picture book – Authors' Booking Service

Zaman, Farida (Ontario)

Farida is a Canadian-South Asian Writer and illustrator of picture books and other works. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and the Canadian Society of Authors, Illustrators and Performers.

Rates are as follows: Virtual Visits: $150 School visits: $250 plus travel expenses outside GTA.

For school visits Farida can provide an introductory slideshow showing what Farida does and how Farida works as an author and illustrator, adapting it to the age of the audience.

Farida likes to get children involved, asking them questions and getting them doing hands-on activities as much as possible. Farida is an Ontario based presenter and a member of Writers Union. Farida does virtual and school visits. Teachers guide PDFs available by email request

Aliya’s Secret- A Ramadan Secret

Written and illustrated by Farida Zaman

Ramadan is coming, and as Abba and Ammi prepare for their month-long fast, Aliya hugs a secret to her chest: she’s going to fast too! Ammi says she’s still too young to fast, but Aliya is determined. At school, she refuses her snack, her lunch—even the cupcakes Sanjay’s mom drops off for his birthday. But when she gets home, she can’t resist Ammi’s sweet, syrupy baklava. Before Aliya can stop herself, she reaches out and takes a big bite. Aliya is disappointed in herself, but Ammi explains that there are many other ways to celebrate Ramadan besides fasting, like performing acts of kindness! Together, Aliya and her parents spend the month preparing and delivering meals to people in need. This joyful look at Ramadan is based on the author’s own childhood experiences and is rich with facts and details about the holiday. Readers familiar and unfamiliar with the holiest month in the Islamic calendar will get swept up in the festivities, and perhaps be inspired to share a meal with their community.

Recently Farida wrote and illustrated her first picture book called “I Want to Be” A Gutsy Girls ABC. She has worked with a variety of mediums on the project – watercolour, gouache, acrylics, and Procreate.

Farida’s workshops will consist of the following:

Intro
Reading my book (Picture Book)
Art/ creative workshop
Sharing the art

Contact Farida to book a visit:

Grant, Joyce (Toronto, ON)

Writers’ Union of Canada member; journalism, fiction, picture books. Rainforest of Reading Award winner, Top 10 Best Books (Ontario Library Association) and Best Books (Canadian Children’s Book Centre). All ages.

$400 for an engaging, high-energy customized one-hour presentation (in-person or online).

Joyce is a subject-matter expert on “fake news” and journalism. She is a freelance journalist and owner of internationally award-winning TeachingKidsNews.com.

BOOKS:

* Can You Believe It? How to Spot Fake News and Find the Facts, 2022, illustrated by Kathleen Marcotte. Illustrated non-fiction. Themes: Fake news, critical thinking, journalism.
* Gabby picture books: Gabby, Gabby: Wonder Girl, Gabby: Drama Queen. Themes: text to concrete things, friendship, creativity, phonics
* Middle-grade baseball novels for reluctant readers: Tagged Out and Sliding Home. Themes: bullying, diversity, teamwork, empathy

Joyce delivers high-energy, interactive, engaging presentations and workshops for all ages. She has written picture books with a literacy angle, and middle-grade baseball novels that deliver baseball action with underlying social themes (immigration, bullying, diversity, teamwork).

Joyce is also co-founder of TeachingKidsNews.com: free, kid-friendly news plus curriculum connections. She is a freelance journalist and her popular “How to Avoid Fake News” presentations can be tailored for students or teachers.

“We were honoured to have Joyce Grant as a keynote speaker and workshop presenter. Our audience of about 200 people (was) captivated by her content … students were incredibly engaged and just ate up what she had to tell us.”
—Laura Alopaeus-Gomes, Literacy Lead K-6, Algoma District School Board, 2018

NOVELS:
SLIDING HOME
This middle-grade baseball novel focuses on Miguel, who is holding down part-time jobs so he can bring his father to Canada from El Salvador. Set in Toronto's Christie Pits baseball field.
(Sequel to Tagged Out.) Themes: immigration, teamwork, diversity, empathy, baseball.

TAGGED OUT
Fast-paced middle-grade baseball novel for reluctant readers. Includes a strong secondary character who is gay. Themes: diversity, tolerance, empathy, teamwork, baseball.
A teaching guide is available free.

PICTURE BOOKS:
GABBY
When Gabby drops her magic book, all its letters fall out. Whatever she spells with those letters
comes to life! Includes two pages of literacy activities. (Illustrator: Jan Dolby)
A teaching guide is available free.

