5 Little Crocodiles swimming in the lake.
One got cold and began to shake.
Crocodaddy said, "For goodness sake!
No more crocodiles swimming in the lake!"

Once we get to zero, the last line switches to, "Feed those crocs some nice hot steak!" (which explains the last graphic.)

Anyhow, it was fun to do. Hope the kids like it. I'm going to have to ask someone else to man the projector, since I do hand motions with the kids.

My sister-in-law Nelle helped me write one in Spanish for the Cuban families to whom I'll be presenting later this week. We switched lake to river, since so many Spanish words rhyme nicely with "rio." At the end, they're eating ice cream (helado frio. Nell was brilliant to come up with that!) I'll probably trip over my tongue, fitting in all those quick syllables, but I think it will be fun.

Kim Norman

A room with a new view

2010-04-16T20:41:00.001-04:00

Took my writing outside today -- even farther than my front yard. Tossed my laptop into the car and drove to the Windsor Castle parking lot. (Yes, I KNOW I could have walked the trail to get there, but I was eager to get on with the writing.) Set up my laptop on a table in the brand new picnic area and had the whole place to myself. Used my computer's camera to snap these photos of my surroundings. Lovely lovely day -- if a little bit sneezy!

It's National Poetry Month, so...

2010-04-05T20:06:00.001-04:00

Where I'm From
by Kim Norman

Inspired by George Ella Lyon's poem "Where I'm from"

I am from
Maine mosquitos and Virginia creeper.
From loon and lobster,
kudzu and Kayro.
I am from pepper flecked corn chowder
and golden fried okra.
And for dessert,
patience,
whether the wait is for
steaming Indian pudding
or freezing pecan praline, home-churned.

I am from
Pink Pearl erasers and Luden's cough drops.
From September books,
stiff-spined and ink scented,
grown floppy soft and pinky smudged by June.
I am from summer sundresses and summer reading lists,
from Pooh Corner and E.B. White,
yellow roads and black stallions.
I am from card catalogs
and nickel fines on golden tickets
too precious to release.

I am from boy pranks
like
salted slugs writhing on sidewalks,
screaming cicadas tethered on strings,
or a tiny Cuban lizard flashing out of sight,
leaving its twitching tail in my surprised fingers.
I am from chess and Chinese checkers,
from battleships and "Do not pass Go."
I'm from Saturday morning cinnamon toast,
with Stooges and cartoons,
and from Sunday night popcorn
with Mickey and Walt.

I'm from Huntley and from Brinkley,
from Cambodia and Camelot,
from Dodge and Virginia City.
I am from the moon, ("One small step for a man,")
and from space, ("Danger, Will Robinson!")

I'm from diaries and Beta tapes,
records, 8-tracks and cassettes.
I am bound in books, boxes and baby clothes.
I am from these things, in these things,
whether remembered, forgotten or forsaken.
I have outgrown the sundresses but not the sun.
Nor the books...
Even if I give them away,
or pay the fines and return them,
I live on
in the stories.

###

This my the first in a planned trio of poems based on George Ella Lyon's remarkable poem, "Where I'm from." The next two will likely cover young adulthood and motherhood. (Maybe it will become a 4-part series, if I get ambitious in my old age -- not so long from now!) Click HERE to read Ms. Lyon's original poem, which inspired my own.

Oh and, ps -- the above photo is one I took during the winter of 2010 on the new Windsor Castle trail. Okay, I'll admit the "yellow brick" is a little Photoshop trickery!

Crocodaddy on board!

2010-03-21T19:21:00.002-04:00

...on a bulletin board, that is. This is a bulletin board that greeted me at Margaret Beeks Elementary School in Blacksburg, VA last Friday. What a treat. I love the added crocodile balloon! A big thanks to Lindsay Barron and all the fine staff and PTO of Beeks, (not to mention a bright, enthusiastic student body) for making the visit such a success.

Equal thanks goes to Christel Reiber, PTO volunteer extraordinaire of Trimmer and Wallace Elementary Schools in York, Pennsylvania, which I visited the day before, on March 18th. Christel juggled books, toddlers and schedules to pull together a terrific pair of visits to sister schools. I only wish I'd remembered to pull out my camera for a photo.

Kim Norman

Headin' out!

2010-03-16T16:52:00.002-04:00

What a busy week ahead, (after a busy week LAST week!) but I'm excited about it. I'll be in York, Pennsylvania on Thursday, March 18th, visiting Trimmer and Wallace Elementary Schools. Then on Friday, I'll be in Blacksburg, VA, a few hours south, visiting Margaret Beeks Elementary.

Then, for icing on the cake, I'll be in Charlottesville on Saturday, attending the Festival of the Book. I've always meant to get to that and never have yet. So this will be a treat.

The BUSY part of last week was that I had two conferences, AND -- the best part -- got to meet and have dinner with my agent. It was such a great weekend!

Kim Norman

It's not polite to insult bears

2010-02-26T08:18:00.000-05:00

Darn these crummy bifocals. Yesterday I thought I read the following headline:

"Cruel winter's latest

insults bears downeast"

Then I read it again:
"Cruel winter's latest insult bears down on East"

Well thank goodness. I'd hate to think some rude "latest" is going around insulting bears in Maine.

It gave me such a grin that I have been inspired to "limerize" the following poem:

IT'S NOT POLITE TO INSULT BEARS
by Kim Norman

The bulletin caused me to frown,
and my brain wondered, "Black bears? or brown?"
Then I found my opaque,
Ursa Major mistake
was confusing a verb for a noun.

