Heather, along with the children at Port Houston Elementary School, Houston, Texas, during Heather's visit on behalf of the Neuhaus Reading Circle
Book a School Visit with Heather Henson!
Contact:
Jean Dayton at Dayton Bookings
812-824-5017
jean@daytonbookings.com
www.daytonbookings.com
Heather Henson’s Presentations:
Heather Henson is the author of picture books for children, as well as novels for middle graders and young adults. She is also a former editor of children’s books at a major publishing house, and so she can discuss the process of publishing, from start to finish. She speaks to all ages, including adult groups, and will gear her talks accordingly.
Grades K-5:
Heather reads and discusses her picture books, focusing on the most recent, THAT BOOK WOMAN, illustrated by Caldecott-Medal winner David Small. Heather uses a power point slide presentation to talk about the inspiration for the book: the real Pack Horse Librarians of eastern Kentucky who brought books by horseback to families during the 1930′s. In her presentation Heather touches on Appalachian history and customs, painting a vivid portrait of a little known piece of American history. Heather also discusses what inspires her work: home, children, family, history. She uses journals, manuscript pages, artist sketches, and mechanicals as examples of how a book comes to be, from start to finish. Q & A with students at end of session, as well as book signing.
* Presentation: 50 minutes with Q & A
* Group size: 2-3 classes per presentation preferable
*Equipment requirements: Laptop w/flash drive port, power point projector and screen, microphone for large groups.
Grades 6-12 (3 different presentations available):
* Talk #1: Since the themes of literacy, learning, and history appeal to all ages, Heather can gear the above presentation to higher grade levels, such as middle grade and high school groups. Q & A and book signing.
*Presentation: 50 minutes w/ Q & A
*Group size: 2-3 classes per presentation preferable
* Equipment requirements: Laptop w/flashdrive port, power point projector and screen, microphone for large groups.* Talk #2: Heather is the author of the forthcoming middle grade novel, HERE’S HOW I SEE IT/HERE’S HOW IT IS (Atheneum, April 2009). The novel is about a thirteen year old girl coming of age in a family run summer stock theater. The plays of Shakespeare, Chekhov, and Euripides are carefully intertwined within the story of a young life lived before and behind the footlights. During this talk, Heather will read and discuss the novel, touching on different aspects of theater and performance. Q & A and book signing.
*Presentation: 50 minutes w/ Q & A
*Group size: 2-3 classes per presentation preferable
* Equipment requirements: Laptop w/flashdrive port, power point projector and screen, microphone for large groups.* Talk #3: As an author and as a former editor of cutting edge young adult novels, Heather is dedicated to “writing truthfully” for teens, or “telling it as like it is.” Her own novel, MAKING THE RUN (HarperCollins, 2001), was hailed as “gritty” and “exceptionally honest” by Boolist and chosen as a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. In talking to teens about this book, Heather focuses on the creative process of writing, using excerpts from the book and journal entries to inspire young adults to think about how to write from their own life experiences. Q & A and book signing.
*Presentation: 50 minutes w/ Q & A
*Group size: 2-3 classes per presentation preferable
* Equipment requirements: Laptop w/flashdrive port, power point projector and screen, microphone for large groups.
Adult groups:
Heather discusses how she came to be a writer of books for young readers, sharing her own experience of working in the children’s books editorial department of Harper & Row Publishers, later HarperCollins, fresh out of college. Using a power point slide presentation, Heather discusses the importance of writing truthfully for young people, interweaving excerpts from her own work with recollections of classic children’s books that had a huge impact on her as a child along with fascinating facts about the life and work of the most influential and controversial children’s books editor of 20th century: Ursula Nordstrom.
*Presentation: 50 minutes
*Group size: unlimited
* Equipment requirements: Laptop w/flashdrive port, power point projector and screen, microphone and podium for large groups.
Heather’s education and background:
- 20 years of editing and writing experience for major publishers
- MA in Creative Writing, City College/City University of New York, NYC
- BA in Creative Writing and Literature, The New School for Social Research, NYC.