Posts Tagged ‘author visits’

Do I look like a porcupine?

Filed under: Events,For Teachers,Illustration,SCBWI Southen Breeze,School Visits | April 28, 2026

THIS Saturday, I’ll be reading my new illustrated book, Lilibet Makes A Friend, at Read It Again Books in Suwanee, GA! After storytime, kids can decorate their own idea notebooks (just like Lilibet), and if you purchase a copy of the book at the event, you can get a FREE caricature drawn on-site by Brush & Bean!

Bring the COOLEST illustration exhibit to YOUR school hallways!

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Want your WHOLE school to be talking about art and books? THIS large, eye-catching, print-on-your-own exhibit is just the thing to make it happen!!

There are many, many different ways that illustrators approach kids’ book art, and these display posters highlight the creative processes of over 20 talented illustrators from the GA/AL/FL region. The only cost involved is that of printing.

It’s SO easy:

  1. Get in touch
  2. Print the poster files
  3. Hang and ENJOY!
  4. Recycle the posters by passing them to another school when you are finished :)

Contact Jime Wimmer
(Southern-Breeze-ic@scbwi.org)
to get it going!

As always, thank you for reading my newsletter!

Love, Shanda

My School Visit Stats!

Filed under: Coolness,Events,For Teachers,Growing Up Reading,School Visits | May 23, 2023

YOU DID IT! (or you’re reeeeally close)

Look at you! You made it through another school year and so did I! I’m definitely ready for a break from early bed times and early wake times.

My girls are finishing up their last week of 3rd and 7th grades (7th almost killed me but that’s another story) but I had my biggest, busiest school visiting year yet thanks to all the wonderful people who invited me to their schools so I could share my love of stories! I know it takes extra effort to organize an author visit, so I am deeply appreciative of those who went that extra mile for their students and for me.

Visiting schools is one of the best parts of my work. It’s just so cool to connect with so many different people in various places … all because of a book. 

Here are my stats for the year…

“Our staff and teachers felt like you did an amazing job keeping the kids engaged and were an amazing presenter. It was so enjoyable to have you visit! All parts of the presentations were amazing and very well planned to keep the students focused and excited about writing and illustrating. Thank you.” – Sandy, Media Specialist, Canton, GA

“I loved how you were able to bring the presentation down to a level that even the Pre-K and Kindergarten were engaged. I also loved the way you encouraged the students to look at the illustrations and explained that many times the illustrations have an effect on the meaning of the text. Our students and teachers alike loved the presentations.” – Angelia, Media Specialist, Demorest, GA.

“We loved the presentation! Our students loved drawing along with you! I really enjoyed working with you from our first email until the last session was over today. You have thought through every aspect of your visit to make it as smooth as possible. Thank you!” – Jennifer, Media Specialist, Canton, GA

I’m booking for the 2023-2024 school year now! If you’re interested, take a look at my presentations, pricing, and availability calendar here and let’s get something set up!

H.A.G.S. (Have a good summer :) – Shanda

Kids Writing Workshops and Author Visit Programs for 2022-23

Filed under: For Teachers,Growing Up Writing,School Visits | August 4, 2022

Hello friends!

Here in north Georgia our school year has just begun! This past Monday, my girls started 7th grade and 3rd grade. I can barely believe it! Our Summer (full of broken bones, birthday parties, puppies, swimming, fireworks, and a friend from Hungary) swirled by like a twister! But now I am ready for Fall.Every Summer, I give my school visit materials a facelift. And depending on my experiences/feedback from the previous year, I might add, adjust, or even take away a presentation. Sometimes prices need to be adjusted or maybe I want to implement a new logistical strategy in my school visit workflow. Each year is different!


What’s New For My 2022-23 Visits?
For this new academic year I was inspired to add some writing workshops to my school visit program menu, partly because I love seeing students streeeetch their minds to create a completely unique story of their own, and partly because I got the “writing workshop scoop” from my author friend, Lola. (See podcast below)



Photo: 11-year-old young author and I at the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival, 2022, UAE.