###

Santa Baby for Writers

2009-12-16T14:28:00.003-05:00

I've finally made an actual VIDEO of my "Santa Baby for Writers" song parody. I know; no one is going to give me a job in Hollywood as a movie editor. Blame the dancing stockings' lack of rhythm on my limited cinematography skills.

(Caveat: One teensy scatological word in the lyrics. No, not the "s" word. The "t" word which rhymes with... well... "word.")

I've added videos to my website, too. A couple of song videos and one recorded while I was visiting Coventry Elementary School last year.

KIMNORMANBOOKS.COM

Happy holidays!

Kim

Why do authors charge fees for school presentations?

2009-12-06T16:15:00.009-05:00

This weekend I heard from an author, obviously a sincere and well-meaning person, who asked to be listed on this blog. The problem with her request is this: she does her presentations for free. She says she loves it so much that the children's enjoyment is compensation enough, even if the school is a long drive from her home. I'm always sorry to turn down a request, so I wanted to give her my reasons. Here is my reply:

"Dear author,

Congratulations on your books. You sound like an upbeat, energetic person. For now, until you charge for your visits, I'm afraid I can't list you on the Author Visits by State website. This is a list for professionals who make a living not only writing their books, but also speaking to students about them. As long as you present for free, I'm afraid I'll have to place you in the volunteer rather than professional category.

If you decide to begin charging, do let me know, and I'll be pleased to add your link. I would encourage you to consider it. Your time and talents are worth something. And you may find that when you charge, you're actually treated with more respect at the schools you visit. Not to mention that you'll cover expenses such as gas and time spent on the road. (Five hours on the road to visit a school for free? Oh dear, you are a more generous person than I.)

I have discussed this with a group of author friends, and we all agreed this was the best response to your enquiry. We love what we do, too, but we cannot afford to do it for free. You see, the trouble with your request, for us, is that when you do visits for free, you potentially lower all fees. Except for the rare bestseller or "living legend," children's book writing is not known to be a lucrative profession. Many children's authors, even those with numerous books from famous publishers, have alternate sources of income: teacher, librarian, newspaper reporter. I'm a freelance graphic artist. Speaking fees help keep us solvent so we can do the thing we truly love: writing books for children.

I know, when you look at the fees per day of some authors, it seems a large sum for "a single day's work." Take my own fee, for instance, which is in the moderate range: I charge $600 for a full day of local presentations, (within 50 miles), which I cap at four hour-long presentations. I've tried to do more, but -- especially since I sing for the younger students -- my voice doesn't hold out for more than 4 hours. Doing simple math, 600 dollars seems like a lot of money for "four hour's work." But I'm not being paid for just those 4 hours. There's the travel, of course. There is the time I spend creating a lesson plan. (Every school seems to have different needs and different ways they congregate assemblies. At one school, I might present to one grade at a time; at another, I may do K thru 2 in one session and 3 thru 5 at another. This requires different preparation for the greater age spread.) There's the correspondence time with the contact person, sometimes running to dozens of emails, the generation of a contract and other materials such as posters for the event.

It's also true that, while I work from a lesson plan, a school presentation is more like a performance than a teaching session. Most authors, even those who spent years in the classroom as teachers, say the energy-expenditure during a school visit is very different than a day spent in the classroom when they were teachers. I don't know of any actors who do 4-hour one-man performances, at least not day after day. The physical toll, especially on the vocal chords, is too great.

Now add the hundreds of hours I work every year promoting myself as a speaker: I do unpaid presentations at educator conferences, I maintain this author visit website, (now at over 600 links; a lot of labor there), I built and now maintain my website & blog, I network, I write articles and supplemental materials for educators to use with my books. That's before you factor in the years of "apprenticeship" just to become a published author in the first place. And, of course, every hour spent speaking, driving or promoting my services is an hour spent NOT writing a new book. I would argue that you have put in similar amounts of labor, meaning your time is worth something, too.

You are the best person to make that call, of course, so I won't belabor the point. I do wish you well, and hope to hear from you in the future that you have decided you'd like to be compensated for your work.

Regards,

Kim Norman"

When IS a good time to submit?

2009-11-12T04:13:00.002-05:00

“Nobody reads anything in December. They’re busy planning holiday parties.”

“It’s summer. Don’t even bother to submit anything now. Editors are all away on vacation, and nobody is reading anything until the fall.”

This is the sort of talk I’ve heard over the years about the futility of submitting manuscripts over the holidays or in the summer... or a half-dozen other times of the year. It’s frustrating advice because there seem to be so many other times of the year when submissions are discouraged.

“All the publishers are in Bologna right now. No sense in submitting anything.”

One publisher even specifies a single month of the year when they will accept submissions. (And I'm not sure they even do that anymore.) For goodness sakes. When ISN’T it a bad time to submit?

Well, here’s good news – about December and summer, anyway. Some big sales have happened during those months, so don’t be daunted by nay sayers.
Sue Corbett, author of the recently released THE LAST NEWSPAPER BOY IN AMERICA, has told me that her first novel, TWELVE AGAIN, was first read and noticed during the holidays.

Jennifer Mattson, an associate agent with the highly-regarded Andrea Brown Literary Agency, believes there is really no bad time to submit. “June and July submissions can be quite nice because editors have a little more leisure to empty their in-boxes, (many officially have half-day Fridays for summer hours, but stick around into the quiet afternoons to get caught up) and some even bring manuscripts on their vacations.”

She does agree that late summer can be a little slower. “August isn't such a great time because many bigwigs go away on long trips, so it's hard to get deals formalized. But in general, I would say, don't write off summertime submissions!”

