Local Vermont author, Linda Urban, will be visiting our school tomorrow, Wednesday, March 11th and will be sharing her experience as a writer. Linda is the former marketing director at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, California, and now writes children's books full-time and lives in Montpelier, Vermont. Her books have included Mouse Was Mad, A Crooked Kind of Perfect, The Center of Everything, and Hound Dog True.

You can learn more about Linda Urban at her website by clicking

here.  She will be visiting classrooms at the following times:

 

Grades 1-2: 8:30-9:30 in Stacy's room

Kindergarten: 9:35-10:10 in K room (TBD)

Grades 3-6: 10:15-11:15 in the gym

 

Writing and Rewriting the Picture Book (younger grades)
Together, we’ll read Mouse Was Mad and talk about how the story came to be — from the first words, to illustration sketches, to the final book. Students will:

• learn the parts of a picture book: cover, end papers, title page, page turns, text and illustration
• discuss what makes them mad and use that to brainstorm ideas for what makes Mouse mad before the story begins
• understand the importance of revision in both text and illustration

 

Your Secret Heart — Joy, Fear, and the Hard Work of Reaching Your Goals (older grades)
In this presentation, Linda describes her path to publication from a childhood affinity for writing, to a moment in her early teens where a harsh word from a peer led her to put aside the risk of putting her heart on the page, to her cautious reentry to the world of writing twenty years later and the publication of A Crooked Kind of Perfect. Along the way, Linda will encourage kids to pursue their own dreams by:

• Identifying the dreams that truly excite them
• Connecting with others who share and support that dream
• Finding models that inspire
• Persisting despite obstacles
• Not letting the idea of “perfect” get in the way

Linda’s presentation will also touch on writer’s craft, including the use of details to tell a story and the importance of revision (and more revision) to make a piece of writing the best it can be.