Assemblies: in-person or remote

Creating Books

How does an idea become a book? I lead the students through the process of creating a book, using my original artwork from Ebbie & Flo to illustrate each step along the way. During this engaging and informative presentation, I show the evolution of my illustrations from sketches and storyboards to pastel drawings and finally the printer’s full-color press sheets. We also explore the writing process, with an emphasis on the importance of character development, plot, editing and rewriting.

Running time: 30-40 minutes
Grades K-2 (250 audience limit, though the smaller the better)
Up to 4 presentations per day

It’s a Butterfly’s Life

This assembly is based on my book, It’s a Butterfly’s Life. I start with a PowerPoint presentation about writing, focusing primarily on the mysterious origins of ideas. This presentation is similar to Creating Books in that we discuss how a book is made: writing, editing, sketching, editing, dummies, editing, storyboards, editing, final artwork, and editing (can't emphasize that enough). The different challenges of working with a fiction and a non-fiction subject are considered, regarding both writing and illustrating.

Running time: approximately 40 minutes
Grades: K-5 (250 audience limit, though the smaller the better)
Up to 4 presentations per day

Writing Workshops: in-person or remote

Dear Diary Writing Workshop

In these workshops, we consider the importance of ‘voice’ in writing, with an emphasis on non-fiction. The students create a diary from the point-of-view of a caterpillar, using the ‘voice’ of a caterpillar. Working as a group, we discuss metamorphosis and with my guidance, the students make their own books based on this process. The students leave the workshop with their very own accordion book, as well as a renewed appreciation of how much fun science, research, reading and writing can be. 
Grades 1 – 5.

I can conduct a maximum of 4 presentations/workshops per day, and each session is between 35 and 40 minutes. Many schools mix the presentations to create a customized day for their particular school. Please email me for my fees.

What teachers and parents have to say:

“Irene Kelly was wonderful! She really connected with the children and gave them realistic and practical writing suggestions. We are very fortunate to have such unique and special opportunities.”

Brenda Morrow, 5th grade teacher
James Stoy Elementary School
Haddon Township, NJ

“Irene Kelly’s author visit was fabulous! The writing workshops she did with our third grade classes fit perfectly into our writing program. Outstanding program!”

Mrs Kolb, 3rd grade teacher
Mansfield Elementary School
Port Murray, NJ

"Irene Kelly's visit to our school was a tremendous success. All of our
students were thoroughly engaged throughout the assemblies, and our first-through fifth-graders were thrilled with the book creation workshops. In
addition to being a talented author and illustrator, Irene is a wonderful
teacher. She instructed, coached and mentored our students throughout their
projects. When their books were completed, the children themselves were astonished by the results (and proud of their achievement). How wonderful to see our kids learning when they think all they're doing is having fun!"

Lisa Donaldson, Co-chair, Assembly Committee
Hopewell Elementary School, Hopewell, NJ

The writing workshops were an extremely useful exercise for the children. They were able to create their own story with your guidance…and the best part was they had fun without realizing they were actually learning.. I received much positive feedback from the teachers. They were thrilled to see their students caught up in a creative writing assignment. One teacher said she has many ideas on how to incorporate this into her own lessons!

Renee Soracco, Co-President, Parents Association
Washington School, Bergenfield, NJ

We had Irene back for the second year in a row, the kids were really engaged and enjoyed writing and illustrating their own story in a book dummy. The third grade teachers really enjoyed how Irene was able to get the kids to write from a different perspective – we will definitely have her back again!

Patti Blosfelds, PTA Assembly Chairperson
Delran Elementary School