2014 Miami Book Fair International

Generation Genius Authors Final Report

Generation Genius Authors has encouraged reading in students of all ages for nearly 25 years by connecting local students with authors of popular children’s books. The goal of the program is to cultivate an interest and passion for reading by showing students that reading can be fun, introducing them to popular authors and sending them home with free books (often signed by the authors) to help create their own personal libraries.

Numerous studies prove that students who can master reading and writing are much more successful throughout their academic career than those who don’t. Students given the opportunity to meet authors – and getting to keep their books – helps create a joyous connection between children and reading for pleasure. It is also encouraging for children to see that the authors of books are people just like them. Building self-esteem and belief in their own abilities and possibilities is just one of the less tangible -but equally important - ways this program helps children.

Each year, we strive to improve and grow the program. In 2014, we offered 23 sessions to 6,580 Miami-Dade County elementary, middle and high school students from 123 schools over the course of two days. Additionally, we brought authors to 28 local schools to reach an additional 1,560 students unable to attend the Book Fair and also conducted four writing workshops.

miamibookfa i r .com /miamibookfair #mbfi

Below is a more detailed breakdown of the 8,140 students from South Florida schools who participated in both the on-campus and off-campus sessions.

Below are a few more successes from last year’s program:

• 151 schools from South Florida participated – 123 at on-campus sessions and 28 at off-campus sessions. This is approximately 38% of the 392 schools in Miami Dade County (we also had a few Broward County schools at the Fair).

•4,240 books were given away to students – 3,280 at on-campus sessions and 960 at off-campus sessions.

• 1,847 students were transported to campus via 40 buses.

At both the on-campus and off-campus sessions, students also had the special opportunity to meet with authors following the sessions and have their own book signed.

Once again this year, we prepared surveys to help us more clearly evaluate the impact of the program. This year, we conducted an online survey of classroom teachers who attended sessions and received a 40% response rate (See Appendix C for Survey Results). This is in an increase over last year’s response rate and we are pleased with the continued responses from participating teachers both in terms of quantity (number of teachers) and quality (teachers’ comments).

Positive feedback received from teachers and chaperones both days indicates students enjoyed the sessions and found them very beneficial. In addition to positive comments provided in the surveys, members of the team also received feedback from teachers and chaperones testifying to the positive experience they had at the Generation Genius Author Sessions. The teachers conveyed thanks for the session and free books while also commenting on the high engagement levels of the students. Author feedback on the sessions was also very positive.

Elementary Middle High-School Total

Students at On-Campus Author Sessions 2,244 2,486 1,850 6,580

Students at Off-Campus Author Sessions 480 600 480 1,560

TOTAL # OF STUDENTS 2,724 3,086 2,330 8,140

students at TONY DITERLIZZI’s session

151 schools

40 busses

4,240 FREE books for students

8,140 students

2,724 elementary students

3,086middle school students

2,330high school students

2014 Generation Genius Authors by the numbers:

High School•Conor McCreery, Kill Shakespeare #4: The Mask of Night

•Paige Rawl, Positive: A Memoir

•Cinda Williams Chima, The Sorcerer Heir

•T Cooper and Allison Glock-Cooper, Changers #1: Drew

•Kami Garcia, Unmarked

•Maggie Stiefvater, The Raven Cycle #3: Blue Lily, Lily Blue

•Michael Cho, Shoplifters

Middle School•Ben Hatke, The Return of Zita the Spacegirl

•Kazu Kibuishi, Amulet #6: Escape from Lucien

•Tom Watson, Stick Dog Chases a Pizza

•Soman Chainani, The School for Good and Evil #2: A World Without Princes

•Tony DiTerlizzi, The Battle for WondLa

•Paul Durham, The Luck Uglies

•Trevor Pryce, Kulipari #1: The Rainbow Serpent

•Kate Olesin, National Geographic Kids Mission: Elephant Rescue: All About Elephants and How to Save Them

•Raina Telgemeier, Sisters

•Liniers, Macanudo #2

Elementary School•Brad Meltzer, I Am Albert Einstein

•Angela DiTerlizzi, Some Bugs

•Tony DiTerlizzi, The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight

•James Kochalka, Glorkian Warrior Delivers A Pizza

•Katherine Applegate, The One and Only Ivan

•Jason Segel, Nightmares!

