We have been very fortunate at Altamont to have had many wonderful author visits over the years. Here we have listed some of those authors, along with photos and information on their visits. Thanks again to the Altamont PTA for allowing us to host all these wonderful authors!
Jon Chad | Jeff Mack | Peter Lourie | Jarrett Krosoczka | Seymour Simon | Heather Schwartz | Elizabeth Zunon
Jon Chad
Author and cartoonist Jon Chad visited our school on Thursday, January 18, 2018. Jon is the author of the Leo Geo Series, as well as Volcanoes: Fire and Life.
Jeff Mack
Guest author Jeff Mack visited Altamont on Thursday, May 25, 2017.
Jeff is the author of such books as the Clueless McGee series; picture books like Good News, Bad News; and early readers like Hippo and Rabbit. We are so excited to have him come visit our school! His website is www.jeffmack.com.
Peter Lourie
On May 25, 2016, author/photographer Peter Lourie visited Altamont elementary school. Peter is quite the adventurer, having canoed the entire Hudson River, the Erie Canal – he has even explored parts of the Yukon and Amazon rivers! Peter has searched for treasure in the cloud forest of Ecuador, studied polar bears in the Arctic, and tracked manatees through the warm waters of Florida. His books reflect his diverse interest.
Defenders of Wildlife, received a donation off $1,000 from the author, made in the name of Altamont Elementary School!
Jarrett J. Krosoczka
On November 19, 2014, author/illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka visited Altamont elementary school. Jarrett has written picture books, including Ollie the Purple Elephant, Monkey Boy, Annie Was Warned and Punk Farm! He is the genius behind the Lunch Lady graphic novels, and he has a chapter book series called Platypus Police Squad. He does it all!
In addition to presenting to all students at assemblies, Jarrett conducted a graphic novel workshop for fourth graders, and a writers workshop for fifth graders. Thanks to the PTA for sponsoring this great visit!
See Jarrett’s website at www.studiojjk.com for more information.
Seymour Simon
The Dean of Children’s Nonfiction Books enchanted his audience with nonfiction narratives. Seymour Simon shared a selection of his almost 300 book titles with Altamont Elementary School’s students and staff. Using comparisons with grains of sand, he helped intermediate grade students understand the magnitude of the universe. With younger children, he described the mammoth size of a blue whale by comparing its tongue to the weight of an elephant.
Go to his website www.seymoursimon.com to see the summary of his visit to Altamont and to discover the winners of the writing contest he created for Altamont Elementary School.
Heather E. Schwartz
Heather Schwartz has published over thirty nonfiction books for young people. She presented her writing process to students in our second and third grades in the library. She followed up the presentation with visits to classrooms where children were able to ask deeper questions about her writing. Ms. Schwartz drew many parallels between her work and the writing students are asked to produce in school.
Elizabeth Zunon
Elizabeth Zunon, a Guilderland High School graduate, has already illustrated five picture books since she began her career in children’s literature three years ago. Images from her slide presentation show her passion for color that illuminates the content of each book. She took photos of herself throughout her research process to show how she arrived at authentic images. Pictured in the background are windmills students drew to show their understanding of one of her titles, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.