Two New Writing Workshops!


Thank You Letter Writing Workshop
Best for grades K-3rd (45 minute session)

NEW! This workshop uses LITTLE RED AND THE BIG BAD EDITOR to model how to write a thank you letter (complete with punctuation, capital letters, finger spaces, as well as a greeting and closing)! Shanda will read the book, brainstorm with students about who they could write a thank you letter to, walk them through writing it, and encourage them to actually deliver it!



Cheesy Comics Writing Workshop
Best for grades 3rd-5th (2 or 3 one hour sessions)

NEW! This silly educational workshop (part 1) starts with students imagining, drawing, and creating a main character (that also happens to be a slice of cheese :) with unique wants, fears, histories, and problems. The next session (part 2) will focus on telling the character’s story by creating a short comic with the cheesy character pitted against its greatest fear, whatever that may be! A third session (part 3) may be added for students to give/receive constructive feedback using the “critique sandwich” method then revising their stories to be even better!





New Podcast Episode!

Educators: If you’d like to know more about bringing an author to your school for a writer’s workshop (and possibly even earn some PD), check out this latest podcast episode where I interview my author friend, Lola Schaefer, about just that!Authors: If you’ve ever thought about doing writing workshops with kids, this episode is a must!


Go to the episode

I can’t wait to start visiting schools this year :) Let me know if you’d like to set something up! Visit my school visit info page for all programs, pricing, and available dates.As always, thanks for reading!

Special Virtual Presentations and Workshops with FIRE TRUCK VS. DRAGON creators: Chris Barton and Shanda McCloskey

Filed under: Uncategorized | October 7, 2020


We (Chris Barton and Shanda McCloskey) love hanging out with educators and their students, and welcome the opportunity to plan a special FIRE TRUCK VS. DRAGON visit for your whole school or individual class(es).

Build-Your-Own-Visit:


All visits start with a quick intro to the book and its creators (5 minutes)
Choose 3 or 4 more sections to be included in your presentation:


– Live reading of FIRE TRUCK VS. DRAGON (10 minutes)
– Let’s talk about “expectations” in/out of the book (10 minutes)
– A peek behind the scenes of FT vs D (10 minutes)
– Opposites! (10 minutes)
– Dragon or Fire Truck drawing demo for kids to follow along (10 minutes)
– Q&A session with prepared or on-the-spot questions (10 minutes)


Great for grades Pre-K all the way through 5th, as the presentations are tailored to the ages. If you can’t decide which parts to include, we can choose for you (based on our favorites) if you like.


Price: $450 (35-45 min). If your school is willing to promote a signed book sale (online), we are happy to take $50 off the visit!

“Friendly Opposites” Single-Day Writing Workshop:


In this single-day workshop, Chris will lead students through a collaborative process of creating their own “friendly opposites” story while Shanda illustrates it in real time! Best for small groups, grades 1st – 5th.


Price: $450 (45-55 min). If your school is willing to promote a signed book sale (online), we are happy to take $50 off the visit!

“Creating in a Team” Multi-Day Writing & Illustrating Workshop:


In this 3-day virtual workshop, students get to spend individual and combined time with Chris and Shanda, learn/practice storytelling techniques (in words and pictures), and get a taste of what it’s like to work on a story with others! Best for small groups in grades 3rd – 5th.


Price: $850 (3 sessions). If your school is willing to promote a signed book sale (online), we are happy to take $50 off the visit!

  • Day 1: Students will create a short piece of writing with author, Chris Barton. (45 min)
  • Day 2: With illustrator, Shanda McCloskey, students will create a single illustration for a fellow student’s writing from the previous day. (45 min)
  • Day 3: Shanda, Chris, and the class virtually gather to see some of the collaborations that students made and any last Q and A. (45 min)

Have questions? Ready to set up a visit? 

Contact Chris at https://chrisbarton.info/contact-me.html or Shanda at theshanda@yahoo.com.



Here’s a printable version of this info: 

Shanda McCloskey, Children's Illustrator & Author