School Visits

Kindergarten to 5th Grade

  • 30 minutes + 15-minute Q&A

  • 3 presentations per visit

  • Can be tailored to teacher's topics

  • Reading, writing, researching

  • Fiction + nonfiction

  • Novels, graphic novels, biographies

  • Book signing + personalization

  • Writing workshops upon request

  • “The Scroll of Doom”

    Book a visit to your school here.

How to use engaging and descriptive language

Opening with a BANG & tools for getting started

How research adds color to creative writing

Basic elements of storytelling, voice & point of view

Outlining & building the skeleton of what will become a story

Q: What’s a Fun Topic for a School Visit?

A: Glad you asked! Before Theodore Roosevelt, Louisa May Alcott, Rachel Carson, and Ralph Baer made their marks, they were once curious kids.

Kate talks with students about how cultivating curiosity helps build readers and writers who engage deeply with the world. Just as Teddy went on to become U.S. president and a champion of the National Parks, Louisa went on to write the best-selling novel Little Women, Rachel launched the modern environmental movement, and Ralph invented video gaming, today's curious students are tomorrow's world-changers.

Book an author visit to your school!

Q: What’s the Scroll of Doom?

A: After years of hearing “NO!” from book publishers, Kate finally received a YES! So she looked at her pile of rejection letters and did something with it. Taping them end-to-end, she created a 65-foot roll of disappointment that she dubbed “The Scroll of Doom.”

Kate shares the roll with students to demonstrate what resilience and perseverance look like. 

Q: Battle of the Books?

A: Kate loves Battle of the Books contests! And she would be thrilled to talk with students, teams, and schools about details big and small.

Kate can visit in-person or virtually!

Kate can present on storytelling and how ideas turn into books, sharing examples from her own books and writing life, and celebrating being curious people and asking great questions!

Kindergarten & 1st grade

Kate discusses curiosity and asking questions, and the role of reading in helping us collect words, as well as what research looks like. Because graphic novels are so popular, she can also present a talk on how to write one!

2nd & 3rd grades

Kate gets into the specifics of storytelling, from POV to voice to plotting, as well as the Three Rs of Writing – reading, revising & resilience. She explores inventors, detectives, superheroes, graphic novels, and more.

4th & 5th grades

Classroom Guides