Of my three interests—writing, storytelling, and music—I'm most comfortable as a storyteller. Put me in front of an audience and something inside of me lights up. I thoroughly enjoy sharing stories with audiences young and old. It's that energy that I bring to all of my school and public library programs. My intent is always to entertain and to inform. To book a program, please email me at nikolabooks@gmail.com.
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Primary For students in Kindergarten through 2nd grade, I offer an author/storytelling program using my writing and publishing experiences as the focus. Every story I read, sing, or act out is to better clarify my writing experiences. It is my goal to guide students through my writing experiences in a logical, sequential way so students have a broad understanding of what an author does, and, just as importantly, understand what makes a good story.
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Intermediate With older students, 3rd-5th grade, I talk more extensively about the writing process. In a more conversational tone, I talk to students about how I get and develop story ideas. In this program I try to engage students more at their own level, using very specific examples from my writing to convey important ideas about reading and writing. I also use a lot of supplemental texts that relate to the several books of mine that I highlight in this engaging presentation.
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Middle School It must be the natural speaker in me, because I find myself at ease in front of a group of three-year-olds as much as I do a group of thirteen-year-olds. For the latter group I talk about the "nuts and bolts" of writing. I talk about where I write, what I use to write, how I organize my writing, and share some of my published work appropriate for their age. Students and teachers have told me they really enjoy this under-the-hood look at what it means to be a professional writer.
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Family Story Concerts I also offer evening programs for a multi-generational audience. I do this often in conjunction with a series of programs offered during the school day. I also do it as a stand-alone event to kick-off a school or library book sale or literacy program. In this setting, I draw strongly upon my performance arts background and deliver an upbeat, action-packed presentation filled with music, storytelling, and lots of humor.
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