Children's Book
Author Mike Graf
Children's Book
Author Mike Graf
School Talks and Presentations
One of the great aspects of writing books for children, is that I get to visit schools and share my stories in person.
My presentations run the gamut of 1st through 8th grade, as well as giving talks to educators and parents. I am an enthusiastic storyteller and would be delighted to present at your school. Many of my talks revolve around weather, caving, storm chasing, dinosaur digs, animal encounters, and other outdoor adventure and science related topics. My newly released national parks series, weather, and/or the writing process itself are some of my most frequently requested presentations.
I also give specialized, hands-on writing and weather workshops for smaller groups and GATE classes.
My background includes:
Topics for multi-class or single-class presentations at your school:
Rates for School Talks and Presentations:
Professional Fees: Generally $250.00 per assembly.
Rates vary depending upon travel, book sales, and number of presentations per day.
Travel expenses also vary depending upon location.
"Great! We have had such great feedback from students and teachers alike. I don't think the teachers thought their students were capable of being engrossed for a stretch of time like that." - Katie Demsher, Assistant Principal, Plum Canyon Elementary School, Saugus, CA
"We loved having you visit our school! I have been fielding compliments about your presentation for the last two days! The teachers, including myself enjoyed it as much as the kids did. Thank you so much for coming! Teachers were very impressed with how you kept the kids focused and how much they learned from you about writing. You are a dynamic speaker. Your talk didn't even seem like an hour." - Kathleen Gipson, Literacy Specialist, Monte Cristo Elementary, Granite Falls, WA
"I was told by a staff member that the kids talked about you all afternoon! It was a great morning!" "I want to thank Marian for getting our author here this morning. Mike Graf was just a wonderful speaker. Our 3-5 grades were just entranced with his stories from start to finish!" - Marian McHugh, Library Media Teacher, Paula Laub, Writing Specialist, Paradise Professional Development School, Las Vegas, NV
"Thank you for the excellent presentation you gave to our students at Bodega Bay School. Although the talk was aimed at 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders, you were able to engage and interest the three lower grades as well. The teachers were very pleased with the presentation also."- Carolyn Connors, Bodega Bay Elementary School, CA
"Thank you for your recent visit to our school...You did a remarkable job of altering your presentations so that the varying grade level presentations were age appropriate and clearly enjoyable for all. Your teaching experience was evidenced by your ability to command and hold the attention of the students...what an outstanding presentation you gave to the students. Our best yet!" - Barbara Danowitz, Principal, St. John Eudes School, Chatsworth, CA
"I wanted to thank you again for coming to Bilbray yesterday. I have gotten so many positive comments today about the assemblies yesterday and the program last night. The students and teachers think you are amazing. I hope that you'll be able to come back to our school in the future. Good luck to you on your next books!" - Gayle Jefferson, Literacy Specialist, Bilbray Elementary School, Las Vegas, NV
"It was a pleasure having you in our room on Wednesday. The students really enjoyed writing their realistic fiction stories. I know it was intense, but I do have to say, the students stayed focused, and really enjoyed the process. I have received nothing but positive feedback from parents and students. It was truly an honor to have you as a guest in our class." - Miss Rodriguez, 4th Grade Teacher, Alexander Dawson School, Las Vegas, NV
"Thank you for coming to our class. I learned a lot about writing. I liked to write before, but now I love it! I learned what morbid vs. sugar-coated means now. I think I will never forget how to make your story interesting. Now I know that you should put an unusual situation in every story. Now I am using dialogue in my stories. I can't wait to finish my story. Thank you again." - 4th Grade Student, Alexander Dawson School, Las Vegas, NV
"Thank you very much for everything. It was great. My daughter, a seventh grade student, said you were the best author we have ever had. I'd say that is quite a compliment since we have had some really great authors, and since the middle school age can be a difficult age to please, since they already know everything, lol." - Mary Larez, Librarian and parent of Mikaela Larez, 7th Grade Student, St. John Eudes School, Chatsworth, CA
"Mike Graf is an excellent informative teacher/author. He walked into each class a natural and with excellent skills in capturing the audiences’ attention and getting across information and telling stories. Highly recommended!" - Paradise Valley Arizona