Besides, since manuscripts often sit in slush piles for months, there is almost no correlation between when a manuscript is mailed and when it is read.

Authors I talked with have similar summertime stories to tell. Jennifer Ward, (jenniferwardbooks.com), is happy to report: “Most of my published books were summer sales. Keeping with the trend, I just sold a picture book to Marshall Cavendish; signed the contract just a few weeks ago.”

There is also activity in subsidiary sales during the summer. Alex Flinn, (alexflinn.com), whose novel BEASTLY is now in production with a hot young cast from CBS Films, tells me she sold audio book rights in June to three books: BEASTLY, KISS IN TIME and her upcoming book.

When Jennifer Mattson consulted her colleagues at the Andrea Brown agency, she heard opinions similar to her own. “Several of us have made major sales in the summertime. The consensus is that there are no off seasons in publishing anymore – so let that be motivation to authors to overcome those doldrums!”

###

Kim Norman's first picture book, JACK OF ALL TAILS, was released by Dutton, a Penguin imprint, in 2007. CROCODADDY, (Sterling, a subsidiary of Barnes & Noble), debuted as the May 2009 feature for the Children's Book of the Month Club. She is looking forward to the release of two Sterling titles in 2010: TEN ON THE SLED, (illustrated by Liza Woodruff), and ALL KINDS OF KITTENS, a "Storytime Sticker" title. I KNOW A WEE PIGGY WHO WALLOWED IN BROWN, illustrated by Henry Cole, will be published by Dutton in 2012. She is represented by the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Website: kimnorman.com

This article first appeared in Kim Norman's "Outside the Lines" column in the summer 2009 issue of the Mid-Atlantic SCBWI's newsletter, "The Highlighter."

Storytime Boogie

2009-09-28T11:01:00.004-04:00

Here's a video of the kindergartners from Coventry Elementary School in Yorktown, VA, singing along with my "Storytime Boogie." I love it when they know the song in advance. (I always send a CD in advance of my visit.) But even if they don't know it, they're still bouncing and bobbing to the music in no time.

It's cute the way all the heads are swaying to the lullaby at the beginning of the song, then start bopping when the music speeds up.

I often use this song as a closing for presentations to younger students, say 3rd grade and younger, depending on the school and area. If 3rd graders seem too sophisticated for the song, or are mixed in with older students, I close with something else.

I wrote this a few years ago with a different title and lyrics, originally titled "The Lullaby Boogie." But when I started doing school visits, I rewrote it as "The Storytime Boogie," a song which encourages reading at bedtime. I also created a music video of the song which you can view on YouTube, HERE. And, of course, you can visit my website by clicking my name below.

Storytime Boogie ©2006 by Kim Norman

A squeaky clean visit with Elizabeth Dulemba

2009-09-24T13:05:00.002-04:00

Wow, time flies! Nearly half a year ago, I spent happy hours in a car with Elizabeth Dulemba as we traveled together to a school in Clanton, Alabama. We had been hired as the visiting author and illustrator of the day. We were a bit early for checking into our hotel rooms, so we found some great shopping nearby where Elizabeth bought that DIVINE wrap you see her wearing below and on her School Visits page. (In fact, the video was shot during that same visit)
I wish had transcribed all the wonderful things we talked about during that car trip and our marvelous meals together. Ah well, in lieu of sharing that conversation with you, I'll share this one, instead...

Hi Elizabeth! Congratulations on the "birth" of SOAP, SOAP, SOAP! Having enjoyed many hours with you in an authentic Mexican restaurant, *I* already know the answer to this question, but my readers might not, so can you tell us a little something about your decision to learn Spanish when you took on this project?

I took French in High School and college (and was an exchange student in Paris), but don't get much chance to practice in Georgia. Here, it's all about Spanish, which I've wanted to learn for years. My 40th birthday was looming and I LOVE Jack Tales, so when Raven Tree Press approached me to illustrate Paco and the Giant Chile Plant, a bilingual adaptation of "Jack and the Beanstalk," I jumped at the chance. Here was my excuse to finally learn Spanish! I signed up for classes at the Latin American Association in Atlanta thinking, no biggie, I'll take lessons. Little did I know what a life-changing impact the LAA and the people there would have on my life!!

Luckily, Paco did so well (it won a Moonbeam Children's Book Award Bronze Medal), my publisher wanted more. It seemed a natural fit to do another Jack Tale adaptation - this time with a slightly less well-known story, SOAP, SOAP, SOAP (now also bilingual: SOAP, SOAP, SOAP ~ JABON, JABON, JABON!)

SOAP isn't your first multi-cultural book. How did you happen to find yourself in the multi-cultural market?

It's funny, since Paco I've received many, many jobs creating multi-cultural illustrations - I must have done something right! In fact, the three books I did for the ParentSmart KidHappy™ series feature Hispanic, African American and Asian characters. I love creating multi-cultural characters - the different bone structures are challenging, so perhaps they slow me down a bit to make sure I'm getting everything right.

I know you work on a computer, (I've seen that marvelous 2-screen setup on your desk) but to me, your work is very painterly. It also has a sort of collage quality to it, as though you cut out the images and collaged them onto paper. Can you talk a little bit about how you give your work its distinctive look?

Thank you! I make a point of making sure people can't tell how I work, and try hard to include as much texture as possible (challenging in the 2-D digital world). That's where the collage elements come in. To me, texture (and color) with all their various nuances are downright fascinating!

