I’ve written
11 non-fiction children’s books with traditional publishers (Mitchell Lane and
Purple Toad Publishing).
I also work as a school librarian. I’ll be visiting
Library Lions again in the future to share about my work at the Bluffton Middle
School library. I love to help students find books to love!
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Lion’s Pride of Programs
In an effort to encourage students to get excited about reading I’ve put snakes on my head to the mortification of my 3 adult children!
In an effort to encourage students to get excited about reading I’ve put snakes on my head to the mortification of my 3 adult children!
Many students like
Greek mythology because of Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief. I capitalized on
that concept and sewed rubber snakes to a ball cap, donned a long, flowing gown
and presented myself as Medusa! I didn't write about her, but she was the only
one – and the weirdest one!) – I could think of to capture their attention!
This type of program works especially well with Grades 1-3. Grade 4 students
seem to think it’s hokey but they listened well as I spoke. I’ve presented it
to nearly a dozen schools, hoping students will realize how fun reading can be!
Check here for more about school visits and speaking appearances
Library
Love When You Were a CubGrowing up, I went to the library every week and checked out 3-5 books which I couldn't wait to read. My mother was a teacher and she taught us to appreciate books. I read every chance I got even upside down in a chair! (Don't ask me why—I don't know!) That habit of visiting libraries and valuing their content is still with me today!
More Library Love (An Author’s View)
Even though much research material is available online, I still use library materials when writing a book. This was especially true when I was researching my 3 Greek gods books – Hades, Hephaestus, Hermes—I had to use original sources—Iliad, etc. They were available as classic sources from Google Books, but I checked out all of these from the library and had to cite them. Heavy books!
Author’s
Roar
Funding for libraries, especially school libraries, is currently under threat. As an author, what are your thoughts about that?
When book funds are decreased, it’s easy to
complain. It happened to me so I know. I tried to re-arrange books differently
so it might look to students like we had ‘new books’. This worked out well as I
created new collections of mysteries, biographies, etc. Creativity is our best
weapon!Funding for libraries, especially school libraries, is currently under threat. As an author, what are your thoughts about that?
Kayleen trying two tasty recipes (papaya mango smoothie, and Cuban sandwich) from her book Now You're Cooking: Cuban Cookbook
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Roar For Fellow Librarians
Melissa Thompson is the elementary school librarian at Bluffton Elementary School, the one elementary school in my corporation (we have one elementary, middle, high school). I was surprised when she showed me the display she had made of my books at her school! After I spoke to that school’s students, so many asked her for my books that she decided to put them together on a book shelf. Today, BES students recognize me in the community and ask me about my books. I appreciate Melissa’s support!
Melissa Thompson is the elementary school librarian at Bluffton Elementary School, the one elementary school in my corporation (we have one elementary, middle, high school). I was surprised when she showed me the display she had made of my books at her school! After I spoke to that school’s students, so many asked her for my books that she decided to put them together on a book shelf. Today, BES students recognize me in the community and ask me about my books. I appreciate Melissa’s support!
It is fun to mesh my talents as an author with my job as a school librarian. It seems like a losing battle competing against technology. My biggest challenge is convincing students video games will never help them achieve goals in life. They need to READ to SUCCEED! (Medusa’s tag line)
Let’s
Link Up
Blog: http://www.KayleenR.com
Website: http://www.KayleenR.com Facebook: Kayleen Reusser
Twitter: @kjreusser
Pinterest: Kayleen Reusser
Thank you, Kayleen for your terrific interview!
Love Libraries? Give a Roar in “Comments” below.
Note to Librarians: If you’re a Youth Librarian
working in a school or public library we’d love to hear about you and your
library. Contact Janet at jlcarey@hotmail.com
for an interview slot. The calendar for 2015 is currently wide open J
Note to Authors: If you’re interested in Roaring for
Libraries on this blog, contact Janet at jlcarey@hotmail.com
for an interview slot.
