First famous for her bestselling tell-all diary of her first year of teaching in a Chicago Public School, Educating Esme, and her landmark resource guide, How to Get Your Child to Love Reading, Esme turned her talents to writing multicultural books for intermediate readers. Her novel Sahara Special has received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publisher's Weekly, was a # 1 Booksense 76 pick and won the International Reading Association Children's Book Award for Intermediate Fiction. She is the author of several other books for children that have earned praise and a strong and lively fan base: her childhood memoir Sing a Song of Tuna Fish is a perennial favorite for teaching children to journal, Diary of a Fairy Godmother is a fairy-tale tell-all that leads readers to make their own wishes come true, and Hanukkah Shmanukkah gives Dickens' classic a fresh twist. The anticipated companion novel to Sahara Special, titled Vive la Paris, was the first novel featuring an African-American protagonist to win a Sydney Taylor honor.

Funny and inspiring, a visit from Esme is an author visit children will never forget. Let Esme invigorate children to value and see the magic of their own real life stories.

Classroom visits:
Up to (4) 45-minute sessions or (3) 60 minute sessions with groups of up to 60 children at a time, grades 3 and up. Fees are $1200 a day for Chicago proper, $1800 in Illinois (including Chicagoland suburbs), and $2500 a day out of state. Prices subject to change.

Other visits and events:
Fees start at  $1500 for single institutional presentations, $2500 for out-of-state presentations (including keynotes), $3500 for day-long school or district inservices, and $350 for university class visits and book clubs.  Please query for a quote and sample contract.

Also available for library visits, family reading nights, Battle of the Books celebrations and staff meetings.

Please visit Planetesme.com for more details on Esme's books and work in the wonderful world of children's literature.

Contact Information:
Email: esme@ripco.com
Website: http://www.planetesme.com
Speaking agent Veronica DiCapria: veronica@planetesme.com