Visit with Author and Illustrator Laurie Smollett Kutscera!

Testimonials:

We had a great time welcoming Ms. Kutscera into our class to share her book Maya’s Treasure with us.   Ms. Kutscera was responsive to the needs of the class by writing beforehand to get a context of what the class was working on.   One interesting aspect that students enjoyed was that Ms. Kutscera started being an author later in her life.  Often it is thought that we have one job and that’s what we do.   Ms. Kutscera placed the dream of being a published author firmly within the grasp of the students, and that type of motivation has a powerful effect on young minds.   We hope to share another story with Ms. Kutscer

Thanks for helping us dream!

Mr. Gessner  3rd Grade – Chatham Elementary School

As the media specialist at Williams Heights Elementary School in Waycross, Georgia, we had the pleasure of having Mrs. Kutscera read to our entire school through Google Meet this week. She did a fabulous job sharing her book, her love of writing, and her talents as an artist with our students. They loved listening to Maya’s Treasure as well as learning about book publishing. Mrs. Kutscera was also very patient with our students answering ALL of their questions with love and kindness. We cannot wait to have her back once she is finished with her next book.

I highly recommend you book her for your school as well!

Heather Thigpen, Media Specialist, Williams Heights Elementary

School Visits- Virtual and In House

Perfect for kindergarten, and elementary grades 1-2:
Classroom or library
Small and medium groups

As an author and illustrator, I love to share my creative process with young readers. It is a pleasure to connect with students and show them how I create a picture book from beginning to end.  Maya’s Treasure is an empowering story that offers many creative opportunities for students and teachers.

Activities can include the writing process and where ideas come from, to drawing characters, to creative problem solving and recycling projects.

Virtual Visits $125.
These are most popular at the moment.
I will read Maya’s Treasure aloud and show a visual presentation of how the book came together.  I will also have a Q&A with the students. Questions are best prepared prior to the Zoom meeting.

In house visits for K-2nd grade $250:
I will read Maya’s Treasure aloud and explain the process of how a book is made including:
What makes a good story: beginning, middle and end
Where ideas come from
The writing process: re-writing and editing.
character development both voice and visually
Illustration process- show early thumbnails
Sketches for book
Showing a dummy book
Finding a model- Have students experience posing for an illustrator
Doing a live digital drawing-and draw along activities

Hands-on projects can include:
Shells can be glued to boxes, or glued or string to twine.
Create a shell necklace, or a group wind chime.
Can you think of other recycled projects we can make?

Supplemental material
DOWNLOAD COLORING PAGES
DOWNLOAD TEACHERS GUIDE
Book sales would add to the experience. Once books are ordered and received I will sign them as part of the visit.

Personalized programs available upon request.

For More information, please feel free to email me at laurie@lauriesmollettkutscera.com