Welcome to Marianne's Web Site

I am available for school appearances and would be happy to discuss your needs. Author visits are a great way to inspire your students, and to celebrate the joy of reading. I love visiting schools since students inspire me too! Please e-mail me as soon as you can as my calendar fills up quickly.

MY PRESENTATION
In addition to reading my books, I often use songs and visual aids during my presentations. My programs are interactive. For example, after I read Marsh Music , the students become part of a frog orchestra and we perform a frog symphony. With Over in the Jungle, a Rainforest Rhyme children mimic the various animals in the rain forest. With my latest book, Going Home, the Mystery of Animal Migration, older grades can do a Readers' Theater.

For children, Pre-K and K, I include puppets and other props. For Grades 1-5, I am happy to answer questions and gear my program to a course of study, such as the wetlands, oceans and the seashore, the rain forest, the Arctic, animal migration or the universe.

I enjoy working with small groups in individual classroooms, and also with larger groups,(as many as 100-300 at one time) depending upon your needs. If the group is larger than 40, I prefer to use an LCD projector so everyone can enjoy the illustrations. The room needs to be darkened if I show my books on a large screen.

Materials needed are:

1. an LCD projector, to which I hook up my laptop. (or I can bring a flashdrive to put in your pc.)
2. a large screen or white wall
3. a table and chair
4. a microphone (preferably a lapel mic)if addressing a large group.
5. CD player.

When speaking to a large group, I need assistance with the LCD projector. A teacher or a volunteer who is acquainted with using a lap top, needs to be at the computer, while I am facing the students and explaining what they are seeing on the screen.

Students will get more out of the program if they are familiar with my work. Please share my books with your students before my presentation.

WRITERS' WORKSHOPS
I also enjoy presenting Writers' Workshops for Grades 3 and up, taking them through the fascinating world of book publishing. We discuss how a picture book is made, from the time I get my idea to when I am holding the finished product in my hand. Questions and answers are an important part of this workshop, which can be adjusted to a particular grade level, including Middle School.

FEES AND NUMBER OF PROGRAMS
My fee for an all-day program is $800. For this I will do three presentations with ample time allowed for autographing my books and a lunch break.

A half-day presentation ($300 for one presentation, $600 for two) is also a possibilty, if the school is within 60 miles of my home in Martin County, Florida.

Often schools work together and I stay in an area for three or four days. Lodging and reimbursement for meals and mileage, if coming by car, or airfare, are required.

Each program is usually 45 minutes long, possibly an hour for older groups and a little shorter for Kindergarten.

Travel expenses can be paid later, but I appreciate my honorarium to be paid on delivery of service.

ORDERING AND AUTOGRAPHING MY BOOKS
Schools often raise enough money to pay for my visit by ordering books for students directly from my publishers. Lerner Publications offers a 44% discount and Dawn Publications 30% off the retail price of my books.Dawn publishes my books in both hardcover and paperback. Note: Paperback versions for Marsh Music and Marsh Morning will be released in Feb. 2011.

Another way to get all eight of my books is through Sunburst Books, a distributor in West Melbourne, FL, with a 40% discount. Please see: www.sunburstbooks.com or call Chris Wicht, Owner at 321-409-0225.

Often PTO'S help with the distribution of books to students and can make a profit for their organization from the sale of my books.

Please order my books a month in advance. Books can also be ordered from your local bookstore, but you would have to arrange for your own discount with them.

In my media packet, there is a reproducible form to send to parents, indicating which books they want and what should be inscribed. This needs to be arranged before my visit so that students' names are spelled correctly, and all books can be autographed by the end of the day.

For children who do not get autographed books, I have available book marks that can be reproduced to give away to your students as a souvenir of my author appearance.

MEDIA PACKET
If you would a school visit, I will be happy to e-mail you my media packet which includes an Author Visit Agreement Form.

HOW CAN I GET AUTOGRAPH STICKERS?
Please contact me if you would like me to send you personalized autographed stickers to place in any of my books that your school or library has in your collection.

LIBRARY VISITS
I also enjoy visiting public libraries and invite children's librarians to e-mail me for information. I am delighted that my books are in many library collections across the country and on state reading lists.