2. Table of Contents Introduction 3 Author Event Planning Guide 4 - 8 Budget 9 Memo of Understanding 10 Letter of Confirmation 11 Travel Form – Author 12 Car Service Invoice 13 Promoting the Author Visit 14 PTA Flyer 15 Author Visit/Autograph Party Invitation Flyer 17 Student Reminder Flyer 18 Author Guide Flyer/Poster 20 Lesson Plan 21 – 24 Autographed Book Sale Form 25 Checklist One Week Prior To Visit 26 Checklist For The Day Of Visit 27 - 28 Timeline For Day of Visit 29 Thanking The Author 30 Presentation of Gift 31 Scrapbook Coversheet 32 Thank You Letters 33 Author Visit Evaluation 34 - 35 Conclusion 36

3. An author visit is exciting for a school, and should be planned properly and promoted uniquely to the school community to ensure a successful visit. Inviting an author to your school not only gives students and teachers a break from the routine of the classroom, but also ignites a love of reading and writing as well as expressing creativity. The following is a planning guide that involves an author visit to two elementary schools that I hope you enjoy and use in your career as a librarian.

21. Language Arts Topic: Seymour the Reindeer’s North Pole Time Travels Time: 1 hour Grade: 2 The purpose of this lesson plan is to familiarize students with the upcoming author visit by Jane Smith. Involving the students with the book prior to the visit will stimulate interest and interaction with the book and the author. Objective: After completing this lesson the students will be able to: Brainstorm ideas for a new Seymour Travel Develop a word web to produce a new travel Illustrate the new travel Be more involved in the upcoming author visit ESOL Modifications for Objectives: Students will be able to: 1) Brainstorm ideas for a Seymour travel 2) Develop illustration using a word web in the home language 3) Illustrate the new travel

22. Linguistic Objectives: This lesson will introduce the students to the writing process by brainstorming ideas. The students will be introduced to illustrating a new idea from the book they have just explored. This can later be expanded on in a short narrative story in a future lesson. Cultural Objectives: The students will be taught that everyone takes an individual appreciation for the details of a book. Each student will present his or her idea about what they consider a fun new adventure for Seymour. Some cultural differences will be revealed in the sharing of these stories such as; where a student may choose to have Seymour visit. Sunshine State Standards: Drafting The student will pre-write by organizing ideas using simple webs, maps, or lists. (LA.1.3.1.3) The student will write narratives that include a main idea based on real or imagined events, characters, and a sequence of events. (VA.B.1.1.4) Predicts what a passage is about based on its title and illustrations. (LA.A.1.1.1)

24. Materials: Seymour the Reindeer’s North Pole Time Travel by Jane Smith Word web copies for students Drawing paper for illustrations Other materials pertinent to drawing activity Evaluation: 1) Student can list activities 2) Student can illustrate favorite travels with Seymour 3) Student can brainstorm on a word web ESOL Modifications for Evaluation: Pre-Production: Student can illustrate favorite travels with Seymour Student can brainstorm a word web in the home language Speech Emergence: Student can illustrate favorite travels with Seymour Student can brainstorm in second language (English) using a word web

29. Timeline For Day Of Visit 7:00 am – Car service transports author to Wing 7:30 am – Author meet and greet with Principal, Assistant Principal, and those assisting with presentation 8:00 am – Breakfast with Librarian at Wing 8:30 am – Check event room for staging, lighting, sound, and other equipment that author requested. Also, check tables/chairs set up for visit and autograph party. AV equipment should be set up prior to author arrival (day before). Brief the author on its usage. Teachers should begin lining up students to walk to the library. 8:45 am – Students gather in event room 9:00 am – 10:00 am – Author Visit at Wing 10:00 am – 11:00 am – Autograph Party 11:15 am – Car service transport author from Wing Elementary to Gatelot Elementary 11:30 am – Author meet and greet with Principal, Assistant Principal, and those assisting with presentation 12:00 pm – 12:30 pm – Lunch with Librarian at Gatelot 12:30 pm - Check event room for staging, lighting, sound, and other equipment that author requested. Also, check tables/chairs set up for visit and autograph party. AV equipment should be set up prior to author arrival (day before). Brief the author on its usage. Teachers should begin lining up students to walk to the library. 12:45 am – Students gather in event room 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – Author Visit at Gatelot 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Autograph Party 3:15 pm – Car service transport author to airport

34. Evaluation of the Author Visit It is necessary for the librarian to complete an evaluation of the author visit. He or she will take surveys of teachers, students, parents, etc. He or she will also conduct interviews of the same participants. This data will be compiled, reviewed and prepared into a report. The following is a document that was designed for the Wing and Gatelot Elementary Schools: 1) Program Evaluation Plan

36. Conclusion As you can see, planning an author visit can be a complex task, but the end result will be very rewarding. The more promotion, the more excited the students will become. The more excitement, the more the students will look forward to the next time an author is invited to the school. The Internet is a great resource for finding authors, from Skypeanauthor to Scholastic’s Invite an Author web page, it is virtually easy to find an author and how much it will cost for the visit. Just a little bit of research and contacting the author or publisher will start the journey to a fantastic voyage of excitement for your school.