Author Visits
About My Author Visits
I love to visit schools to talk about my books and the field of illustration.
If you're interested in having me visit, please contact
my wife, Christy, to discuss details such as pricing, scheduling, etc.
Program Description
In my programs I talk about the process of writing and illustrating picture books, focusing one of my current books. Since much of my work is done digitally, I bring a computer along to help with my presentation. It is VERY IMPORTANT that the students have read some of my books. At the very least they should have read book that I will be presenting to them.
Reading
I’ll start off by reading one of my books. To make it easier for all students to see, I have all the illustrations on the computer and project them onto a large screen behind me. It’s important that all the kids can see the illustrations because we’ll come back to them later.
Brainstorming
Next, we’ll talk about how authors and illustrators get their ideas and how a manuscript is first presented to a publisher. Along the way, we’ll introduce the main characters in the book-making process including the author, the illustrator, the editor, the publisher, the salespeople, and the customers.
The Process
From there we’ll get into the main part of making the book: the hard work. I’ll show how a picture develops from rough sketches, to tight sketches, to pencils and finished art. Here are some additional specifics of what I cover in each book’s presentation.
Benjamin Franklinstein LIVES! (Best for 4th-grade on up)
This presentation covers the process of writing and illustrating a middle-grade chapter book. I put a special emphasis on research as part of the writing process, as I take the audience through some of the amazing things I discovered about Frankenstein and Benjamin Franklin. I’ll also show how I illustrated the book and navigated the many of the wrong turns and missteps we ran into along the way. Because the presentation is so specific to character and plot development and revisions, the presentation really only works if all the students in the room have read the book, or at least started it.
Even Monsters Need Haircuts (Great for younger grades, K-3)
In this presentation I’ll show where I got the inspiration for the monsters in the book and demonstrate my digital illustration process as we all design a monster together on the computer.
The Lion's Share (Best for grades 2-5)
This presentation covers digital illustration, math, and the surprising power of doubling and halving. I "hire" a volunteer from the audience to work for me for a month, and demonstrate what would happen if I paid them in pennies using a geometrical progression. It's a little bit like a game show, and it demonstrates the central theme of the book in a fun way.
Backbeard and the Birthday Suit / Backbeard: Pirate for Hire (Grades 1-5)
I show how the illustrations for these books were made from photographs of textures I found in my neighborhood. To demonstrate, I select a couple volunteers from the audience and take photos of the patterns on their clothing, then incorporate those textures digitally into a picture from the book.
Bean Thirteen (Best for grades 1-3)
Using suggestions from the audience, we invent a bug and I paint it on an easel. I demonstrate my process by photographing the painting and bringing the painting into the computer, where I clean it up, color it, and add it to one of the illustrations from the book.
Absolutely Not (Best for K-1)
For this presentation, I take the audience through a participatory reading of Absolutely Not, finding the illusions hidden in the illustrations. Afterward, we go back in time to see how the story and the illustrations all came together to make a book.
Questions and Answers
I always try to save at least ten to fifteen minutes at the end for questions from the audience. This is my favorite part of the program, and I encourage teachers who might have questions feel free to ask them as well.
Program Details
A Typical Day
I can give 3 large group (auditorium) presentations or 4 smaller group (library) presentations in a day. I can also do an additional meeting, with a small group of students, over lunch or snack so they can ask me questions.
Equipment Requirements
I don’t need? much, but I do need a video/computer projector (sometimes called an LCD projector) I can plug my laptop into. I’ll also need a screen, an easel and 2-3 sheets of large paper (if we’ll be doing the Bean 13 presentation), a couple of electrical outlets nearby (extension cords if necessary) and a chair. If you will have me in a large room like the cafeteria, please have a mic available (wireless, if possible, so I can walk among the students).
Program Length
For grades 4 and higher allow one hour for the program and question and answer time. For 2nd and 3rd grade plan 45 minutes to an hour. Programs for Kindergarten and First Grade are about a half an hour. I’ll need at least 10-15 minutes in between each program to get set up again.
School Contact
The programs always seem to go smoothest when there’s someone at the school who will be available throughout the day to answer questions and to help me find my way around.
