SCHOOL EVENTS + CLASSROOM AUTHOR VISIT

“What a fantastic time SFIS had with Gabrielle Balkan yesterday! She was awesome! She could definitely help instruct anyone on how to connect with young people. She had our students so engaged with movement, discussion, drawing, learning, and having a really fun time! Her visit certainly inspired our students to want to be authors and illustrators!” - Carolyn, Librarian, Saint Francis International School

“Gabrielle's visit was fantastic and so well structured; it was a perfect fit for our 2nd grade students and kept them engaged.” — Alicia Wiechert, Library Information Specalist, Ramona Elementary School

I would love to visit your school, learning pod, teacher's conference, panel, bookstore, kitchen table, and etc! I’m happy to customize + brainstorm ways we can get a plan in the works. Like so many authors and illustrators, I offer as many free and discounted visits as I can. Like so many authors + illustrators, school visits are a portion of my income that is not met by book sales; they allow me some small financial security to continue to research and write for young readers. Thank you for supporting your readers, supporting independent writing, and being a part of all of this!

> As of March 14, 2020, visits will be in-person or virtual based on current CDC guidelines based on COVID-19 transmission rates…which seems to change weekly!

Complete the relevant form to get an idea of options + rates.

• Virtual Author visit form
• In-Person Author Visit form
• Word Read Aloud Day (WRAD)

HOME BOUND ACTIVITIES
Stuck home? I’m slowly collecting some activities to download + print and authors + illustrators to visit with. I hope to get a video of my own together…eventually! Take a peek here!
 

WHAT A VISIT MIGHT LOOK LIKE

  • During a typical school visit around The 50 States and 50 Cities, students and I enjoy lively conversations about the different types of maps, how to make editorial choices about what to include in a map, the social responsibilities of a map, and create a map of an invented state, complete with state foods, animals, and mottos.
    >> Students love to critique early drafts of my own book and offer suggestions for how to improve other maps we find in newspapers and books.
    >> This presentation is PERFECT for students in grades 4-5, and I have enjoyed tweaking the presentation for students as young as 2nd grade and as old as 8th grade.

  • During a typical school visit with Book of Bones and Book of Flight, students and I discuss animal features, decision making in writing, and create a skeleton or diagram of an invented animal, complete with labels describing the animals habitat, diet, and special abilities.
    >> Students love to give their best effort while drawing and numbering the neck vertebrae in a human VS giraffe. They also enjoy voting on the best size comparisons for the length of a whale mandible (motorcycles VS mailboxes VS walrus).
    >>This presentation is PERFECT for students in grades 2-3, and I have enjoyed tweaking it up down to kindergarten and up to 8th grade.

50 States Story Time at McNally Jackson_Statue of Liberty.jpeg

HOW TO HOST AN AUTHOR VISIT

ORDERING BOOKS FOR AN AUTHOR VISIT

  • Start the process about six weeks before your event.

  • Download and personalize this...

  • via your local local bookstore! Some stores offer bulk discounts (when 50 copies of the same title are ordered) and/or educator discounts.
    Your local bookstore will need the following:
    Event Date
    Delivery & Location Address
    ISBN(s) for the book(s)
    Quantity you need per ISBN

  • via Scholastic Book Clubs. Book of Bones is sometimes available for a $9 paperback.

SHOP
Find links to each of my books — all on one page.

TEACHERS
A few free download-ables for the classroom.

THE MAKING BOOKS BLOG
A few behind-the-scenes moments.

UPCOMING EVENTS

PROFESSIONAL EVENTS

• Nov: SCBWI Nonfiction Workshop (attendee)
• Sept 10: Five Kinds of Nonfiction: Understanding the Children’s Publishing Market with Melissa Stewart (attendee)
• Aug 18 - 21: Reinventing the Author Visit with Kate Messner and Julie Hedlund (attendee)

VIRTUAL EVENTS

LISTEN ANYTIME! RECORDED INTERVIEWS

PAST EVENTS

PAST SCHOOLS