You're a marvelous, energetic school presenter who really connects with students. What do you like students to take away from your school presentations?
You are too kind! I have a blast sharing my work with kids - probably because I still am one. But I'm a kid who had a dream and made it happen. I hope I get that across the most - that anybody can make their dream come true with hard work, dedication, and pure stubbornness! (Yes, there is a good side to that trait.)

I know you're also a savvy marketer with a large email list of subscribers to your newsletter. Can you offer any advice to new authors looking to promote themselves and their books?

I have to admit I stumbled into the secret - which is to GIVE. I was already writing articles for the SCBWI Bulletin, teaching at the John C. Campbell Folk School and basically trying to pay it forward as much as possible. But when I started giving away coloring pages on my blog (for teachers, librarians, booksellers, and parents to share with their kids), things really took off. The collection has grown quite large over the last two years and people can now sign up to receive Coloring Page Tuesday alerts in their in-box every week. I love seeing the new subscriptions come in - from libraries, schools, children's hospitals, even nursing homes - it's a thrill to know my work is being shared to spread a little joy like that.

Thanks Kim!

Thank YOU, e! (You have probably noticed by now that Elizabeth likes to just go by "e" in her online posts.) You can read more about our visit to Clanton, and see photos of "e" in action THIS ARTICLE and photo collection published by the Clanton Advertiser.

And if you can't get enough of "e," (I can't!), click HERE to see her full SOAP, SOAP, SOAP blog tour schedule

KIM NORMAN

Whew! 600 listings!

2009-09-04T13:25:00.005-04:00

Wow, I just did a count of all the links now on this site, and it has just passed 600. Whew! Makes me a dizzy to think I have communicated with all these marvelous, talented people to add their links.

When I started the blog, I seeded it with about 60 colleagues -- friends and critique group members. After that, word spread and -- since then -- everyone has contacted me, rather than the other way around.

So raise a glass of sugar-free lemonade to our first 600 links! Clink clink!

KIM NORMAN

Traveling Authors: The Diplomat & The Hollywood Journalist

2009-05-31T14:25:00.006-04:00

Kim Norman here. I'm a huge fan of NPR's This American Life, so naturally I immediately developed an e-crush on This American Life and All Things Considered commentator Jake Halpern when he contacted me about including his link on this site. (Yes, I know he looks young enough to be my son. That's why I'm drawing the line at a non-stalking e-crush.) Turns out Jake is an amazing multi-tasker. He teaches at Yale and now has two books in print: Braving Home and a newly-released young adult fantasy, Dormia, (Houghton Mifflin.) Jake has graciously agreed to lend his journalistic talents to Author Visits by State, as a guest blogger. Here's Jake:

What happens when a U.S. diplomat from Paris and a Hollywood reporter -- who is living on the Navajo reservation -- team up to write a book? Crazy things…

Everyone said I was crazy to co-author a book. The set-up was outlandish. I was a journalist who reported on American pop culture and Hollywood for NPR’s All Things Considered and the New Yorker. Then one day, my wife (Kasia) tells me she had landed a job as a doctor with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Not long after this, I found myself living on the Navajo Reservation in northwestern New Mexico, which remains one of the most remote and sparsely settled regions in the continental United States. From my desk, in our tiny ranch house, I watched prairie dogs frolic and tumbleweed blow across the street. On most days, there wasn’t much to report.

Okay, so that's me. Now meet my co-author.

Meanwhile, halfway around the world, my longtime buddy Peter Kujawinski was serving as an American diplomat in Paris. His environs could not have been more radically different. Kujawinski, known simply as “Kujo” by friends and family alike, inhabited a sprawling three bedroom penthouse which had stunning views of the Eiffel Tower. On the weekends, he and his wife Nancy – a popular local musician – hit the bars, cabarets, and bistros of the Left Bank. All that being said, by almost any measure, it was not an ideal time to be an American diplomat in France. America was knee-deep in a war that was as popular in France as Spam or Kraft Singles American Cheese Slices. As he lunched with diplomats from other countries, many of whom treated him with no small degree of contempt, Kujo often imagined that he was in another country all together – that country being the kingdom of Dormia.

Okay so what's Dormia.

Dormia is a place that both Kujo and I had discussed on numerous occasions. We actually first dreamed up the book while visiting the Sinai Peninsula – a rugged, beautiful, but deserted stretch of Egypt that stretches out into the luminescent waters of the Red Sea. We slept on a sand dune, beneath the stars, like the Bedouin. One night we got caught in a sand storm known as a khamseen. Luckily, the storm wasn't too severe. We were never in danger, but sleeping proved impossible, and as we huddled and chatted through the night, speaking about the magic of travel, wandering in the desert, and sleeping. This is truly where the idea for Dormia was born.

Okay, so at this point, you're probably wondering: How did these two guys actually write the book? Good question. The quick answer: E-mail. We overburdened our e-mail accounts by sending the 500-page manuscript as an attachment to each other at least once, sometimes twice or even three times a day. We just passed the thing back and forth like a cyber football. Peter would go out for drinks at a local bistro in Paris, come home late, burn the midnight oil in Paris, hammer out a new chapter, and then fire the thing across the globe to me

Sometimes, of course, we did talk by phone. I did much of my writing from a remote cottage in southwest Colorado. I would hike from the cottage to a massive rock on top of a desert butte in order to get cell phone reception. The rock offered panoramic views of Mesa Verde National Park. Here it was possible to gaze out for fifty miles without seeing any signs of civilization. I called this perch "Telephone Rock." So I'd hike up to Telephone Rock to call Peter and when I'd finally reach him at the United Nations in New York, he'd say: 'Sorry man, I can't talk during lunch today – we’re having an emergency session of the Security Council.' So we kind of gave up on the phone, at least during the week. We did e-mail, and it worked out for the best, because we just focused on the nuts and bolts of writing the book.