Program Location
Because my presentation uses electronic and digital equipment, it works best if I can set up in one location and stay there the entire day.
I understand that scheduling a visit like this can be a logistical nightmare, especially if you need to fit in every single student and make sure they don’t miss any specials, interfere with lunch, etc. I have found that libraries tend to work the best, because they’re relatively intimate. If we have to use an enormous room it really helps if we can arrange everyone so that they’re pretty close to the front, ideally in a sort of U shape around me.
Although we can make them work, cafeterias and gyms tend to be the worst place to set up; they’re so big that the sounds bounce all over the place and it tends to be very distracting for the students.
No matter where we set up, though, it’s critical that we can make the room dark. Not pitch-black, but dark enough so that the images show up clearly from the projector. In the past, we’ve had problems in gyms where the windows couldn’t be effectively blocked, and it was tough for the students to see. (This also depends on the projector. If it has a powerful bulb, it can compensate for some light in the room. You should set it up to test the room before you decide which room is best.) Please understand, I am not responsible for the quality of the presentation if the students can not see the projected image clearly.
Program Size
If you would like three presentations, I can do up to 175 kids in each presentation group. If you would like me to do four presentations, please keep the groups to around 80 students in a smaller room such as the library. Generally, my programs work best with a relatively small group so I can interact with the kids and they can ask questions.
Age Groups
I adapt my program to accommodate all grades from K-6, although the programs for Kindergarten and First Grade tend to run a little shorter than the rest (about a half-hour). If I’ll be presenting for an entire school, it seems to work best if we break it down into groups of two grades at a time (for example K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6). See the program descriptions above for recommendations on which book for what age group.
Ordering Books
I’ve found the best way to handle book orders is to go through your local independent bookseller. Several months before the visit, send an order form home with your students. On it, you’ll want to include the books they can order, a short description of each to help the parents decide, the price, and the name they would like me to use when signing the book.
Bookstores
As far as finding a bookstore, I have great relationships with these booksellers. Just give them a call and tell them I’m coming to visit your school. They can help set everything up, offer discounted pricing for schools, and will take care of all the complicated details you don’t have time for. Plus, you’ll be supporting an independent bookseller!
In the Capital Region: |
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The Book House |
I Love Books |
Open Door Bookstore |
North of Syracuse River’s End Bookstore
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Syracuse area: Creekside Books
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Hudson Valley: Blackwood & Brouwer Booksellers, LTD. |
If you are unable to arrange things through a local bookseller, you may also contact the publisher, Walker, for sales of Even Monsters Need Haircuts, The Lion’s Share, Absolutely Not, and the Backbeard books:
MPS Special Sales
1-888-330-8477
For Bean Thirteen, Benjamin Franklinstein LIVES!, and Benjamin Franklinstein Meets the Fright Brothers, contact Penguin Group Publishing for information:
Penguin Group order processing: 866-206-5865
Signing Books
Signings will go smoothest when you have the students fill out a small slip of paper with their first name only, which you then insert into each book like a bookmark. That way, I can read the name off each slip and personalize the autograph accordingly.
I’ll be happy to sign any books you or the students might have. There are two ways we can do it:
- I can sign the books while the students wait.
For example, after each presentation, the students who have books to be signed can stick around afterwards and make a short line. I’ll sit at a table and sign them, and in about five or ten minutes (depending on how many books there are) we can do the entire bunch. The advantage of this method is that I get to meet the students, and they get to see me sign their book. The disadvantage is that I will only have time to sign their name and my signature. - I can sign the books between sessions and at the end of the day, but not while the students are waiting.
If we have a large number of books to be signed, this is definitely the better choice. It gives me a little more time, and I can include a small drawing with each signature.
Preparing for the Visit
The visits are so much better if the teachers and students are familiar with my books. Please make sure everyone has read as many of them as possible. (If you're having trouble getting a hold of an out-of-print book, I can arrange to send you a loaner copy ahead of time.) Try to start preparing the students at least a few weeks before the visit, and encourage them to think of questions that they can bring to the presentation. Once you've scheduled a visit with me, I'll contact you with detailed instructions on how to prepare.
Additional Questions
If you have any additional questions, or have an idea for something not covered here, please feel free to contact me any time.
All content © Matthew McElligott