Note for Teachers & Librarians: We have more listings than can appear on one page, so when you scroll to the bottom, be sure to click "Previous 10" to see the next page of offerings! You can also click on any of the tags on the left to search tours by age levels, themes, and curriculum topics.
This blog is hosted by Marjorie Light and Kate Messner. We're enthusiastic readers, writers, and English teachers in Upstate NY. If you have questions or comments, our email is authorskypetour at gmail dot com.
Marjorie Light is a National Board Certified middle school English teacher and the author of several yet-to-be-published middle grade and young adult novels. She's always at work on her next project and also facilitates the Northern New York SCBWI group. She's @marjorielight on Twitter.
Kate Messner is an author and National Board Certified middle school English teacher. Her titles include 2010 E.B. White Read Aloud Winner THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. and SUGAR AND ICE (Walker/Bloomsbury), the forthcoming MARTY MCGUIRE chapter book series with Scholastic (May 2011), a first-day-of-school picture book called SEA MONSTER'S FIRST DAY (Chronicle, July 2011) and a teacher resource book called REAL REVISION: AUTHORS' STRATEGIES TO SHARE WITH STUDENT WRITERS (Stenhouse, Spring 2011). Learn more at her website: www.katemessner.com. She's @katemessner on Twitter.
So how does this site work?
Simple, really. Authors who are offering limited-time Skype book tours to teachers and librarians free of charge can list them here. You can offer read-alouds, behind-the-scenes stories, show-and-tell, writing activities...whatever sounds like fun. Teachers & librarians can search the listings to find opportunities for their students. We're just making the introductions. Authors and teachers are responsible for working out the details via email.
How do authors & publishers benefit?
A limited-time Skype book tour is a great way for an author to get the word out about a new book release. You'll have opportunities to show readers your book, share an excerpt, answer questions and become a part of the reading/writing journey for the students with whom you connect. Plus it's free.
How do teachers & librarians benefit?
Connecting students with authors can be a powerful way to introduce them to new titles and provide real-world writing mentors. Author Skype Tour offers are tagged with age levels, themes, and writing topics so that you can find titles and authors to match your curriculum needs. And did we mention they're free?
Is there a charge to be listed or to be included on an author's tour?
Nope. We're doing this because we're writers and teachers, and we like other writers and teachers a whole lot. We think more of you ought to get to know one another, and we hope this will help. It's a free service that we'll continue as long as it's helpful to people who love kids and books. If you find the site helpful and want to say thanks, we'd love it if teachers & librarians would share our books (and forthcoming books) with your young readers. As for authors and publishers...we never say no to middle grade and YA book donations to our classroom libraries. :-)
Where can I learn more about Skype author visits?
Check out Kate's School Library Journal technology features on this topic:
( More Information for Authors & Publishers - How to List a Skype Tour )
( More Information for Teachers & Librarians - How to Book an Author Skype Tour for Your Group )
Website: http://www.olugbemisola.com/
Title: 8TH GRADE SUPER ZERO (Arthur A. Levine Books, paperback release June 2011)
Best for Grades: 3-5, 6-8
Themes/topics for discussion: community service, bullying, social justice, family, friendship, economic hardship, multiculturalism/diversity
Writing Topics you like to discuss: brainstorming, revision, editing, character development, humor
About the book: After the worst first day of school ever, Reggie “Pukey” McKnight wants to get through the school year out of the spotlight and on the sidelines. Then he and his friends Ruthie and Joe C. get involved with a wacky televised school election and a local homeless shelter; they start thinking about being activists in their world and beyond. A pair of “Dora the Explorer” sneakers seems to have powers of transformation, and Reggie wonders: can kids really make a difference?
Available days/times for Skype chats: Weekday mornings are best; there is some flexibility.
Tour Dates: June 2011
Email: olugbemisola@olugbemisola.com
Website: www.richardnewsome.com
Author Skype Tour title: The Billionaire's Curse (Paperback) (Walden Pond Books, Release Date: May 17 2011)
Best for Grades: Middle School
Themes/topics for discussion: The effect of greed on people's morals
Writing Topics you like to discuss: Putting your heroes under pressure, planning, goal setting
About the book: Gerald Wilkins has just become the richest 13-year-old on the planet, after his great aunt leaves him a $30 billion fortune in her will. But she has also left him a mystery to solve, as a shadowy villain has Gerald in his sights.
Available days/times for Skype chats: Weekdays from 9-10am (East coast) or 2-3pm (West coast)
Tour Dates: May 2011
Visits Available: 10 visits
Email: richard@richardnewsome.com
Author Skype Tour title: The Billionaire's Curse (Paperback) (Walden Pond Books, Release Date: May 17 2011)
Best for Grades: Middle School
Themes/topics for discussion: The effect of greed on people's morals
Writing Topics you like to discuss: Putting your heroes under pressure, planning, goal setting
About the book: Gerald Wilkins has just become the richest 13-year-old on the planet, after his great aunt leaves him a $30 billion fortune in her will. But she has also left him a mystery to solve, as a shadowy villain has Gerald in his sights.
Available days/times for Skype chats: Weekdays from 9-10am (East coast) or 2-3pm (West coast)
Tour Dates: May 2011
Visits Available: 10 visits
Email: richard@richardnewsome.com
Website: http://www.jennifertrafton.com
Author Skype Tour title: THE RISE AND FALL OF MOUNT MAJESTIC (Penguin/Dial 2010)
Best for Grades: 3-5
Themes/topics for discussion: imagination, fantasy, becoming a writer
Writing Topics you like to discuss: ideas, characters, the writing process, revision, how and why I became a writer, favorite books - I can adapt to the teacher's needs!
