Saturday sectionals

Featured authors and illustrators:

Joan Bauer, “Ordinary Heroes: Lessons from the Front”

Grandmothers, short order cooks, shoe salesmen, waitresses, too tall boys, pumpkin-obsessed teenagers, hardened journalists: Joan Bauer discusses how she creates the quirky, funny heroes and role models in her novels, and why we need everyday heroes more than ever.

In her eight novels, Joan Bauer explores difficult issues with humor and hope. Her books have won numerous awards, among them the Newbery Honor Medal, the LA Times Book Prize, the Christopher Award and the Golden Kite Award of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Joan is a New York Times best-selling author. Rules of the Road was chosen as one of the top young adult books of the last 25 years by the American Library Association. In addition, her novels have been nominated and featured on over 100 Children's Choice Awards and State Best Book Reading Lists.

Joan lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., with her husband, computer scientist Evan Bauer and, when she's home from graduate school, their no-longer-teenage daughter.

Cynthia DeFelice, “Meet Cynthia DeFelice”

Author of 16 novels and 11 picture books for children will talk about her work.

Cynthia was working as an elementary school librarian, and loved reading aloud to children, telling them stories, recommending books for them, and hearing their responses when they brought the books back. In 1987, she said, "I would be so happy if I could write a book that would make kids' faces look like that!" Now, 21 years, 16 novels and 11 picture books later, she feels like the luckiest person in the world. Cynthia loves writing a book that she would have loved to read when she was a child.

Cynthia lives in Geneva, N.Y., with her husband Ralph and their puppy Josie. Their kids, Ralph and Shellie, are all grown up and off living exciting lives of their own.

Gail Gibbons, “Information Please!”

Gail will speak about her growing up years and professional career in television, which eventually lead her into writing children’s books. She will touch on reasons why she has chosen to write informational books exclusively. A slide program will illustrate the making of a book from start to finish, and her newest titles will be discussed.

Gail Gibbons grew up writing stories and drawing pictures to fit the words, and wishing she lived in the country. After graduating from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, she became involved in television graphics. This led her to work on a children’s TV show, where her desire to write and illustrate children’s books was rekindled. Eventually Gail because a full-time writer and moved to rural Vermont, where she could have a garden and as many pets as she wanted. Gail has written more than 100 books and has made countless visits to schools. Gail; her husband, Kent Ancliffe; her dog, Wilson; and her cat Byron, live in Vermont in a passive solar house that Gail’s husband built, and on an island off the coast of Maine.

Mike Graf, “Weather in the Classroom”

Weather 101 including basic weather elements, hands on activities, and experiments related to teaching weather and year long weather activities for the classroom.

“Writing Tips”

The basic ingredients for writing adventure realistic fiction for teachers to instruct their students on what Mike uses to develop his stories to be more compelling, well-edited, catchy, realistic and organized.

Mo Willems, “Fun with Mo” 

Early literature education today faces a myriad of challenges and difficulties, problems that can only be solved by wise, understanding minds of those who have devoted their careers to teaching children. Mo Willems does not have one of those minds, so instead he’s going to crack a few jokes, read a few books and teach you how to draw.

Mo Willems is the author of groundbreaking picture books, including Don’t Let the Pigeon drive the Bus! (Caldecott Winner 2004); Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!; The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!; Time to Say “Please”!; Leonardo, the Terrible Monster; and Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct. He is also the author of the Elephant & Piggie books, an early reader series. Mo began his career on Sesame Street, where he garnered six Emmy Awards for his writing. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Hans Wilhelm, “Get to know Hans Wilhelm”

Readers all over the world have cheered for little Boland in Tyrone the Horrible, rooted for Bunny Trouble and cried over I’ll Always Love You. Now meet the popular author who evoked such emotions and connected so beautifully with children. Discover the unique perspective on childhood that Hans brings to all his works. Get to know the renowned author/illustrator in this special session and hear how he approaches the creative process for his magical stories. He will add a dash of his own life-philosophy, a great deal of insight and timeliness, and he shares slides of his most recent published work. At the end Hans often draws some of his famous characters on stage to the delight of the audience.

With over 35 million books in print, Hans Wilhelm is one of America’s foremost author/illustrators of children’s books. Many of his 200 books have been translated into more than twenty languages and have become successful animated television series that are enjoyed by children all over the world. His books have won numerous international awards and prizes, and his work can be found in the permanent collections of the Mazza Museum of Art. Wilhelm was born in Bremen, Germany. He lived for many years in Africa before moving to America. He now lives in Weston, Conn., in an old farm house where a converted horse stable now serves as his studio.

Anita Silvey, “Best Books for 12-14 year olds”

Books for the 12-14 year age group have become the focus of publishers in the last five years. In a dynamic lecture, Anita Silvey looks at the trends in publishing that have been influencing books for tweens and talks about some of the most exciting new titles in different genres – mystery, information, fantasy, graphic novels, historical fiction and science fiction. The lecture will also discuss some of the best genres, and books, to engage boys.

“100 Best Books for Children”

When it comes to children’s book, not all are created equal. We have a body of books that have stood the test of time and engaged children year after year in the classroom. But even though adults think they know these books well, they may not have heard their “back stories,” the stories about how they got created. In an entertaining and inspiring lecture, Anita Silvey will present 40 of our classic books and also discuss the role of professionals and parents in keeping American literary culture alive.

