Date: Thursday, October 25, 2007

Time: 1:15 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. EST

Target Grade Levels: Pre-K thru 1

Cost: Free!

Requirements for Participation : Must be on the MAGPI network and have H.323 (IP) videoconferencing capabilities

Description:

Children’s author and illustrator, Suzanne Bloom, will be visiting schools and libraries "virtually" across the state during an exciting and engaging interactive videoconference event to promote Pennsylvania’s statewide program One Book, Every Young Child. Pennsylvania’s second annual One Book, Every Young Child collaborative program is designed to highlight the importance of early literacy development in preschoolers, ages 3-6 years.

A Splendid Friend, Indeed , written by Bloom, is this year’s book selection and the interactive event will center around her entertaining and insightful story. The videoconference will feature a special virtual reading of the book, an interactive question and answer session and more.

This event is a partnership between MAGPI and PA One Book, Every Young Child. Each participating teacher will receive a copy of A Splendid Friend Indeed, courtesy of PA One Book, Every Young Child.

Videoconference Outline:

Resources

• Suzanne Bloom's Website
• Pennsylvania One Book, Every Young Child Website (Tons of resources for this book, including lesson plans, games, arts and crafts, and more!)

Preparing Students:

Prepare your Site Introduction! During the videoconference, each site will have an opportunity to introduce themselves. Introductions must be less than 30 seconds and should include:

• Your school's name
• Your location
• Introduction of the class (i.e. "This is Ms. Smith's 2nd Grade Class)
• An interesting fact about your school or community

Familiarize Students with Suzanne and her work: Students should be with at least one of Suzanne's books.

Prepare Questions: Have students come up with questions for Suzanne about her work, her background, how she bacame a writer, etc. As a class, choose the top 3 questions. Make sure students are prepared to ask these questions as part of the videoconference event. Each school will have a chance to ask 1 question - - but by preparing 5, we can make sure that questions aren't repeated.

About the Author:

Suzanne Bloom, author and illustrator of A Splendid Friend, Indeed, has been writing and illustrating children’s books and visiting schools for more than 17 years. She lives with her family in McDonough, NY.

A Splendid Friend, Indeed is the 2007 selection for the Pennsylvania One Book, Every Young Child program.. It was nominated for Best Book Award, Child Magazine, 2005; named among New York Public Library’s 2005 List of Best Books to Read and Share; won the 2006 Theodor Seuss Geisel Book Award for the Most Distinguished Beginning Reader, Honor book; and was named to the Texas 2x2 Reading List, 2006.

Bloom says she was an illustrator before she became a writer. “That’s because I was scribbling and sketching when I was three, and I didn’t learn to write until I was in first grade. My paintings from those days filled up the page with color and details – like the paintings in my books. I spent a lot of time drawing, writing and making things

Books Written/Illusrated by Suzanne Bloom

• Books written by Suzanne Bloom
  • We Keep a Pig in the Parlor. Crown Publishers, NYC, 1988.
  • We Keep a Pig in the Parlor: Paperback reprinted by Boyds Mills Press, Honesdale Pa. 2004
  • A Family for Jamie. Crown Publishers, NYC, 1991.
  • Piggy Monday: a Tale About Manners. Morton Grove, Illinois: Albert Whitman & Co. 2001.
  • The Bus for Us. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press, 2001.
  • No Place for a Pig. Honesdale, PA.: Boyds Mills Press, 2003
  • A Splendid Friend, Indeed: Boyds Mills Press, 2005.
  • Treasure: Boyds Mills Press, 2007
    
• Books Illustrated by Suzanne Bloom:
  • Brisson, Pat. Melissa Parkington's Beautiful, Beautiful Hair: Boyds Mills Press, 2006.
  • Bunting, Eve. Girls A to Z. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press, 2002.
  • Bunting, Eve. My Special Day at Third Street School. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press, 2004.

About One Book, Every Young Child:

One Book, Every Young Child is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, Please Touch Museum, State Museum of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Library Association, Pennsylvania Public Television Network, Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children, The Pennsylvania Child Care Association, PennSERVE, Boyds Mills Press and Verizon. This program also is supported in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the state of Pennsylvania. Find out more...