Skype Talks with Children’s Book Authors

From the Marshall Memo #445

In this Reading Today article, author John Micklos, Jr. recommends Skyping with authors, which he says is almost as good as a live author visit. A number of well-known children’s book authors are willing to do Skype talks – see http://skypeanauthor.wetpaint.com, http://www.skypeauthors.com, and http://www.katemessner.com/authors-who-skype-with-classes-book-clubs-for-free. 

To make the most of a 20-minute Skype session with an author, Micklos recommends the following steps:

• Make sure students have read the book in advance.
• Visit the author’s website so students know about him or her.
• Brainstorm ideas about what to talk to the author about.
• Have students write their questions on index cards to they don’t forget them in the excitement of the moment.
• Decide on a sequence of questions so students don’t step on each others’ lines.
• Practice using Skype so everyone is comfortable with the process.

“Authors Who Skype: A New Way to Stimulate Student Reading” by John Micklos, Jr. in Reading Today, June/July 2012 (Vol. 29, #6, p. 22-23), http://www.reading.org