AUTHOR STUDIES

Lara Sims & Shannon Scott

Springfield Public Schools

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GETTING STARTED

Please sit according to your grade level.

Create a name tag and write your full name on a slip of paper.

Please take a green sticker and place it in the appropriate category on the consensogram.

Get to know your table mates.

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SESSION OBJECTIVES

To understand the purpose of an author study

Know the steps in creating an author study

Have a plan to teach these skills in your classroom

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INTRODUCTION TO AUTHOR STUDIES

Let’s do Jot Thought!

Take 3 slips of paper and take turns answering the following question:

What can you do with an author study?

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“For young children to understand what it means for them to be

writers, they first need to understand what a writer is and

what a writer does.”

-Katie Wood Ray & Matt Glover

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WHY AUTHOR STUDIES?

Reading books by the same author “helps children understand that writing isn’t a one-time event; people continue to write over time.”

“Reading multiple books by the same authors and illustrators helps children imagine new possibilities for themselves as writers.”

-Katie Wood Ray & Matt Glover

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WHAT IS AN AUTHOR STUDY?

“An author study is a unit lesson that gives students the opportunity to delve deeply into an author’s life and body of work.”

-Reading Rockets

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It gives students a chance to:

Critically evaluate an author’s theme, characters, and writing style

Make connections between the author’s life and work

Make personal connections between their own experiences and those of the author and their characters

-Reading Rocket

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WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

Steps to an author study:

Choose an author.

Gather texts and read them.

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WHAT DO I WANT TO TEACH?

Select 3-4 ideas you want to focus your study around.

Mo Willems:

Reflected Pictures

Speech Bubbles

Big and Little Words

Funny!

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Make sure to select books that support these ideas.

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STEPS TO AN AUTHOR STUDY

Read the texts aloud to your students.

Involve students in an inquiry discussion of the texts and create an anchor chart.

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MODEL, MODEL, MODEL

Model for students how to write like this author.

Create a shared writing with the students

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ALLOW THE STUDENTS TO

CREATE THEIR OWN TEXTS

Don’t Let the Pigeon Ride the Bike

Don’t Let the Pigeon Skateboard

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Lets explore more about the authors

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PROCESS TIME

Take a sticky note and answer the following questions:

What authors could you study?

What skills would you teach?

What do you still want to know?

*If you still have questions, use the parking lot.

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MAKING FOLDERS

“Seeing oneself as like another person is so critical to reading like a writer, children need to see authors

and illustrators as more that just names printed on books.”

-Katy Wood Ray

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Look through the books on your table.

What do they have in common?

What skills would you teach?

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NOW YOU KNOW….The purpose of an author study

The steps in creating an author study

How to teach these skills in your classroom

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What questions do you still have?

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IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, EMAIL US!

Shannon Scott

smscott@spsmail.org

Lara Sims

lesims@spsmail.org

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RESOURCES

Ray, K.W. (2007). In Pictures and In Words. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Ray, K.W. & Glover, M. (2008). Already Ready. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

“The Author Study Toolkit”. (2011). Retrieved from www.readingrockets.org.

Folders inspired by Mrs. Tabb. Retrieved from http://anotherdayinfirstgrade.blogspot.com

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K-2 Author Study Schedule

Kindergarten Author Studies Mo Willems www.mowillems.com

David Shannon No personal website

Eric Carle www.eric-carle.com

Robert Munsch www.robertmunsch.com

Lois Ehlert No personal website

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First Grade Author Studies Laura Numeroff www.lauranumeroff.com

Jan Brett www.janbrett.com

Kevin Henkes www.kevinhenkes.com

Doreen Cronin www.doreencroning.com

Gail Gibbons www.gailgibbons.com

Dr. Seuss No personal website

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Second Grade Author Studies Leo Lionni No personal website

Tomie dePaola www.tomie.com

Eve Bunting No personal website

Patricia Polacco www.patriciapolacco.com

Cynthia Rylant No personal website

David Shannon

David

Shannon

This is David Shannon. He grew up in

Washington, D.C. He started writing

when he was 5 years old. David liked to

draw pictures of himself doing things he

wasn’t supposed to do. He turned his

drawings into the book No David! Some

of his other books are Alice the Fairy and

A Bad Case of Stripes. David and his

wife, Heidi, now live in Los Angeles,

California with their daughter Emma.

They also have a dog named Fergus.

Here are some books by David.

David’s books have….

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Robert Munsch

Robert

Munsch

This is Robert Munsch. He grew up in

Pennsylvania with 8 brothers and sisters.

When he was in school, his favorite thing

to write was poems. As an adult, he liked

to tell stories and decided to write them

down. Robert enjoys writing stories

about people he meets, especially kids.

Robert has written the books Love You

Forever and The Paper Bag Princess. He

now lives in Canada and is working on

writing more books!

Here are some books by Robert.

Robert’s books have….

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Eric Carle

Eric

Carle

This is Eric Carle. He wrote the book The

Very Hungry Caterpillar and The

Grouchy Lady Bug. Eric was born in

New York but when he was six, his family

moved to Germany. When he was a child,

his favorite thing to do was walk in the

woods and look for animals. These walks

inspired many of his books. He returned

to America when he was 23 and began

working as an illustrator. Eric now lives

in Florida with his wife Bobbie.