"I very much enjoyed your presentations this morning at San Domenico... Your realistic fiction presentation was fabulous. I liked all aspects of it: grammar, vocabulary, different concepts for characters, recording excursions, real life experiences. All important contributions to the story. Very exciting...you were super!" - M. Schwerin, Librarian, Brookside Upper Campus, San Anselmo, CA
"Please tell Mr. Graf that I thought he did an excellent job at the assembly! His talk was very informative, yet by defining vocabulary, bringing some physical objects, and using storytelling techniques he was able to connect with a young audience. I was also very impressed with his management skills; it was a pleasure to attend an assembly where an intrinsically interesting presentation engaged the students so much that virtually none of the students grew restless or bored. Obviously, Mr. Graf has a wealth of experience managing large numbers of students, and he was well prepared to discuss his books and the ways he gets his ideas. I hope that he can speak with our students sometime again in the future, and I am sure that any other district would be fortunate to have him present at their school." - Lisa Doig, Rescue Union School District Lake Forest School, El Dorado Hills, CA
"If you have Mike Graf coming to your school during Nevada Reading Week are you in for a true adventure! Mike travels and writes about his real experiences in his Realistic Fiction Books. Mike has written over 70 books. His books are bursting with information. Students, parents, and teachers loved his presentations! Hold onto your hats... " - Ruby Sandoval, Teacher and Librarian, Lummis Elementary School, Las Vegas, NV
"Over fall break, we drove up to the Grand Canyon. The kids really loved the book Tale of the Scorpion. Eliana kept mentioning to me that we were going to take a day hike. She packed up our backpacks with all the important things: water, food, a salty snack, flashlight, etc. We even bought a black light flashlight so we could hunt for scorpions! She reminded Mike and I to start drinking water well before our trip. When we got to the Canyon, we started walking on the trail. Eliana started going down, down, down. When I told her we weren't going to the bottom, she was shocked! She was so upset! She thought we were going to hike right to the bottom, just like in the book! It was priceless!! Thankfully, she was satisfied with our long hike around the rim." - Miriam Spizzirri, Parent of 4th Grade Student, Tesseract School, Phoenix, AZ
"Mike’s presentation was terrific. He held the students attention with experiments, hands-on cloud chart building and reading from his books." - Santa Clara, CA
"Mike Graf was a great hit with the fifth grade teachers and students at our school. He tailored his presentation to fit the weather/extreme nature themes the fifth grade students had been studying in class." - Tiburon, CA
"I found Mike Graf to be both professional and gracious when I worked with him. He was helpful in providing information and materials. I enjoyed his presentation and would gladly have him again." - Orland, CA
"The
kids really enjoyed Mike's lecture--in fact, the first grade teacher told me her
students talked about the caves for the rest of the day. Every comment I heard
was positive--from the kids and faculty alike."
- Melissa Moore, Junipero
Serra School, Carmel, CA
"Mike, you were getting rave reviews all day long yesterday! The teachers
LOVED your presentation, and were so delighted to have you here that they've
already asked me if we can book you for next fall to speak to next year's fifth
graders!"
- Melissa Jones, Librarian, Bel Aire School,
Tiburon, CA
"The children and adults were enthralled by Mike's presentation. Mike's stories really came alive for the children. Lots of positive feedback from all who attended." - Dixie Elementary, Marin County, CA
"Mike's presentations were engaging, exciting, and informative. Both students and teachers will remember his visit for years to come." - Anna Lane, Glenn County Office of Education
"I can't begin to tell you what a pleasure it was to have Mike at our school. The students and staff really enjoyed the presentations. I really liked the ease of working with him." - Dorothy Garrelts-- Johnstonville School, Susanville, CA
"I am getting rave reviews about Mike's sessions....the teachers all loved him." - Lore Silva, Librarian, Vista Grande School, San Diego, CA"The best author we have had come and visit." - PTA president, Gold River School, Folsom, CA
"We were really impressed at how Mike can keep the kids attention during the assembly. Great, interesting stories! We give Mike's talk rave reviews!" - Robert Lindsey, Principal, French Ford Middle School, Winnemucca, NV
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