Tips for a great author visit!

You’ve booked me for an author visit at your school (thank you!). Now what?

Well, here are some neat ideas to help make my appearance even more memorable and fun:

Make it Sports Jersey Day

On the day of my visit, encourage all the children and teachers to wear their favorite team jersey.

Lunch with the Author

Select or “reward” a child (or a few kids) to have a special lunch with the author.

Decorate with Sports Stuff

Write to or call your local professional sports team’s Community Affairs department and request a donation of pennants, premiums, photos, yearbooks, etc and display them on the day of the author visit. Some teams will even send their mascot with prizes!

Provide Coloring Pages

Click on the Coloring Pages section of my Web site and provide the children with character images from my book Elves Can’t Dunk to color or make posters with. 

Provide Word Search Games

Click on the Appearances section of my Web site, then the Fun Games icon to see all that is available. You can also have the children make their own Word Search games using key words from one of my books.

Make A Baseball Card Bookmark

Print out the image of the Babe Ruth rookie card on my Web site on card stock and make some fun bookmarks. You can find the image by clicking on Trading Cards.

Research Babe Ruth/Write a Story

In advance of my visit, print out my story “Babe Ruth and the Notched Bat” on the short stories section. Have the children research Babe Ruth or write a story about how it must feel to hit a homerun. Encourage the children to describe in detail what it feels like when the bat hits the ball, trotting around the bases, and touching home plate – just like the Babe. What do they see, hear, feel, and smell?

Put On A Skit

Encourage some teachers to put on a skit of “Casey At The Bat” or sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” for the students at some point during the day of my visit.

Cool Assignment

Click on the link below to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Web site, scroll down to section V, letter f. Have your students do the assignment that involves my book Hitting Glory.

http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/education/units/content/technology.htm