Mo Willems

Here are some books by Eric.

Eric’s books have….

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Mo Willems

Mo

Willems

s

This is Mo Willems. He likes to write

funny books that will make kids laugh.

He is best known for his characters

Knuffle Bunny, The Pigeon, and

Elephant and Piggie. He has also earned

lots of awards for his books. Not only

does Mo like to write books, he is also an

artist. He likes to paint, draw and create

sculptures. Mo lives with his family in

Massachusetts.

Here are some books by Mo.

Mo’s books have….

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Doreen

Cronin

This is Doreen Cronin. She lives in New

York with family. She began her adult

career as a lawyer but after publishing

her first book in 2000 she decided to be

an author fulltime. She is known for her

many books involving barnyard animals.

She writes many stories that make her

readers laugh. She has authored Click

Clack Moo: Cows That Type, Giggle,

Giggle Quack, and Diary of a Worm.

Doreen

Cronin

Here are some books by Doreen.

Doreen’s books have….

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Gail

Gibbons

This is Gail Gibbons. Ever since she was

a kid she has enjoyed putting books

together. Gail remembers using yarn to

bind her books together when she was

little. She enjoys painting and drawing.

Gail is big into doing research and all the

books she writes are non-fiction. She

gets to travel a lot with her research

which she loves.

Gail

Gibbons

Here are some books by Gail.

Gail’s books have….

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Jan

Brett

This is Jan Brett. As a kid, she

remembers wanting to be an illustrator.

She spent much of her time reading and

drawing. She works hard on her

illustrations to create a feeling that the

imaginary places in her drawings really

exist. Jan travels a lot and uses the

places she goes to inspire her writing and

illustrating. Jan is most widely known

for her detailed illustrations that help

guide her stories.

Jan

Brett

Here are some books by Jan

Jan’s books have….

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Laura

Numeroff

This is Laura Numeroff. She grew up in

Brooklyn, New York but now lives in Los

Angeles, California. She grew a love for

books early on and began writing and

drawing pictures for her stories. She

wasn’t always sure she wanted to be a

writer but couldn’t stay away from

writing. She has authored many books

but is best known for If You Give a

Mouse a Cookie and other If You books.

Laura

Numeroff

Here are some books by Laura.

Laura’s books have….

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Kevin

Henkes

This is Kevin Henkes. He has been

writing and illustrating books for thirty

years. He always makes the very best

books for kids because he knows that

books are children’s first look at art. He

not only writes books for children but

also writes novels for young adults. He is

best known for his mice books and

characters.

Kevin

Henkes

Here are some books by Kevin.

Kevin’s books have….

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Cynthia

Rylant

This is Cynthia Rylant. She has authored

more than 100 books for children and

young adults. She is well known for her

series; Henry and Mudge and Mr. Putter

and Tabby. Cynthia has 2 dogs and 2

cats.

Cynthia

Rylant

Here are some books by Cynthia.

Cynthia’s books have….

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Dr. Seuss

This is Dr. Seuss. His real name is

Theador Seuss Geisel. He began his

career as a cartoonist. His first children’s

book was And To Think That I Saw It On

Mulberry Street. Many of his books

contain beginning reader words making

it fun and easier for children to read.

Another famous book Green Eggs and

Ham contains just 50 words. Seuss is

well known for his rhythm, rhyme, and

fun illustrations in his books.

Dr. Seuss

Here are some books by Dr. Seuss.

Dr. Seuss books have… ______________________________________

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Patricia

Polacco

This is Patricia Polacco. She came from a

family who did a lot of storytelling rather

than watching T.V. She also had two sets

of very loving grandparents and because

of this many of her books are written

about small children interacting with the

elderly. Patricia didn’t learn to read until

she was 14 years old and didn’t write her

first book until she was 41. Patricia

writes and illustrates her books.

Patricia

Polacco

Here are some books by Patricia.

Patricia’s books have….

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Eve Bunting

Eve

Bunting

This is Eve Bunting. She was born in

Ireland. She moved to California in 1958

with her husband and three kids. In

California, she went back to college and

studied writing. Eve has written over 100

books and enjoys writing many kinds of

books like novels and nonfiction. Her

favorite kind of book to create is picture

books. She loves when her books make

kids want to ask questions. When Eve

isn’t writing, she enjoys reading and

playing golf.

Here are some books by Eve.

Eve’s books have….

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Leo Lionni

Leo

Lionni

This is Leo Lionni. He was born in

Holland in 1910. He taught himself to

draw by trying to copy famous pieces of

art that he saw in museums. He moved to

the United States when he was 20 with

his wife and two sons. He worked as an

artist for many years before becoming an

author. He wrote the books It’s Mine,

Fish is Fish and Frederick. Leo wrote 30

books and he won four Caldecott awards.

Here are some books by Leo.

Leo’s books have….

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Tomie dePaola

Tomie

dePaola

This is Tomie dePaola. He grew up in

Connecticut. Tomie said at the age of 4,

all he wanted to do was be a writer and

artist. After college, he taught art to

elementary school students before he

became a writer. As an author, he has

written over 200 books. Tomie has also

won many awards including the

Newberry Honor and Caldecott awards.

Tomie now lives in New Hampshire with

his dog Bronte.

Here are some books by Tomie.

Tomie’s books have….

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