For School Visits, programs are tailored to the particular needs, grade level, and class size of each school - suggested topics below give an idea of content and possibilities.
I also do presentations and workshops for adults regarding my career, books, and publishing (scroll down).
For any size class above, say 20, I do a PowerPoint. Need a projector, possibly a computer (although I can bring my own), a room that can be made dark, maybe a microphone, and a table (3'x6' or so). I do 3, occasionally 4, presentations in a day. For the younger students, probably 30 minutes, and then 15 minutes Q&A. For older grades, 40-45 minutes with Q&A. Lunch with students, librarians, teachers, or parents is fine (actually, good focus groups!). Am quite happy to autograph books, which the school can preorder. Best for autographing is to be seated at a table with an "assistant" who notes names on post-its, or to have the order form with dedication handed to me by each student.
K-Grade 2: Several programs are available, and can be combined. Show art and talk about Inside-Outside Dinosaurs, Hatch!, and the up-coming, Busy Builders, a book about bugs. Read and discuss recent lift-the-flap fold-out books (Go!Go!Go! and Rodeo). Show Mazeways: A to Z alphabet art (A is for Airport, B is for Boatyard, C is for Circus, etc) - good for letter recognition. Presentation also can include distribution of some dinosaur or letter coloring pages.
Grades 3-4/5: Several programs are available (can be combined):
Read, show art, and talk about Inside-Outside Dinosaurs, Hatch!, and the up-coming book about bugs, Busy Builders.
How a lift-the-flap book is made (Go!Go!Go! and Rodeo).
Maze program: Show art and discuss and the 5 maze books (Mazescapes, Amazement Park,Wild West Trail Ride Maze, Mazeways: A to Z and EcoMazes: 12 EarthAdventures). Can also teach students how to make a Geometric and/or a Random Roxie Reversing Maze. Possible giveaways: Three-part maze; several of the letter mazes, including finding elements; and 3 mazes from EcoMazes. All can be colored in also. Plus bookmarks.
Biography program: Read and talk about characters in Crocodiles Camels & Dugout Canoes; Feathers Flaps & Flops; Gargoyles Girders & Glass Houses; and The Great Bridge-Building Contest.
For special or regional audiences, I do a Western- or Texas-themed talk with Ranch, Rodeo, Wild West Trail Ride Maze, Texas Rangers: Legendary Lawmen, The Inside-Outside Book of Texas, and Desert Days, Desert Nights.
A program on EcoMazes: 12 Earth Adventures and Desert Days, Desert Nights with the focus on the ecology and science involved.
Grades 5/6 and up: Several programs are available:
Discuss my art career, from childhood to present. Talk about where ideas come from. Show how to make a book including research, storyboards, dummies, rough sketches, text, and finished art from actual books. How publishing works.
A program on EcoMazes: 12 Earth Adventures and Desert Days, Desert Nights with the focus on the ecology and science involved.
Biography program: Show art and talk about characters in Crocodiles Camels & Dugout Canoes; Feathers Flaps & Flops; Gargoyles Girders & Glass Houses; and The Great Bridge-Building Contest.
Mastering the Maze (PowerPoint): How my maze idea developed, a brief overview of mazes and labyrinths (history and geography of mazes), how to make a Geometric Maze and a Random Roxie Reversing Maze, examples of Real Life Mazes, and a discussion of Mazeways: A to Z and EcoMazes: 12 Earth Adventures. Have an architecturally-themed talk: highlights from the Inside-Outside series, Architects Make Zigzags (Looking at Architecture from A to Z), and Gargoyles, Girders & Glass Houses.
Fees are generally $1500 a day, plus travel expenses (airfare, train, inexpensive hotel, if necessary). Two schools can share me for day, if they are close together and transportation between them provided (2 programs per school/$800 per school). Two or more schools in the same town or county sometimes arrange visits on consecutive days, thus sharing transportation/accommodation costs.
Adult Programs (conferences, workshops, teachers, librarians, etc): A 45-minute PowerPoint, with Q&A and a signing session. Workshops: Presentations and teaching varies depending upon venue and time. Fees: e-mail Roxie.
"Where
do you get your ideas?" This presentation highlights my career and the
progression from the Inside-Outside Books through lift-the-flap and
maze books, discussing how each concept builds upon the others. It also covers how I make a book, from research through storyboards, dummies, rough sketches to finished art and text, as well as how publishing works: the current children's book world including creative and editorial process through marketing and book publication, trends and publishing tips in today's market.
For western audiences, a program on the research and writing/illustration of my six western-themed books (The Inside-Outside Book of Texas, Ranch, Wild West Trail Ride Maze, Rodeo, Texas Rangers: Legendary Lawmen, and Desert Days, Desert Nights).
Mastering the Maze: How the maze idea developed, a brief overview of mazes and labyrinths (history and geography of mazes), how to make a Geometric Maze and a Random Roxie Reversing Maze, examples of Real Life Mazes, a sampling of the editorial decisions and research, storyboards, dummies, sketches, and art of Mazescapes, Amazement Park, Wild West Trail Ride, Mazeways: A to Z, and EcoMazes: 12 Earth Adventures.
Also, the creation and development of Roxie's A-MAZE-ing Vacation Adventure (an interactive animated maze game app for the iPad) and Roxie's DOORS (an interactive 3-D animated app for the iPad, adapted from Doors, a lift-the-flap book.)
Teaching/workshops: Above subjects, plus Watercolor and/or drawing classes. How to publish a children's book.
For photos of Roxie at schools, libraries, hospitals, giving a lecture, or at bookstores, click here: Photos
For photos of Roxie teaching art at workshops or at sea, click here: Photos
Check out the "For Teachers, Parents" page, if you didn't see it before. Has additional info on some of Roxie's books, and helpful links. For lots of free print-outs (almost a dozen mazes, Dino coloring sheets, Desert coloring sheets, and 5 sets of bookmarks) go to the For Kids page. There are also step-by-step illustrated instructions on how to make mazes on the For Kids page, as well as info on making a paper-engineered book. For more information about school, library, or conference visits, comments, or suggestions, e-mail me at roxie@roxiemunro.com
All work on this site Copyright 2012 Roxie Munro. All rights reserved.