For us, the book became a way to deepen our friendship. Over the years that it took to write this book, we rendezvoused in a number of odd places including a café in Paris, a remote canyon in New Mexico, and a tree house in the Berkshires. The result was a much prolonged boyhood and, of course, our book.

Kim again: Visit Jake's website HERE. Besides his home state of Connecticut, he's also available for author visits in MA., VT., NY., PA., DC., DE., VA., and NJ.

Croc on tour!

2009-05-13T09:59:00.001-04:00

Crocodaddy survived his first book signing on Saturday and is now on a blog book tour sponsored by KidzBookBuzz! Thank you to Sally Apokedak for arranging the tour, as well as a sincere thanks to all her marvelous, dedicated bloggers. I would also like to thank my publisher, Sterling Children's Books, which got behind the tour and shipped out a collection of review copies.

I love that one blogger even included crocodile crafts in her post. I'm definitely going to incorporate some of those in school and library presentations.

Visit these blogs for reviews, interviews, craft projects and giveaways. (Yes, giveaways! Jump in!)

A Christian Worldview of Fiction
A Mom Speaks
A Patchwork of Books
All About Children’s Books
Becky’s Book Reviews
Booking Mama
Cafe of Dreams
Dolce Bellezza
Elizabeth O. Dulemba
Fireside Musings
KidzBookBuzz.com
Looking Glass Reviews
Maw Books Blog
Never Jam Today
Olive Tree
Our Big Earth
Reading is My Superpower
SMS Book Reviews
The 160 Acrewoods
Through a Child’s Eyes

Happy Birthday to Crocodaddy!

2009-05-11T08:49:00.001-04:00

How cute is this?! My son's girlfriend made this adorable cake over the weekend to celebrate my first CROCODADDY book signing, which was held at the Isle of Wight County Museum -- blissfully sheltered from the day's heat and humidity. I spent a couple of minutes putting up a sandwich board outside, so my hair had completely wilted before I managed to get set up the table at 9am.

We scheduled it for the same time as the "Mother's Day Farmer's Market," right next door to the museum. I love having a summer farmer's market within walking distance of my house. Wait, that was a confusing sentence. I don't live at the museum. I live a couple of blocks from there. I can look over the hill and see the museum from my backdoor.

Crocodaddy's really, truly, official birthday seems to have slid around, so I'm not sure what date, exactly, counts as his birthday. All the Barnes & Noble stores seem to have put it out early, as soon as they received their shipments, which I am happy about, of course! My friends have been sending me photos from around the country of B&N Croc sightings. So sweet of them!

Anyhow, Croc is now officially in the building AND he's on a blog book tour. Visit Kidzbookbuzz for interviews, reviews and giveaways over the next 3 days. (Monday, May 11, thru Wednesday, May 13.)

Kim Norman

Tour and launch count down!

2009-05-02T16:20:00.006-04:00

My newest book, CROCODADDY is now in Barnes & Noble stores nationwide. Yahoo! (Or maybe I should say it's making a splash nationwide.)

To prove it's nationwide, my good friend Shelli snapped a photo of it in her local Austin, TX store. How cute is that? I hope the store employees didn't think she was doing some sort of industrial espionage for Books-a-Million.

Next week will be crazy busy. I've got two out of state school visits, (one in N.C. and one in Maryland) and a book launch/signing at the Isle of Wight Museum on Saturday, May 9th. Looking forward to all of it, of course. It's a morning signing, (9am to noon), to coincide with the farmers' market, I've invited family for lunch after the signing. I'm hoping for nice weather because I'd like to serve lunch outside in my "garden room." (Translation: a lovely, rosy spot under my pecan tree.)

Then I've got a blog book tour sponsored by Kidsbookbuzz, which I'm looking forward, too, also. I'm grateful to the owner of the website, Sally Apokedak, for arranging the tour.

So raise a glass of green Croco-cola for the birth of Crocodaddy!

Kim Norman

Meet our guest blogger, Hannah Stahlhut

2009-02-27T15:55:00.006-05:00

Our guest blogger today is Hannah Stahlhut, a young author based in Indiana. She writes:

I have had the amazing opportunity to encourage and share my story with many students in Indianapolis and the surrounding areas. I've met some incredible young writers and been completely amazed by the patience and kindness of many teachers. However, my fondest memory is still the very first visit-- my first appearance as an author.

I was excited, yet terrified as I awaited my first author visit. My book had just been released, and Uncle Tom insisted I make an appearance at his school. He and the other 4th grade teachers at Douglas MacArthur Elementary had read my story in manuscript form to the students, and they were anxious to meet me in person and buy an autographed copy of the book.

As the kids filed into the room, I fumbled with my notes and tried not to notice my parents, grandparents, and a few cousins sitting in the back row smiling at me. They knew I was more than a little nervous about this arrangement, and I would rather have given the presentation without them staring at me. I smiled nervously at the children and eyed the exit signs. No escaping now. The kids all sat down on the floor and quieted down, looking up at me. I cleared my throat and set my notes down on the table in front of me. My hands trembled.

