Letter From Debi Bruner; Media Specialist; Foster Elementary; Gainesville, Florida:
"Cynthia, Thank you so very much! The students, their teachers, and I enjoyed our visit with you yesterday. You are so wonderful!!!! I found this out when taking a literature class a few years ago. I had posted on a listserv looking for authentic Native American literature. Your husband saw the message and you responded. I was so excited when I learned you do virtual visits. If you are ever in Florida I would love to know. I'd love to meet you have the opportunity to hear you speak. I wish I had video taped the children yesterday. They were so engaged and had so many questions.
"Is that really her answering our questions?
"Is she really doing the typing herself?
"Man, she can type good.
"Does she have a body guard?
"They were so cute and greatly enjoyed the experience. Every one of them are crossing their fingers for you and the students receiving the books will cherish them I know. We are doing Florida research projects presently and I was really impressed when one of the students asked about how much research you do and what sources you use.
"I am going to write another grant again next year and hope I am as fortunate as I was this year. It is so important for the children to realize that authors are real people, the fact that often stories are not accepted, there is a great amount of rewriting, and that they can also be writers. Just as important is for them to meet people from other cultures and learn more about their cultures. We could have done a whole visit just on the Seminole and Muscogee (Creek) people past and present.
"Your website has a wealth of information and I find something new every time I visit. Thank you so very much for everything. I especially thank you for your patience and making our first virtual visit a pleasant experience. "
Cynthia Leitich Smith has been a featured virtual speaker to schools around the world and for such groups as:
Bring her virtually to your audience! Here's why and how:
Books
or technology? They don't have to compete! By bringing author Cynthia Leitich Smith to your audience via a virtual chat,
you can underscore how books and technology can thrive together.
Plus, at a very economical cost, your local students or colleagues will enjoy an instantaneous virtual conversation with a speaker in Austin, Texas.
Cynthia Leitich Smith is a natural fit for such events because of her extensive online children's literature resources, enthusiasm, expertise, and the technology references that appear in her books.
The cost is $100 for a half hour or $150 for an hour, but please consider the attention span of the target audience. (Very young readers may not be able to focus as long as older ones.)
Simply contact Jean Dayton of Dayton Bookings with: your name, the name and type of your organization; your snail and e-mail addresses and your phone number; the dates you're considering; the length of your proposed visit; and any other pertinent details.
Cynthia chats with Teens at Second Life about her YA Gothic fantasy novels.
Educator-designed multiple intelligence activities are provided for each of my titles (JINGLE DANCER (Morrow/HarperCollins, 200)(ages 4-up), (INDIAN SHOES, HarperCollins, 2002)(ages 7-up), and RAIN IS NOT MY INDIAN NAME (HarperCollins, 2001)(ages 10-up).
For YA readers, see discussion guides for TANTALIZE and ETERNAL.
In addition, there are author-designed book talk questions and links to powwow video, a fry bread recipe, etc. for JINGLE DANCER and an extensive Web activity for RAIN IS NOT MY INDIAN NAME. See Teacher Guide: Children's and Young Adult Books by Cynthia Leitich Smith. The teacher guide includes links to lesson plan search engine sites.
Endorsement From: Jennifer Battle; Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction; Texas State University; San Marcos, Texas:
"Cynthia Leitich Smith’s quick wit and humor, as well as her articulate responses to my Education graduate students’ own questions, made our cyber talk both entertaining and educational. My students felt privileged to 'talk' to a published children’s literature author.
"This experience afforded us a novel and powerful way to learn about multicultural literature in general, and Cynthia’s perspectives on writing from a Native American point of view in particular.
"Cynthia responded enthusiastically to a wide range of questions from, 'What is fry bread?', and 'Who gave you the love of writing?' to 'Do you consider culture as context, or culture as content?' to satisfy our curiosity!
"Cynthia carefully organizes the process for a cyber talk to make it easy for teachers to implement. A quick training ahead of the appointed hour to test equipment and practice went a long way towards settling any fears I had about major difficulties.
"What a great way to integrate technology for an authentic communicative purpose!"