Virtual Author Visits @ Your Libraryhttp://goo.gl/6EOPFa

Wendy StephensPLD January 31, 2014

Kate Messner’s site:Picture booksMiddle gradeTeenAdult

http://skypeanauthor.wikifoundry.com/

Skype an Author Network

Social media…

Social media…

Another resource

Another resource

“As a final activity after reading the book we will have the opportunity to Skype with the author, Beck McDowell. To prepare for the interview I had the students brainstorm a list of possible questions to ask the author as we were reading Last Bus Out.

Here are a few of the questions:

• Why did you choose to write about Hurricane Katrina?• How did you select Courtney Miles as the main character?• Why was his story so important to share?• Are there any fictional characters in the book?• How did you get Courtney to trust you with such personal

information, i.e. his girlfriend and childhood experiences?

Sometimes the questions were later answered within the text, but it was a way to keep the students actively thinking beyond the text. A few times they would come back after a weekend and announce they had thought of another question to ask. We are the first group of students at Seneca Grade School to interview an author via Skype and we really appreciate the opportunity.”

http://marianslibrary.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/hurricane-katrina-the-emergence-of-a-high-school-hero/

Another virtual author visit idea: author text chat…Angie Manfredi, Los Alamos Public Library

• Prevents the “any questions?” inhibition• Queue questions ahead of time• Have all participants submit a question

Virtual Author Visits @ Your Library

Wendy StephensPLD January 31, 2014