I opened my mouth and started telling them my story. I explained that, though I have never been the best student, I have always loved stories. My goal since childhood was to share my own stories with other people through writing. I recalled how my short stories evolved into chapter books, and I entered my book, Journey to the Homeland, into a book competition. Most importantly, I told them I was really a very ordinary person—my parents aren't publishers and I've never had any special tutoring. If I could write a book, they could all follow their dreams, too. The words spilled out a bit quickly, but I was growing in confidence. I talked about the importance of setting high goals and sticking to them. Before I knew it, it was question and answer time.

The kids bombarded me with questions. They wanted to know my favorite character in my book. They wanted to know if there was going to be a sequel, or, better yet, a movie! I assured them there would be no movie, but a sequel was in the making. One girl told me about a story she was writing, which sounded like it would put mine to shame. They were all so interested in what I had to say, I couldn't believe it. My nervous doubts were long forgotten and I sat there chatting (or that's what it felt like, really) for another twenty minutes.

This certainly wasn't my best presentation ever, but I learned a lot that day in my uncle's classroom. I knew from that day forward that kids really looked up to me. A few weeks later, I received an email from one student who was inspired to write her own story after listening to me. I realized that my visits can make a difference in the students' lives and possibly encourage budding writers to pursue their dreams

###

Glad to hear you overcame your nerves and enjoyed the presentation, Hannah!

Visit Hannah's website HERE.

Kim Norman, Virginia
author of:
JACK OF ALL TAILS, Dutton, June 2007
CROCODADDY, Sterling, May 2009
I KNOW A WEE PIGGY WHO WALLOWED IN BROWN, Dutton, 2010
TEN ON THE SLED, Sterling, 2010

Only one more week to win free books!!

2008-11-23T02:22:00.001-05:00

With the book giveaway concluding at the end of this month (Nov 08) I think it's a good idea to give the contest one more plug. Honest, folks, it looks as though not that many folks are entered in the contest yet, (not the thousands I'd hoped), but what's bad for me (not being famous -- boo hoo!) is good for you -- because it increases your odds of winning!

But there's not much time left, so the Thanksgiving holiday is the perfect time for teachers to take a few minutes to enter. See details in the repost below:

Hi all,
I'm excited to share information about a book giveaway I'm involved with through TheApple, an educator's website. The contest runs thru the entire month of November, 2008. The winner must be a teacher or homeschooler, so FORWARD THIS LINK TO ALL THE TEACHERS YOU KNOW!

Here's official blurb from TheApple:
TheApple is proud to host a book contest with author Kim Norman. Come on over to TheApple to learn about "The Perfect Author Visit," then take a little quiz for a chance to win 35 autographed copies of her book, JACK OF ALL TAILS. Click HERE for info on how to participate.

(Kim Norman popping into the official blurb to let you know I have never received even the tiniest bit of spam as a result of registering on the site many months ago.)

TheApple is a community by and for educators. Registration is free! TheApple offers a huge library of resources written by educators on how to manage a class, work with parents, teach special needs, and utilize technology to name a few. Browse lesson plans, news, videos, career quizzes or join a group.

Kim

Singing Author Visit

2008-11-08T03:45:00.000-05:00

I enjoyed a terrific visit to Coventry Elementary in Yorktown, VA, last week. What a great school! Here's a video of the kids singing along with my "Storytime Boogie." I love it when they know the song in advance. (I always send a CD in advance of my visit.) But even if they don't know it, they're still bouncing and bobbing to the music in no time.

In this video, it's cute the way all the heads are swaying to the lullaby at the beginning of the song, then start bopping when the music speeds up.

This is a song I wrote a few years ago with a different title and lyrics. But when I started doing school visits, I rewrote it as "The Storytime Boogie," a song which encourages bedtime reading. I also created a music video of the song which you can view on YouTube, HERE. And, of course, you can visit my website by clicking my name below.

"Storytime Boogie" ©2006 by Kim Norman

JOIN A SHOW-BIZ SCIENCE PROJECT

2008-10-20T17:33:00.000-04:00

Visiting-author-of-the-day, Vicki Cobb, well-known science author, has created an unprecedented multi-media project that you and your students can join. It combines a book, with YouTube type videos and the Web.

Just for fun, check out these irresistible one-minute videos HERE. The scripts for these videos come from Vicki’s new book: We Dare You! Hundreds Of Fun Science Bets Challenges And Experiments You Can Do At Home. So far, she has made only 25 videos out of a potential 286 in the book. Vicki invites her readers to participate in this project by making videos doing tricks from the book and sending them to her for editing and posting on the web. Downloadable information on how to join this project can be found HERE. She is asking the public to help create a library of videos for teachers to use in the classroom nd families to use at home to get kids interested in science and reading. And if you go the extra step to join the project, your kids not only learn science but get to star in their own little show. It’s a win-win for everyone!

I've used Vicki's books in my own home and at our home school co-op, as well as -- I confess -- checking out her I Face the Wind a dozen times from the library as a mentor text when I was considering writing nonfiction. Her books are superb.

Kim Norman

Visiting Author of the Day: JULIE BOWE!!

2008-08-10T08:56:00.000-04:00

I'm just back from vacation, so a little late celebrating a new "book birthday." Julie Bowe's 2nd book, MY NEW BEST FRIEND, was released on August 1st. But here's a birthday wish, a few days late: Happy Birthday, Ida May!

To learn more about Wisconsin author Julie Bowe, her author visits and her Ida May books, click HERE.

Kim Norman

Author visit trailers

2008-07-15T20:02:00.000-04:00

I've seen talk lately about book trailers, author trailers, you-name-it trailers. Here's a trailer I created a few months ago, a little "Author Visit Show-and-Tell"...

