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Happy New School Year
2011-2012This year I have invited some exciting and very talented authors and illustrators to come and show off their craft and talent to the children at Newtown Elementary School.WOW!! What a way to start out our new school year then with a local author and KYW reporter, Mr. Paul Kurtz. Mr. Kurtz will be visiting our school on Monday, OCTOBER 24th and speaking to our 4th, 5th and 6th grades. Mr Kurtz has written a new book titled: 162-0: A Phillies Perfect Season (A game-by game analysis of the greatest wins in Phillies history.) Paul will be explaining to the children the writing process of how a non-fiction book dealing with thousands of stats and records is compiled, written, edited, then published. A man with a lot of expertise including being a 32-year old broadcast veteran at KYW Newsradio in Philadelphia since 1985. Paul has won many awards, including the prestigious Edward R. Murrow National Award for reporting. Mr. Kurtz lives in Bucks County.
PETER BROWNDecember 16, 2011Grades 1-3
Peter Brown has been drawing and dreaming up stories since he was little. He loves the freedom of making children's books and has been doing just that since about 2002. His first book idea was about a flightless bird that turned into the Flight Of The Dodo, published at Little, Brown and Co. which has been his editor ever since. Some other great titles are : The Curious Garden, Will You Be My Friend, Children Make Terrible Pets, Chowder, The Fabulous Bouncing Chowder, and his newest You Will Be My Friend starring the famous Lucille Beatrice Bear.Some interesting information about Peter's creative process when writing and illustrating children's books is that every book he makes comes about in a unique way.
"Usually I start with a little nugget of an idea, a few words, or a quick sketch. The words will inform my sketches, the sketches will inform my words, and slowly but surely the words and pictures will start to look like a picture book. Once I feel good about it, I'll share it with my editor who will help me polish it off."
What inspires and influences him as an author/illustrator for children? "I'm motivated by the idea that one of my books could be part of a child's journey to fall in love with reading. The world needs more voracious readers! I always find inspiration at art museums, or beautiful natural settings, or places with lots of fascinating history. Lately I've been inspired by kids themselves."ERIC KIMMELMay 7, 2012Grades 4-5-6
"When I write a story, I read it aloud over and over again many times, trying to capture the music and rhythm of the words. So you might say that what I'm trying to do is capture in written words the experience of listening to the spoken word."How exciting that Newtown Elementary Library will host a true reteller of folktales, fairytales, and tall tales, Mr. Eric Kimmel. Eric a born New Yorker loved to read books and write stories as a child. "Somehow, I always knew I was going to be a writer when I grew up, and that I would share the stories I loved so much with others," Kimmel says. His favorites were the Dr. Seuss books especially Horton Hatches the Egg. He also loved listening to his grandmother's stories from her childhood in Europe. "The best present I ever received was a volume of Grimm's Fairy Tales, which I loved so much that I literally read it to pieces," Kimmel recalls. The fairy tales and folktales he heard as a boy inspired him to retell these stories in his own books.
In all his books, Eric puts a lot of emphasis on the telling of a story. "Stories aren't dead relics, perserved in a jar and put into a glass case for people to gawk at," Kimmel says. "They are alive, and like all living things they grow and change. You are not the same person you were yesterday. You are not the person you will be tomorrow. So it is with stories. They change each time they are told."
When Mr. Kimmel finished high school, he attended college to become an elementary teacher. He graduated in 1967 from college then earned a PH.D. in education in 1973.
Eric and his wife Doris for about twenty years have now been living in the Pacific Northwest where he taught at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. Of all his books, Anassi and the Moss-Covered Rock and Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins seem to be childrens all time favorites. The Anansi comes from stories told on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands and Hershel from his grandmother.Eric Kimmel's Order Form/LetterName________________________Teacher____________________
Eric Kimmel Books for SaleTitles
Price for
Hardback
Price for
Paperback
Quantity
Price
Anansi and the Moss-
Covered Rock
15.20
Anansi and the Moss-
Covered Rock
5.95
Anansi and the talking Melon
15.20
Anansi and the Talking Melon
5.95
Hershel and the Hanukkah
Goblin
15.20
Hershel and the Hanukkah
Goblin
6.75
The McElderry Book of
Greek Myths
18.65
Three Samurai Cats: A Story
From Japan
15.20
Three Samurai Cats: A Story
From Japan
6.75
A Horn for Lewis
3.20
A Spotlight for Harry
4.25
Total
April 2012
Dear Teachers, Parents and Staff,
Newtown Elementary Library is so proud to welcome the award winning author Eric Kimmel on Monday, May 7th.
Eric wrote, “When I write a story, I read it aloud over and over again many times, trying to capture the music and rhythm of the words. So you might say that what I’m trying to do is capture in written words the experience of listening to the spoken word.”
How exciting that Newtown Elementary Library will host a true storyteller of folktales, fairytales, and tall tales, Mr. Eric Kimmel. Eric, a born New Yorker, loved to read books and write stories as a child. “Somehow, I always knew I was going to be a writer when I grew up, and that I would share the stories I loved so much with others,” Kimmel says. His favorites were the Dr. Seuss books especially Horton Hatches the Egg. He also loved listening to his grandmother’s stories from her childhood in Europe. “The best present I ever received was a volume of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, which I loved so much that I literally read it to pieces,” Kimmel recalls. The fairy tales and folktales he heard as a boy inspired him to retell these stories in his own books.
In all his books, Eric puts a lot of emphasis on the telling of a story. “Stories aren’t dead relics, preserved in a jar and put into a glass case for people to gawk at,” Kimmel says. “They are alive, and like all living things they grow and change. You are not the same person you were yesterday. You are not the person you will be tomorrow. So it is with stories. They change each time they are told.”
When Mr. Kimmel finished high school, he attended college to become an elementary teacher. He graduated in 1967 from college then earned a PH.D in education in 1973. Eric and his wife Doris for about twenty years have now been living in the Pacific Northwest where he taught at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. Of all his books, Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock and Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins seem to be children’s all-time favorites. The Anansi comes from stories told on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands and Hershel from his grandmother.
Eric Kimmel is an excellent writer and storyteller of over 75 tales. Your children are so fortunate to have this wonderful man come to our school and show off his craft first hand to them.
The books and prices we are selling are listed on the back of this letter. Please fill out the form completely and return it with your check to the library. All checks are to be made payable to Booktenders and will reflect a 20% discount plus tax.
Thank You,
Mrs. Liz Dobuski
Librarian
STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES IN THE FALL OF 2012 FOR THE VISITING AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS.......SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM SO LITTLE TIME.