About the book: Ten-year-old Persimmony Smudge leads a very dull life on the Island at the Center of Everything . . . until the night she overhears a life-changing secret. It seems that Mount Majestic, the rising and falling mountain in the center of the island, is not a mountain at all--it's the belly of a sleeping giant.
Available days/times for Skype chats: flexible - contact for schedule
Tour Dates: April and May, 2011
Visits Available: 10
Email: jennifer@jennifertrafton.com
Website: http://www.katiedavis.com
Author Skype Tour title: LITTLE CHICKEN'S BIG DAY (S&S/McElderry Books, April 19, 2011)
Best for Grades: K-3
Themes/topics for discussion: Creativity, writing books, illustrating books, storytelling, getting lost, following directions.
Writing Topics you like to discuss: Everything! Brainstorming, revision, editing, illustration...whatever the class needs and/or the teacher wants.
About the book: In a starred review Booklist wrote, "...delightful illustrations...just the right amount of emotional heft...this book is perfect...engaging...such appealing characters...utterly simple and utterly adorable."
"I hear you cluckin', Big Chicken!" That's the simple refrain that Little Chicken repeats to his mama throughout a typical day. But Little Chicken can be distractable . . . and when he wanders off and gets lost, the day becomes anything but typical. With subtlety and humor, this sweet little story sweeps through a wide range emotions using the simplest of language. From husband and wife team Katie and Jerry Davis, this is a little book with a huge heart. The perfectly minimal illustrations and spare text belie the enormous message at its core: that with family, help is always just a cluck away.
Available days/times for Skype chats: Any time!
Tour Dates: April and May, 2011
Email: katiedavis@katiedavis.com
Website:http://www.ericluper.com
Author Skype Tour title: JEREMY BENDER VS. THE CUPCAKE CADETS (Balzer & Bray, May 2011)
Best for Grades: 4-6
Writing Topics: IDEAS, Where do they come from? Revising, What it's like to be an author
About the book: When sixth-grader Jeremy Bender damages his father's prized boat and needs to come up with the money to get it repaired, he and his best friend infiltrate the Cupcake Cadet troop in an attempt to win the Windjammer Whirl, a model sailboat race, and the prize money that comes with it. But despite what he might have thought, Jeremy quickly discovers that being a girl is no piece of cupcake!
Available days/times for Skype chats: Tuesdays & Thursdays 9AM-2:30PM EST
Tour Dates: May 3 - June 2, 2011
Number of Books/Visits Available: 10
Email: eric.luper@gmail.com
Website: http://www.katemessner.com
Author Skype Tour title: MARTY MCGUIRE (Scholastic, May 2011)
Also see Kate's March & April Skype Tour offer for SUGAR AND ICE (Walker/Bloomsbury, 2010)
Best for Grades: K-2, 3-5
Themes/Topics for Discussion: Ecosystems, improvisation
Writing Topics: brainstorming, research, revision
About the book: Marty McGuire would rather spend recess catching frogs in the pond than playing dress-up with the other third grade girls. So when her teacher casts Marty as the princess in the school play, Marty's absolutely, positively sure there's been a huge mistake. But with a special lesson in improvisation, Marty finds a way to improve the play. Maybe a princess in muddy sneakers can live happily ever after, after all!
Available days/times for Skype chats: Weekdays, 11:15 AM
Tour Dates: May 2 - June 10
Number of Visits Available: 20
Email: kmessner at katemessner dot com
Website: http://www.lenaroybooks.com
Author Skype Tour title: EDGES (FSG, December 2010)
Best for Grades: high school
Themes/topics for discussion: addiction, recovery, grief, loss, family, alcoholism
Writing Topics: Characterization, revision, plotting, editing, brainstorming, first drafts, blogging, mining our experiences for fiction
About the book: Seventeen-year-old Luke lives and works at the Moonflower Motel in Moab, having fled New York City where his father Frank drowns his sorrows after the death of Luke’s mother. Back in New York, eighteen-year-old Ava meets Frank at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. When these lost souls converge in Moab, what happens transforms them all.
Available days/times for Skype chats: Weekdays 9AM-3PM EST
Tour Dates: March 28-April 15, April 25-May 20
Number of Books/Visits Available: 15
Email: lena.roy@gmail.com
Website: www.nudgingtheimagination.com
Author Skype Tour title: PLAY BALL LIKE THE PROS (Peachtree, March 2010)
Best for Grades: 3-5, middle school
Themes/topics for discussion: Baseball
Writing Topics: brainstorming, revision, nonfiction, brainstorming
About the book: Baseball tips for kids 8-12 years old and their coaches from 20 Major League stars. Each chapter includes, among other things, a Q&A about a specific skill with such players as Jeter, Pedroia, Mauer, Howard, Longoria, Sabathia, Youkilis and Teixeira as well as their 8-12-year-old baseball-playing memories.
Available days/times for Skype chats: Flexible
Tour Dates: March - May
Email: Nudging@aol.com
Website: http://juliekarr.com
Author Skype Tour title: XVI (Speak, an imprint of Penguin USA, January 2011)
Best for Grades: high school
Themes/topics for discussion: dystopian, government, teen sexuality, families, media
Writing Topics: first drafts, revision, plotting
About the book: In the future, innocence expires at sixteen. With no choice in the matter, fifteen year old Nina is desperately holding onto normal. Then, with one brutal strike, Nina's normal is shattered; and she discovers nothing about her life is true.
Available days/times for Skype chats: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday after 4:30pm, Weekends after 10am EST
Tour Dates: April 11 - May 12, 2011
Number of Books/Visits Available: 10 (Skyping classes will receive one book and bookmarks while supplies last.)
Email: juliakarr@me.com
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