Virtual Book Tour: Global Explorers--Reader's Theater

Welcome to day three of my virtual book tour. I'm celebrating the release of my new book, Readers Theatre for Global Explorers.

I'm visiting a my good friend, writer and poet, Irene Latham today at her blog, Live. Love. Explore! to talk about using reader's theater to teach history. I love Irene's blog title. What more perfect place can there be to talk about a book on explorers? While you're there check out Irene's newest book of poetry, The Color of Lost Rooms explores the ways we experience and survive loss. Her first novel, Leaving Gee's Bend, was nominated for the ALSC Notable Children's Book List and the Cybil Awards. Her next book will be out in 2011 from Roaring Brook Press. Don't Feed the Boy is about a lonely 11-year old boy, born to a Zoo Director mom and elephant keeper dad who barely notice him amid all the other more exotic species. He finds a new friend in the Bird Girl, and with her help, struggles to escape the confines of zoo life. It sounds like a book you don't want to miss.

Yesterday's Question: How do you spell Reader's Theater?

If you posted an answer, any answer at all, you were probably right. There seems to be no standard. In researching books on reader's theater, I have found every possible version of the term.

Readers, Reader's, or Readers'

Theatre or Theater

or any combination therof!

It definitely makes searching a challenge. If any of you library folks out there know a way to

search for multiple variations, I'd love to know what you know.

My publisher, Libraries Unlimited, spells their series Readers Theatre. However, even the designers don't always spell it right. The first cover image I saw had the title spelled Reader's Theater. And incidentally, this is the cover you'll see at amazon.com. It's correct American grammar. But the book, when I held it in my hands, has the official spelling of the Libraries Unlimited set brand. I'm so glad, too. I love spelling it "theatre."

If you're not familiar with reader's theater (correct grammar here), I invite you to take a look at some of the reader's theater gurus. Check out Literacy Connections where their Readers' Theater page offers guides for implementing readers' theater and links to books and online scripts.

Aaron Shepard is a funny guy. You'll enjoy his humorous tips at Reader's Theater Editions. Aaron offers free downloadable scripts that he has authored.

Stop at the Teaching Heart for more scripts and information than you can possibly get through in a day.

Questions from Mrs. Gill's Fourth Grade Class

When did you start working on Readers Theatre for Global Explorers? How long does it take a book to get published and in stores?

I started working on this book in March of 2009. I wrote a proposal and sent it to the publisher to ask if they would be interested in a book about explorers. In August of 2009, they agreed to publish the book. They gave me a deadline of June 2010 to have the book finished. In August of 2010 they sent me a copy of the manuscript to make sure there were no mistakes. I read through it, made some corrections and sent it back. About three weeks later, they sent the

manuscript to me again for final edits. I read through it again, found a few more mistakes and sent it back again. The book was finally published in December 2010. I received my five copies two days before Christmas. By January 2011 it was available in stores. So from the idea to the finished product took almost two years.

Today's Question: Who was the first woman to circumnavigate the globe?

Leave me a comment and I'll enter your name in the drawing for on of the books below. Tomorrow I'll be interviewing my lovely editor at Libraries Unlimited, Sharon Coatney. I'll hope to see you then.