Made it myself in that cool iMovie program on my Mac. Kind of fun being a pretend director. And here's the song with which I often close my younger elementary school author programs, "The Storytime Boogie," which promotes bedtime reading:

Happy bedtime reading!!

Kim Norman

Alex Flinn's dream author visit

2008-06-25T07:59:00.000-04:00

Today, Florida author Alex Flinn shares an example of a dream author visit:

In the perfect author visit (and I've had some), groups would be anywhere from 30-125 students, all of whom have read at least one of my books. If possible, they would also have self-selected to be at the presentation. Presentations would be scheduled for neither the first nor last period of the day. All of the above makes for maximum audience participation. There would be some time set aside, either a writing workshop or author lunch, for the kids who are really into reading and/or writing.

My personal favorite school was in Upstate New York. I visited several years ago and met with groups groups of 75 students, each of whom had read several of my books. They also had a lunch for teachers and students to meet me, and it was at this lunch that I got the idea for one of my books, DIVA. I also spoke at an evening library presentation for "The Great New York Read-aloud." Three years later, I visited this same school, spoke with two more self-selected groups of 75 as well as a roundtable of girls who had been involved in domestic violence incidents.

I've had many good school visits and a few bad ones. The common thread for the good ones was that I felt that every student at the presentation wanted to be there. Usually, but not always, this meant that the students had self-selected to be there. The few exceptions to this were schools where there was a large remedial reading population who liked my books. The worst visit BY FAR was one where a well-intentioned public library district had me go to a school for two full days without ascertaining that the students had ever heard of or read my books. They hadn't. They would have spent their money better to have me go one day and spent the second day's money on the books. I've had visits set up by public libraries, which worked, but it was because they made sure the kids had read the books.

###

Kim butting back in again:
I suppose that's one of the differences between presentations by picture book authors and YA authors. Since a YA is too long to read during the presentation, it really is imperative that students be familiar with the author's book/books before she arrives. Whereas, as a picture book author, I have appeared at many schools where the kids have not yet read my book. Heck, I started doing school visits even before my book came out. I figured, what I lacked in publication credits, I made up for in stage experience. (Yup, that's me, the "nun" on the left. How I'd love to wear that costume at a school visit some day!)

Also complicating the reading-in-advance issue is that younger students are fairly easily impressed. The really young ones greet a visiting puppet as a celebrity. So just being told that you're an author is enough to command respect from the grammar school set. Not true of older students, I'm guessing. If they've never heard of you OR your book, they're much more likely to tune you out.

Kim Norman

Toni's Perfect Day

2008-06-10T06:25:00.000-04:00

Author Toni Buzzeo (Maine) steps in to share the first post in a new series I'm calling THE PERFECT AUTHOR VISIT. The first few posts in the series will describe perfect visits from the author's perspective. We'll hear from Dr. Fred Bortz, (Pennsylvania); Alex Flinn, (Florida); Rukhsana Kahn,(Canada); Marianne Mitchell, (Colorado); and Jane Yolen, (New York). Later, I hope to add similar posts from an educator's perspective. Here's Toni:

This visit happened in New York state in April. It was so wonderful, so much like the visits I used to have at my school when I was the host and when NCLB hadn't darkened the door of the educational landscape.

1. I was hired a year in advance (possibly more).
2. The librarian kept in touch with me during the intervening months, but not needlessly so, just with important questions.
3. She and the other librarians took me out to dinner and we had a fun and relaxing time BEFORE the day of her school, so I felt like I already knew her.
4. When I arrived, I had some time to get set up and make sure the technology was working (and plenty of people to help me with that).
5. The sessions were held in a very comfortable auditorium with excellent acoustics and a good wireless mic.
6. The faculty had a wonderful breakfast for me and the SUPERINTENDENT came and stayed.
7. I had some one-on-one time to chat with the SUPERINTENDENT after the breakfast.
8. Four fifth graders arrived to take me on a tour of the school to show me ALL OF THE STUDENT PROJECTS ABOUT MY BOOKS DISPLAYED ON BOTH FLOORS OF THE ENTIRE SCHOOL!!

Jacket Art ©2008 by Sachiko Yoshikawa
9. The superintendent stayed for my K session and then spoke to me afterwards.
10. The PRINCIPAL attended two of my sessions and joined us for a lunch of spinach salad the kitchen had made especially for us.
11. The PR DIRECTOR for the district came to hear the entire session for 1-2 grade.
12. EVERY fifth grader had done a research essay on ME!! They asked the most interesting and intelligent questions during Q&A.
13. The books for signing were well-organized and there were LOTS of them.
14. One of the third grade teachers made me Mrs. Skorupski glasses and my host librarian bought me a beautiful lighthouse charm.
15. Kids wrote me letters both before and after my visit.

What an amazing school and an amazing day in this era of "No Child Left Behind." When I told them how rare it was to find a school that felt it had this sort of time for author visit preparations, the principal and the librarian were astounded. They'd always done it this way and say they always will. A year long focus on literacy and learning via an indepth author study! Woooohoooo! Everything Jane Kurtz and I espoused in TERRIFIC CONNECTIONS!

And now moi, (Kim Norman), butting in to add:

So everybody, here is another component to a perfect author visit: Be sure you're following Toni Buzzeo or Jane Kurtz. LOL! (Because my Hampton, Virginia visit following Toni's visit last year went well, too.) Obviously, Jane & Toni are good leaders, encouraging a reading of their how-to book, TERRIFIC CONNECTIONS, before they come.

