BACK TO SCHOOL BOOKS with AUTHOR KAY WINTERS + GIVEAWAY

Dear Readers,

Our amazing guest, Author Kay Winters has a number of wonderful picture books with a school setting that you'll want for yourself, your classroom, and your favorite young readers, but first this very important announcement: The winner of a Franklin School Friends book by our friend, Claudia Mills is:
               ****JANA ESCHNER****  !!!!CONGRATULATIONS, JANA!!!!
(Jana, please e-mail me: claragillowclark(at)gmail(dot)com with your mailing address, to whom you'd like your book personalized by Claudia, and which book in the Franklin School Friend series you'd like to receive! Here's the list: Kelsey Green, Reading Queen; Annika Riz, Math Whiz; Izzy Barr, Running Star; Simon Ellis, Spelling Bee Champ; and Cody Harmon, King of Pets.)

This week's featured guest, Author Kay Winters, is also generously giving away one of her titles--Winner's Choice--in the comment contest. All you have to do is leave a comment for Kay for a chance to win. But, we also hope you'll share our BACK TO SCHOOL blog series with your friends! THANK YOU!

NOW. . .here's the lovely KAY WINTERS. . .



Back to School. . .with Author Kay Winters

It’s time! It’s time… for school to start again.
A magical time of year for most young children, and I have to confess, it always was for me as a kid and a teacher as well. As a writer, one of my favorite topics is school
I loved school! And now as an author I love school visits.

My very first book that was published was Did You See What I Saw? Poems about School. It came out in 1996 and I am pleased to say…it’s still in print. The poetry book is stuffed with mentor poems which children can eagerly adapt and write their own. For example, Behind Closed Doors takes the idea of what happens when school is out.
Does…
                  The chalk talk?
                  The floor snore?
                  The computer tutor?

Children create their own version…not only using the classroom setting but imagining what happens to objects on the playground or at home, in their bedrooms or kitchens.That poem also lends itself to being a poetry troupe, with each child saying one line and performing it. Did You See What I Saw? Poems about School was a selection in the Scholastic book club.

My next school book was My Teacher for President, illustrated by Denise Brunkus, who also illustrated the Junie B Jones book. Junie B winds up in this book as well, and to my great surprise so do I! She drew me as the President. In this book, Oliver writes to a TV station to say he has learned at school about the President’s job and his teacher would be just right. With the current hub-bub over the election, teachers and parents will be talking even more than usual about the job of the person in the oval office. Anyone who is or has been a teacher can identify with…
My teacher goes to lots of meetings…
She’s always signing important papers…
She acts quickly in an emergency
She believes in peace.
In some schools, I have visited, they had a voting booth and students selected the teacher who would be a good president. In other schools, students picked a family member or friend and wrote about their favorite candidate. My Teacher for President, was also in the Scholastic Book Club.


My third book using school as the location is The Bears go to School. A bear came to our house! There I was setting the table for Sunday dinner, when I looked out the screen door and saw a big black bear stroll across the lawn heading for the neighbor’s blueberry patch. I began to wonder … what if he went to school?

In this picture book Pete and Gabby, two bear cubs, decide to visit that red building with all those yellow busses outside. After watching the custodian raise the flag, the bears placed their paws on their hearts, as their mother had taught them to do at the park where they lived. The bears sneak inside, visit the music room, the gym and the art room. My favorite page is where they go in the science room and free the animals from their cages. In the cafeteria, they create havoc and the fire alarm is sounded. Back to their park they go, til next time. This book was selected as a Teacher’s Choice by the International Reading Association.

My fourth book about school is This School Year will be THE BEST! Illustrated by Renee Andriani.
Children sit on the rug on the first day and share what they think. . .
                                            I hope I get the best seat on the bus!
                                            I’ll look really good in my school picture.
                                            We’ll have a chocolate fountain at lunch!

Many teachers use this book at the end of the year, as well as the beginning to ask, “What would make next year THE BEST?”

I have a 5th school book under contract from Penguin. My editor called and asked if I would write another school poetry book. I was delighted! The Principal Kissed a Pig is being illustrated by Patrice Barton. The publication date is yet unknown.

School has been a rich and interesting subject matter for me as a writer. During my frequent school visits, I see that although much has changed students still love…
being read to,
choosing their own books
and responding to literature through art, drama, science and math projects.

I think we authors should be cheerleaders for reading. And I hope whether you are an author, a mother, a father, a teacher, or a student
this School Year will be THE BEST!

Kay Winters was a classroom teacher, reading specialist and college instructor, as well as a language arts consultant for the American International Schools in Egypt, Nepal, India, Jordan, Greece, Israel and Italy before changing jobs to follow her dream and write for children. She specializes in picture books and chapter books, ages 3 to 12. She has appeared on CSpan Book TV and PBS.  Her twenty-two books have won numerous awards, and she has two books under contract. She is a frequent speaker at colleges, regional and national conferences for teachers, writers and librarians and loves doing school visits.
www.kaywinters.com 


THANK YOU, dear Readers, for stopping by. Don't forget to check out Kay's website: www.kaywinters.com  for more info about her school visits and picture book titles! Be sure to post a comment for Kay for a chance to win one of her books. The winner will be announced next week.

Our next BACK TO SCHOOL featured author is the fabulous Jamie Michalak who will be sharing with us about her humorous duo: JOE & SPARKY from her early reader series with Candlewick Press. (I love Joe & Sparky!)