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Author
Visit
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Peter
Lourie
is the celebrated author of many award-winning books. Lourie
is most well-known for his photographic adventure stories
of various places throughout the world. Lourie’s
adventure books come directly from his own travel journals.
He keeps a written and photographic journal during
his adventures and then translates them into exciting picture
books loved by both children and adults.
Presentation Information:
Lourie is comfortable doing either one or two large presentations.
He is someone who can keep an entire auditorium’s
attention. He also likes to work with smaller groups
of fifty or fewer to do a writing workshop after the initial
presentation. Lourie’s presentations are extremely
visual. He brings in his canoe and all his camping
gear that he uses on his river trips in order to show students
how he prepares for a journey. He also does a 45-minute
slide show where he takes students around the world to many
of the incredible places he has been. If he is speaking
to a school in New York State, he focuses primarily on his
trip down the Hudson River.
Presentation Needs: Lourie
brings everything he needs for his presentation with him
that day. He travels with his canoe, all the gear
he carries down the river on his back, a slide projector
and a sound system. The only request Lourie makes
from a school is to provide him with a dark (and quiet)
room in order to view the slides and tell stories (a bottle
of water and/or a coffee with cream and sugar are much appreciated).
Getting Personal: Lourie
is happy to sign as many books as you have. Please
have your students fill out and return the accompanying
order forms with checks by the day of Lourie’s presentation
so that he can sign the books during his visit to your school.
Contract
& Book Signing Forms
The Southern California Children’s Booksellers Association
advises: “The success of your event will absolutely
depend on your students’ familiarity with your guest’s
books. It is necessary for you to assume the responsibility
of making the books available to the youngsters* and seeing
to it that they are read and discussed."
Peter Lourie’s books include:
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- Amazon
– A Young Reader’s Look at the Last Frontier
- Erie
Canal – Canoeing America’s Great Waterway
- Everglades
– Buffalo Tiger and the River of Grass
- Hudson
River – An Adventure From the Mountains to the Sea
- The
Lost Treasure of Captain Kidd (children's novel)
- Lost
Treasures of the Inca
- The
Lost World of the Anasazi
- Mississippi
River – A Journey Down the Father of Waters
- The
Mystery of the Maya
- On
the Trail of Lewis and Clark – A Journey Up the
Missouri River
- On
the Trail of Sacagawea
- Rio
Grande – From the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of
Mexico
- River
of Mountains – A Canoe Journey Down the Hudson (Adult)
- Sweat
of the Sun, Tears of the Moon – Chronicle of an
Incan Treasure (Adult)
- Tierra
del Fuego – A Journey to the End of the Earth
- Yukon
River – An Adventure to the Gold Fields of the Klondike
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Assembly
(plus
workshops)
When I am at one school for a day, I can speak to a large audience (Adventure
Presentation), anywhere from 100-500 students, grades 3-6, or any combination
of those. This assembly requires a cafeteria, gym or auditorium, and takes
a good solid hour. For this, I'll need a room that can get dark and quiet (Please,
no skylights!). During the presentation, I will show slides and take students
down one of America's great rivers, telling stories along the way. (If within
driving distance of my home in Vermont, I'll bring my canoe!)
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Follow-up
Workshop(s)
After the assembly I usually need about a half hour
to put my gear away and then grab another bag of
writing and journal materials in order to go to a
smaller and more intimate space, like a library, where I can meet 25 to
100 students for one or two writing workshops (I've
done these "workshops" as
mini assemblies, but smaller groups work best, and a library is always
better than the cafeteria or a gym). After or between
workshops, I can sign books and eat lunch, drink
coffee, whatever.
These are not workshops in the strict sense of the word. My goal in this
50-minute session, aside from answering specific questions, is to inspire
young writers and to present myself as a model of a person who has lived
the writer's life. "Okay,
you've just seen one of my many adventures," I begin, "but now
let's talk about the long and sometimes laborious and yet rewarding process
of getting from an idea to a book, a three-year process of research, journal-keeping,
drafting, revisions, and publication. In this session I'll cover details
about research, which is another word for EXPLORATION. I will talk about
my own problems as a reader and writer when I was young, and how I overcame
those problems. I'll also talk in depth about various forms of journal-keeping.
As with the assembly, I try to convey information through stories, this
time with a focus on my Amazon travels.
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Assembly Only
Some schools are so large they need assemblies without workshops. This can
be two or even three assemblies in a day.
When I travel beyond the Northeast, and when I can't bring my 18-foot canoe
and all my paddling gear, I like to do one assembly at one school in the morning
and then go to another school in the afternoon for a second assembly. This
has worked well in Texas and other states far from home. To make it worth the
long-distance travel, however, I like to have at least four days of school
visits in any one area (which would be 8 assemblies, or two assemblies per
day).
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Schools
far away:Transportation,
food and lodging in addition to daily fee.
Schools within driving distance: lodging
in addition to daily fee.
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Hudson
River Presentation& study guide
Use
The Lost Treasure of Captain Kidd in
your classroom
Amazon Journal
On the Trail of Sacagawea
Journal
Mississippi River Journal
Adventure Writing: The Process
Writing Exercises
Additional
activities
"Photos
From A Presentation."
Click
here to download a powerpoint slide show of one of Peter's
School Visits
When it downloads onto your computer, it will be called
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