Blogging A to Z: Author/Illustrator Visits
Many children’s authors and illustrators are awesome people to get to know! They are truly some of the kindest souls on this planet – at least a lot of the ones I have met in person and online. I think many kids don’t fully understand the entire process of what it takes to write a book and get it published. But, author and illustrator visits are a great way to learn more! Plus, personalized books are pretty amazing!
Author visits, especially ones geared towards kids are really great! They tend to speak about their process in creating the story, usually show some photographs or talk about their workspace and take questions. Then, after the visit, they’ll hang out to sign copies of their book. Illustrator visits can sometimes be even more fun because they’ll often do some drawing while they talk or at least show you their process with lots of photographs as well.
Where to find visits
But, where do you find author and illustrator visits? I would definitely check out your local library and bookstore. I know personally, that our library never gets a great turnout for author visits. Add in the fact that we can’t afford the really big-name authors, so we don’t host authors all that often. But, a local independent bookstore has a number of events every month featuring authors and illustrators. I’ve been a handful of times and have enjoyed each and every one!
But, I know that for some, finding a local author or illustrator might prove to be extremely difficult. Especiallly depending on where you live. In that case, try reaching out to authors and illustrators online through social media. It’s not exactly the same, but a lot of authors and illustrators are extremely excited to talk with teachers, families, librarians, and bloggers. You never know who will respond! Plus, you can always check out their websites. I know a number of authors will have information about their upcoming events or fun activities on their sites.
Seeing an author or illustrator in real life or connecting virtually can definitely make readers even BIGGER fans of creators. And it humanizes the work as well, teaching kids that writing and illustrating can be extremely difficult careers, but also really rewarding ones as well.
For the month of April, I’ll be sharing tips for reaching reluctant readers as part of the Blogging A to Z Challenge. There are dozens of reasons why a child might be considered a “reluctant reader.” As summer nears, continued reading practice helps students to keep the reading skills they learned while reading for fun. But, that’s not easy when a child doesn’t want to sit down and read. I’ll be sharing 26 tips to meet reluctant readers where they are. And hopefully find a way to make reading bearable, if not even something they want to do!
