53rd Annual Convention Program:
Author–Teacher Partnerships

Eight lucky IRA members will share the stage with their favorite authors and describe how they have used the author's work in their classroom. Join us for this sure-to-be fascinating session!

Deborah Ellis and Jane Springer, Groundwood Books
Merlyn Brito
Carver Middle School

Deborah Ellis, a longtime feminist and antiwar activist, is perhaps best known for the Breadwinner trilogy (The Breadwinner, Parvana’s Journey, and Mud City), which has been published around the world in 17 languages, with more than half a million dollars of royalties donated to Street Kids International and to Women for Women, an organization that supports education projects for Afghan girls in refugee camps in Pakistan. Her most recent book is Sacred Leaf.

Jane Springer, author of Genocide and series editor of the Groundwork Guides, is also a consultant in international development. She has lived and worked in Mozambique and India. She is also the author of Listen to Us: The World’s Working Children.

Institutes

Keynotes

Featured speakers/authors

Author–teacher partnerships

Session tickets

Denise Fleming, Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
Ann Dunn
Garrison Pilcher Elementary School

Denise Fleming has written and illustrated 16 picture books, including In the Small, Small Pond, which was named a Caldecott Honor Book. Her illustrations are created by pulp painting. Fleming lives in Toledo, Ohio, with her husband, David Powers, with whom she collaborates. Her latest book, Buster Goes to Cowboy Camp, will be available this spring.

Laurie Friedman, Lerner Publishing Group
Stacy Brundage
Thomasville Heights Elementary School

Laurie Friedman is the author of many critically acclaimed chapter and picture books for children. She is best known for the popular Mallory books, including her newest title, Honestly, Mallory! Mallory McDonald—the spunky third grader who stars in her own series of chapter books—now has her own website at www.mallorymcdonald.com. Friedman is also the author of award-winning picture books including A Style All Her Own, I’m Not Afraid of This Haunted House, and Love, Ruby Valentine.

Kathleen Krull, Walker & Company
Sue Corbin; Chair, Reading Department
Shaker Heights Middle School

Kathleen Krull is an award-winning author of many biographies. Her newest picture books for readers 6 to 12 include such high-interest historical figures as Pocahontas, Houdini, and Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for president—in 1872!

Margie Palatini, HarperCollins Children’s Books
Theresa D. Fletcher; Professional Development Teacher
Las Cruces Public Schools
Hillrise Elementary School

Margie Palatini is the author of over two dozen outrageously funny and celebrated books for children, including Moo Who?, illustrated by Keith Graves; The Perfect Pet, illustrated by Bruce Whatley; and the Bad Boys series, illustrated by Henry Cole.

Lynn Rowe Reed and Robin Pulver, Holiday House
Michelle Reynolds
Cumming Elementary

Robin Pulver and Lynn Rowe Reed are the creators of the popular language arts books Punctuation Takes a Vacation and its companion, Nouns and Verbs Have a Field Day, as well as many other picture books for children. Visit them online at www.RobinPulver.com and www.lynnrowereed.com/kids.html.

Judy Sierra, Random House Children’s Books
Tammy DiBartolo; Youth Services Manager
Rapides Parish Library

Award-winning author and storyteller Judy Sierra has written over 25 books including picture books and story collections, as well as resources for teachers and librarians. “All of my writing for children is meant to be read aloud. I’m very happy if parents and children make up extra verses for my poems, or adapt my folktales to fit their way of seeing the world,” Sierra says. Her picture books include the award-winning Wild About Books, illustrated by Marc Brown, and the upcoming Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf, illustrated by J. Otto Seibold.

Joan Steiner, Little, Brown and Company
Jennifer McMahon
Fairport Central School District
Brooks Hill Elementary

Joan Steiner is a graduate of Barnard College and a self-taught artist. Her honors include a Society of Illustrators Award and a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship. She is best known for her Look-Alikes series, the latest of which is Look-Alikes Around the World, a fantastic, eye-catching trip to 40 famous landmarks you’ll never see the same way again.

53rd Annual Convention Program: Author–Teacher Partnerships

53rd Annual Convention Program:
Author–Teacher Partnerships