Also in the series:
GABBY: WONDER GIRL (Includes question words.)
GABBY: DRAMA QUEEN (Includes words with consonant blends.)

PRESENTATIONS—GENERAL INFO:
Joyce customizes her high-energy, interactive presentations to suit your students and support their learning. She can speak to most ages, but asks that they’re grouped (ie, K-1, 2-3, 4-6, 5+).

Groups can be small (one to two classes) or larger, depending on how hands-on you want the presentation to be. Presentations for younger students are 40 minutes; for older students, 45 minutes to an hour. All presentations include Q&A.

HOW TO AVOID FAKE NEWS
Gr. 4-7
Post or Pass? We play this highly interactive game that teaches kids of all ages (and adults!) how to spot fake news and pass on it–or post the good stuff! Always hilarious, and everyone walks away with great information about how to spot fake news.
“Practical and engaging. The students are still talking about it, and the teachers have been using your ideas in their classrooms!”

WORD SCRAMBLE
K-3
Super energetic, interactive presentations using scrambled letters. Includes a behind-the- scenes look at how picture books are made.
“Interactive and fun!”

CHARACTER, SETTING, PROBLEM, MAGIC!
Gr. 2-3
Together, we build an exciting story and then we act it out.
“The kids loved it—we went back to the classroom and built more stories!”

WRITING WORKSHOPS
Gr. 4-9
Journalism (writing headlines, interviewing, the 5 Ws) and picture book workshops.
“Real-world, hands-on learning.”

GETTING KIDS READING
Parents
Parent/literacy night coming up? My popular, practical session for parents will help you get your kid reading.

HOW TO TEACH KIDS TO AVOID FAKE NEWS
Teachers
Practical, popular presentations for teachers and teacher-candidates.

KEYNOTES AND SKYPE VISITS
Students or Adults
Students or Adults
Memorable keynotes for conferences and meetings (price to be discussed)

EQUIPMENT REQUIRED:
I use PowerPoint, so I’ll need a projector and screen. Oh! And a bottle of water, please. My voice projects well (a-hem!), but if you think your space requires a microphone, I’ll need you to supply that—preferably hand-held.
I’m fine with small groups (one or two classes) or larger auditoriums. The bigger the group, the less hands-on the session, so workshops are best with a smaller group. I have great presentations for nearly every age group. Here are the preferred grade groupings: K to 1, grades 2 to 3, grades 4 to 6, grades 5 and up. I also present to teachers and teacher-candidates and to parents (ie, literacy night).

To book Joyce, please send us an email using the form below:

Can You Believe It? How to Spot Fake News and Find the Facts, 2022, illustrated by Kathleen Marcotte. Illustrated non-fiction. Themes: Fake news, critical thinking, journalism.
Gabby picture books: Gabby, Gabby: Wonder Girl, Gabby: Drama Queen. Themes: text to concrete things, friendship, creativity, phonics
Middle-grade baseball novels for reluctant readers: Tagged Out and Sliding Home. Themes: bullying, diversity, teamwork, empathy

Narsimhan, Mahtab (BC)

Mahtab Narsimhan- H20-209960 8x10 300 Writers’ Union Member. Silver Birch winning author available for school, public library, and conference visits. Member of The Writers’ Union of Canada. Continue reading “Narsimhan, Mahtab (BC)”

Messier, Mireille (Toronto, ON)

Writers’ Union Member. French/English author. Picture books. Great for immersion students! K to 6.

Mireille’s rate for a 45/50-minute virtual presentation is $250 for 1-5 classes, $350 for 6-10 classes and $450 for 11+ classes. HST extra. Please note that presentations may not be recorded for later use or shared.

Mireille has a picture book ideal for Remembrance Day with students in grades 1-6! Contact her about presenting “Sergeant Billy: The True Story of the Goat Who Went to War” at your school or event! (available in English or French)

Mireille can present “Treasure”/ “Trésor”, “The Branch” / “Ma branche préférée” and “Fatima and the Clementine Thieves/Fatima et les voleurs de clémentines” ans “La magie de Casse-Noisette”/ “Nutcracker Night” in either English or French or both.

Mireille also has many books that are published in French only and range in genre – from picture books, to chapter books and non-fiction. She enjoys presenting to immersion students and offers lively presentations that are tailored to the language level of the students.

School presentations will include a reading of the selected book, an activity based on the theme of the book and a discussion with the author about her craft.

