Author Visits

I have several presentations tailored to the age level and size of a group. I’ve found that no two school visits are quite the same, and I try to accommodate the teachers’ preferences. I’ve conducted one-day workshops about the writing process to smaller groups of kids ranging from fourth-fifth graders all the way to high school seniors. I also speak with younger audiences, focusing on my preschool and early-reader titles. My larger-group presentations include:

• The life of a writer. A PowerPoint presentation showing my early childhood, college and post-college years and how I came to do what I do. I talk about my first writing job, at Sesame Street, and my very first books to be published, as well as my work as an illustrator. I show kids the different phases of creating a book, from initial idea to finished book, and show pages of early drafts and emphasize the importance of the revision process.
• The Poop talk. This is a large-group presentation in which I talk more specifically about my most recent book, Poop Happened: A History of the World from the Bottom Up. Using intriguing images (a knight in armor, a lady in a hoop skirt, a sedan chair) and real props (a chamber pot, special shoes for walking in dirty streets, Victorian pantaloons) I get kids to think about aspects of social history that may not have occurred to them (such as how a knight goes to the bathroom while wearing his armor, how a lady in a hoop dress manages to “answer the call of nature,” and what the Ancient Romans used as toilet paper). By engaging them with fun and funny anecdotes about how people managed before the appearance of flushing toilets, I try to inspire them to learn more history. Some of the major historical periods I touch on include Ancient Rome, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution.

If teachers would like me to go into more detail about writing a nonfiction book, I can also talk about the research process, checking facts, synthesizing multiple sources, and constructing a bibliography, how to distinguish a reliable source of information from an unreliable one, and how a writer has to make choices about what to include and what to leave out. I also stress that it is just as important to have a “hook” and a “story” for a nonfiction book as it is for a fiction book.

School Visits

I love to visit schools. I speak with audiences from kindergarten through high school! My honorarium is $500 per day for a maximum of three presentations, plus travel expenses if it involves more than an hour drive from my home. Please contact me for references from other schools, or to arrange a visit.

Free Skype Visits

I offer free Skype visits (thirty minutes or less) and especially enjoy talking about Poop Happened. My only requirements are that kids be somewhat familiar with the book and that they prepare questions in advance. My Skype account name is sarahalbee. Please contact me for references from other classroom teachers with whom I’ve Skyped, or to arrange a visit.