The author of 100 Best Books for Children and 500 Great Books for Teens, Anita Silvey has devoted 35 years to promoting books that will turn the young – and families – into readers. As publisher of children’s books for Houghton Mifflin Company from 1995-2001, she oversaw all the children’s book and young adult publishing for both the Houghton and Clarion lists. During her watch, the lists received three Caldecott Medals, two Newbery Medals, two Hans Christian Andersen Awards, and two Grammy nominations. Prior to her role as publisher, Ms. Silvey served for eleven years as Editor-in-Chief of The Horn Book Magazine, a publication many call “the Bible of children’s literature”. Currently a meember of the Editorial Board of Cricket Magazine and the Board of Directors for the Vermont Center for the Book, she teaches “Modern Book Publishing” at the Simmons College Graduate School of Library Science in Boston, “Children’s Book Publishing” in the Simmons Children’s Literature Program, and “Children’s Book Author Studies” at St. Michael’s College in Burlington, Vermont.

David & Yvonne Freeman, “Closing the Achievement Gap for English Language Learners”

The presenters first describe three types of English learners. Then they explain four research-based keys that lead to academic success for limited formal schooling and long-term English learners. For each key, they share strategies, culturally relevant materials and teacher stories.

Dr. Yvonne Freeman is a professor of bilingual education and Dr. David Freeman is a professor of reading and ESL at The University of Texas at Brownsville. Both are interested in literacy education for English language learners. In addition to doing staff development with school districts across the country, they present regularly at international, national and state conferences.

The Freemans have published books, articles and book chapters jointly and separately on the topics of second language teaching, biliteracy, bilingual education, linguistics and second language acquisition. Their newest books are English Language Learners: The Essential Guide, and a book they edited, Diverse Learners in the Mainstream Classroom. They have also recently authored a new Rigby product, STEEL (Strategic Teaching Essentials for English Learners), a professional development program for teachers to support their teaching of ELLs.

Dr. Robert Brooke, “Writing Workshop for Teachers”

Participants in this workshop will have the chance to write themselves, to share their emerging writing with other teacher-writers, and to plan for ways to complete their writing – both to share with their students and for their own purposes. The workshop will follow the Nebraska Writing Project model. The workshop will be set up so that participants can choose to stay for a single session, or can continue writing and sharing for both sessions.

Dr. Robert Brooke is a professor of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he directs the Nebraska Writing Project. He has written four books and over fifty articles on the teaching of writing, including Rural Voices: Place-Conscious Education and the Teaching of Writing (2003), and is currently at work on a volume about suburban place-conscious education.

Carol Rempp, “Using Native American Literature to teach about Culture”

The goal of this session is to provide educators with ideas on how to use literature to teach about culture and diversity. The presenter will provide a wide variety of Native American and ethnically diverse literature and teaching resources and activities that can be used by teachers of all levels to teach students about culture. Participants will leave with lists of quality literature, information on detecting bias and stereotypes in literature and resources they can immediately use when they return to their classrooms.

Carol has been working in the education field for 18 years. Since 1997, she has worked directly with Indian Education serving as a classroom & special education teacher, assessment coordinator and principal at the St. Francis Indian School and Todd County School Districts on the Rosebud Reservation in south central South Dakota. Carol is a member of the Ogalala Lakota Tribe of Pine Ridge.

Carol received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska, Kearney in 1988 with endorsements in elementary education and special education. She has her master’s degree from Chadron State College in elementary administration.

Laurie Zum Hofe and Sara Guethling, “Possibility Through Writing”

Writing teachers today are inundated with “programs” that promise quick-fixes for writing instruction. However, a writing workshop classroom environment offers students and teachers possibility through issues of choice, ownership and accountability. This presentation will discuss transforming “programmatic” writing classrooms into effective, learning-centered, student-driven ones.

Sara Guethling gradated with a bachelor’s degree in elementary and special education in 1997 from Concordia University in Seward. Se received her master’s degree in reading education from Carthage College, Kenosha, Wis. Sara has taught for twelve years in elementary and special education classrooms. She currently works as a reading specialist in Waconia, Minnesota.

Laurie Zum Hofe graduated from Concordia University in Seward with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. She received her master’s degree in writing theory and pedagogy from DePaul University, Chicago, Ill. Laurie has taught in elementary and middle school classrooms since 1997. She currently teaches writing and literature courses at Concordia University in Seward.  She is in her third year of doctoral studies in composition and rhetoric at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Laura DeSena (NCTE Speaker), “Preventing Plagiarism”

This workshop explores writing as practice in the art of self-discovery and self-expression, even as the writer engages in a dialogue with external knowledge through the research process. In this session, we will work on practical strategies for eliciting original ideas and encouraging fluency. Laura will discuss approaches to the generation of an original thesis as she has presented them in her book, Preventing Plagiarism: Tips and Techniques, emphasizing student response to primary sources through freewriting and the movement toward the synthesis of a central idea, to creative outlining and formal composition. The goal is to have students turn inward to the self and enter a dialogue that generates original voice and vision in their writings.

Laura Hennessey DeSena is an adjunct assistant professor of humanities at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies and a full time English teacher at West Milford High School in New Jersey. DeSena is an art critic, playwright and author.