Available in French or English/French (bilingual) Mireille is a member of The Writers’ Union of Canada, and so schools wishing to invite her may be eligible for a travel and fee subsidy to off-set the cost of her visit.

Here is an example of her presentations by grade:

JK to 1: two 30-minute sessions for the price of one full session using her book “Quel fouillis!” (includes a tool-related activity and a song) or “Une Bestiole à l’école” (includes an insect-related activity and a song).

Grade 1 to 4: The majority of Mireille’s books are for this age group. 45 to 60 minutes: Session featuring a book of your choice plus a related activity followed by a Q&A on topic/book selected.

Themes available: Remembrance Day/World War I/ World War II/Military Mascot (Sergeant Billy), Environmental conservation (Treasure/Trésor), Environment/Weather (The Branch/Ma branche préférée), Nature/Animals (Tellement Sauvage), Travel/Geography (Charlotte partout), Non-Violent Conflict Resolution (Fatima), Anagrams/Word Play (Voilier d’Olivier/Quand les zéros), Food/Cooking (Salade de César), Sports (Charlotte Olympique)…

Grade 4 to 6: 45 to 60 minutes. Session featuring a book of your choice plus a related activity followed by a Q&A on topic/book selected. Books available for this level are “Fatima et les voleurs de clémentines” (advanced picture book) and the middle-grade chapter books from Les aventures de Viviane et Simon series.

Contact Mireille to book a visit:

Fernandez, Caroline (Toronto, ON)

Writer’s Union member. CANSCAIP. SCWBI. Silver Birch Non-Fiction Honour Book Award 2016. Purple Dragonfly Award winner (multiple awards). Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist.

Rates: $250 per session up to 4 sessions per day.

Virtual visits: $200 (one 60 minutes or divided into two 30 minutes) (Zoom or Skype)

Caroline is an enthusiastic presenter who encourages interaction during visits.

Presentations by Grades

All presentations include a reading, engaging activities, and author Q & A. Caroline is happy to work with teachers and librarians to develop a need-specific presentation, but here are some examples:

Middle Grade (60 minutes)

Plague Thieves

Reading of Plague Thieves. Then, discussion of inspiration, brainstorming, researching, writing, revision, and editing of this historic middle grade novel. Discussion on the challenges of incorporating real facts into middle grade historical fiction.

Themes: middle grade books, writing and editing, research, historical fiction, geography, history, pandemics, urbanization, STEM in renaissance times Vs modern times

Grades JK-6 (60 minutes)

Asha and Baz series (chapter book series)

Asha and Baz Meet Mary Sherman Morgan
Asha and Baz Meet Hedy Lamarr
Asha and Baz Meet Elizebeth Friedman
Asha and Baz Meet Katia Krafft

In the Asha and Baz series, two children are faced with a STEM challenge in school. They time travel to meet a women in history who has made a significant discovery which relates back to their school challenge. They learn about the woman, her time, and her STEM genre. Then, they travel back to their time and apply what they learn to their class challenge. Each of the STEM challenges can be reproduced as an activity at home or in class using simple materials.

Themes: science and technology, women in science, history, biography, space, STEM, gender equality, early reader chapter book

Hide and Seek: Wild Animal Groups in North America (picture book)

Themes: collective nouns, animals, migration of monarch butterfly, North America, finding one’s place, inclusivity, Earth Day, Earth Month, picture book

Stop Reading This Book (picture book)

The book judges the reader by their cover. Would you….could you stop reading this book?!

Themes: antagonists, protagonists, conflict, resolution, picture book, diversity, bullying, reading, picture book

The Adventures of Grandmasaurus (picture book series)

The Adventures of Grandmasaurus
The Adventures of Grandmasaurus At the Aquarium Rescue Centre
The Adventures of Grandmasaurus At the Supermarket

Grandma sneezes herself into different dinosaurs on a field trip to the museum. Role reversal story where the kids know the rules better than Grandmasaurus.

Themes: inter-generational relationships, non-gendered characters, role reversal, literary non-fiction, diversity, facts, role reversal, dinosaurs, picture book

Boredom Busters
More Boredom Busters

Let’s dive into busting boredom! Brainstorming on things you can craft using supplies you have around your home or classroom. Great for makerspace and school-vacation activity ideas!

Themes: Screen-free activities, recycle/upcycle, STEM, creativity, boredom busters, activity books

Equipment required: Table. Library or classroom preferred.

Mid-morning start time requested.

Caroline also offers book marketing coaching for authors

Tag: picture book