We’ve collected a sampling of BookBreak virtual school author talks for elementary schools from the 2023-24 school year for you to enjoy! You will find a wide variety of topics, grade levels, and diversity with the authors in our BookBreak program. Representation is a high priority for us when choosing authors, because it allows us to provide opportunities for all students to interact with, and be inspired by, authors who look like them. Getting students to read more and improve their reading and writing skills is an important part of our virtual author talk program, but first our authors must connect with them. Author diversity allows us to maximize these connections with all students.
Our virtual author talks are a break from the norm, and fun! Students enjoy submitting questions to the author, learn about creating characters, and even get to do draw-alongs with author-illustrators!
Check out some of our author clips below and stay tuned for our Middle School Launch of the BookBreak program in Fall 2024.
Alice Faye Duncan, author of Opal Lee, answers a question from a student at Jose Antonio Vargas Elementary School during a virtual school author talk on what inspired her to become a writer.
Derrick Barnes, author of King of Kindergarten, answers a question, during a BookBreak author talk, from a student at Incarnation School in Dayton, Ohio on how he came up with the topic of King of Kindergarten for his book.
Hena Kahn, author of Amina’s Voice, answers a question during a BookBreak school virtual author talk about why it’s important to have representation of different cultures and backgrounds in literature. She said that all of our stories deserve to be told and we all deserve to be seen.
Kate DiCamillo, author of The Tale of Despereaux, answers a question during a BookBreak school virtual author talk about her ideas and writing process. She always carries a notebook to write down ideas and as a reminder to keep her mind and ears open for possible stories and character names.
Minh Lê, author of Drawn Together, answers a question from a student at Probstfield Elementary School during a BookBreak school virtual author talk on if his book topic was drawn from his personal experiences. His answer was yes – it was inspired by his relationship with his Grandfather.
Katherine Applegate, author of the One and Only Ivan, answers a question during a BookBreak school virtual author talk on how she puts herself in the shoes and minds of the characters in her stories.
Don Tate, Author of The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton Poet, shows classroom audiences during a school virtual author talk, how to draw a picture of a face step by step. First he showed a picture of Prince and James Baldwin, which he drew digitally to grab student interest. Then he methodically showed them how easy it can be to draw without having a picture to go on.
Jeff Kinney, Author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, answers a student’s question during a BookBreak school virtual author talk on what advice he has for writers and artists listening to him right now. He said if you want to become a good writer, become a good reader.