Coincidentally, at a school I visited a few weeks ago, Jane Kurtz had been there the year before. So at my "Follow-Jane-Kurtz" visit, the principal sat in on both presentations. That has never, ever happened before. Sometimes the principals don't even pop in to meet me. (Generally, I've found that visits go better when they do. That seems to indicate a higher level of involvement from the whole staff, although I understand that sometimes schedules don't allow time for the principal to get away from his/her obligations.)

Also at this school, the book sale & signing was very organized, and they had sold more books in advance than any school the whole year.

So, thanks to Toni and Jane, I had a near perfect visit, too!
If you'd like to see my author visit video, click HERE. It will give you an idea of my presentation style. I generally like to close my presentations for the younger students with "The Storytime Boogie," a song that encourages bedtime reading. Music video of "The Storytime Boogie" HERE.

Kim Norman

Visiting Author of the Day: TONI BUZZEO!

2008-05-06T07:23:00.000-04:00

I usually upload an image of an author's website when I select them as Visiting Author of the Day, but I wanted to share a new podcast in praise of Toni Buzzeo's wonderful book, Fired Up With Reading. After you listen to the podcast on Just One More Book, (and have probably listened to a few others; that's such a great collection of children's book related podcasts, I can never stop at just one!) you can pop over to Toni's incredibly informative site by clicking HERE.

Kim Norman

Visiting Author of the Day:

2008-05-04T07:43:00.000-04:00

I'm happy to say that New Jersey author Lisa Mullarkey recently booked a visit as a direct result of a school finding her on this website. Yay!! That's exactly why I created the site -- to help schools & libraries make connections with nearby authors and illustrators.

Lisa also generously went online and bought a copy of my book to donate to the school, which she'll be visiting in June. What a sweetie! I mailed her a bookplate inscribed to the students.

To learn more about an author visit from Lisa, (she's comfortably close to other eastern states, as well), visit her website HERE.

Kim Norman

Visiting Author of the Day:

2008-04-28T09:22:00.000-04:00

It's still poetry month for a few more days, right? So today my Visiting Author of the Day is Karen Jo Shapiro. She's not only a visiting author, she's a visiting poet. Her spot-on parodies of famous classic poems are brilliant! Karen is in North Carolina. To learn more about her books and an author visit, click THIS LINK. (Or scroll down to North Carolina, in the left-hand column.)

Kim Norman

Visiting Author of the Day:

2008-04-13T09:03:00.000-04:00

Can't promise I'll add a new featured visiting author every day... in fact, I can guarantee I'll be very undisciplined about it. So maybe this should be called "Visiting Author of the Week"... or maybe even "of the MONTH!"

Regardless of what it's called, Sandra Friend's enticing new page outlining her author visits seemed like the perfect kick-off to this feature. I mean, who WOULDN'T want to know more about flesh-eating plants or "haboobs?" (I'm such a 3rd grader at heart. I've looked up the word, and it STILL makes me giggle!)

Sandra lives in Florida. Visit her school visit page HERE.
Kim Norman

Thanks, Kevin!

2008-03-31T09:26:00.001-04:00

I'm so proud to share this fabulous drawing Kevin O'Malley did for me! Long story, but the short version is, I bought an extra copy of GIMME CRACKED CORN & I WILL SHARE, a book he had dedicated to me. (I had helped with the title.) Scheduling complications kept him from being able to autograph it at the Va. State Reading Assoc. conference, so -- LUCKY ME! -- he did a drawing for me instead. How cool is that?!

I'm terrible about getting around to framing things, so I'm resolved to do that before it gets dusty, which happens with most of our family photos.

Kim Norman

Author visit with enthusiastic 5th graders!

2008-02-28T20:32:00.000-05:00

Is that a great photo, or what? These are the wrists of 5th graders from Sedgefield Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia. Yesterday I spoke to them about writing, touching on skills they can incorporate into their SOLs (Standards of Learning tests) which are coming up next week. Susan Quenville, Sedgefield's reading specialist, was a gracious hostess. I also enjoyed meeting other staff members as well as Principal Patricia Tilghman, who was warm and welcoming.

While I love the sweetness of younger students, I also like working with older students like this because we can really get into details. So we did my "Verbal-loons" activity, (lots of laughs there while -- I HOPE -- learning the importance of choosing exciting verbs). They also enjoyed a peek at my Evil Inner Editor, and then they created wrist bands with the initials "WCTW," which stands for "Writers Choose Their Words."

I first put together this lesson plan for John B. Cary Elementary in Hampton, Virginia, a couple of weeks ago. Blogged about that HERE. Librarian Mel Black says the slogan ("Writers Choose Their Words") seems to have really stuck with her students -- although it probably doesn't hurt that she has reinforced it since my visit, using her cool SmartBoard. Sedgefield has one, too. What a marvelous teaching device!

All I can say is, I love my new part-time job!

Kim

Hope this helps!

2008-02-25T22:07:00.000-05:00

I've visited innumerable schools where teachers have told me their search to hire an author would have been greatly simplified if there were a state-by-state list somewhere. Well, here it is!

This is a work in progress, so I hope you'll forgive me as I add to the list. If you are an author with a traditionally published children's book, please contact me and I'll see about adding your listing under the state in which you live.

Likewise, if you are a teacher or librarian who has hired a great author and you don't see them listed here, please let me know about them and I'll add them as well.

No charge to ANYONE to be listed on this site, by the way. Just trying to simplify the process for everyone.

Email me with additions/corrections at:

kimnorman (insert @ sign) charter.net
Or visit my website and email me from there.
Thanks for stopping by!

Kim Norman