•Michael Fry, The Odd Squad: King Karl

•George O’Connor, If I Had A Raptor

•Ben Hatke, Julia’s House for Lost Creatures

•Dave Roman, Astronaut Academy: Re-Entry

The 27 participating authors in this year's program included:

Academy for International-Education

Charter School

Ada Merritt K-8 Center

Ada Merritt K-8 Center

Allapattah Middle School

Arvida Middle School

ASPIRA RAM Charter School

Auburndale Elementary

Aventura Waterways K-8

Aventura Waterways K-8-Center

Biscayne Elementary

Bob Graham Education Center

Bob Graham Education Center

Brownsville Middle School

Carol City Middle School

Center for International Education: A

Cambridge Associate School

Citrus Grove Middle School

Coral Gables Senior High School

Coral Reef Montessori Academy

Coral Way K-8

Cutler Bay Academy

Dante B. Fascell Elementary

Doral Academy Prep

Dorothy M. Wallace COPE Center

Florida Unschoolers (home schooled)

Glades Middle School

Gratigmy Elementary

GW Carver Elementary

Hialeah Middle School

Hialeah Senior High School

Holmes Elementary

Holy Cross

Various High Schools

Horace Mann Middle School

iPreparatory Academy

John A. Ferguson Senior High School

John F. Kennedy Middle-School

John F. Kennedy Middle-School

John G. DuPuis

Jorge Mas Canosa

Jose de Diego Middle

Kelsey Pharr Elementary

Key Biscayne K-8 Center

Key Point Academy

Kinloch Park Middle School

Lake Stevens Elementary

Laurie Kaplan’s People

Law Enforcement Officers’-High School

Liberty City Elementary

Lindsey Hopkins Technical-Education

Mae M. Walters Elementary

Mater Academy East

Mater Lakes Academy

MDC-Wolfson

Miami Arts Charter School

Miami Beach Senior High

Miami Country Day School

Miami Edison Senior High-School

Miami Northwestern Senior-High School

Miami Senior High School

Miami Springs Middle School

Miami Springs Sr. High

Morningside K-8 Academy

North Glade Elementary

Ojus Elementary School

Palm Lakes Elementary

Palm Lakes Elementary

Phyllis Ruth Miller Elementary-School

Pompano Beach Middle

Redondo Elementary

Robert Morgan Educational-Center

Rockway Elementary

Ruben Dario Middle School

Scott Lake Elementary

SEED School of Miami

Shenandoah Middle School

SLAM Miami

Somerset Academy Dade-Middle

Somerset Academy Silver-Palms

South Hialeah Elementary

Sunset Elementary

Village Green Elementary

Virginia A. Boone Highland Oaks

Elementary School

Youth Co-Op Preparatory-Charter

School

We had 8,140 students from 151 schools participate in this year’s Generation Genius Authors program. Below is a listing of the participating schools.

Appendix A: Participating Schools

QUANTITY AUTHOR TITLE

180 George O’Connor If I Had A Raptor180 Katherine Applegate The One and Only Ivan230 Michael Fry The Odd Squad: King Karl75 Brad Meltzer I Am Albert Einstein200 Tony DiTerlizzi The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight120 James Kochalka The Glorkian Warrior Delivers A Pizza250 Ben Hatke Julia’s House for Lost Creatures260 Jason Segel Nightmares!125 Soman Chainani The School for Good and Evil #2: A World Without Princes220 Raina Telgemeier Sisters90 Paul Durham The Luck Uglies120 Trevor Pryce The Rainbow Serpent (Kulipari)150 Ben Hatke The Return of Zita the Spacegirl100 Kazu Kibuishi Amulet #6: Escape from Lucien190 Tom Watson Stick Dog Chases A Pizza120 Tony DiTerlizzi The Battle for WondLa100 Kate Olesin National Geographic Kids Mission: Elephants Rescue140 Maggie Stiefvater Blue Lily, Lily Blue (Raven Cycle #3)140 Cinda Williams Chima The Sorcerer Heir40 Paige Rawl Positive: A Memoir125 T Cooper Changers #1: Drew100 Kami Garcia Unmarked

3280 Total Books Distributed at Book Fair

60 Angela DiTerlizzi Some Bugs60 George O’Connor If I Had A Raptor60 Katherine Applegate The One and Only Ivan120 Dave Roman Astronaut Academy: Re-Entry120 Michael Fry The Odd Squad: King Karl60 Tom Watson Stick Dog Chases A Pizza60 Raina Telgemeier Sisters60 Liniers Macanudo60 Paul Durham The Luck Uglies60 Trevor Pryce The Rainbow Serpent (Kulipari)60 Maggie Stiefvater Blue Lily, Lily Blue (Raven Cycle #3)60 Cinda Williams Chima The Sorcerer Heir60 Paige Rawl Positive: A Memoir60 Conor McCreery Kill Shakespeare: The Mask of Night

960 Total Books Distributed at In-School Sessions

4240 Total Books Distributed

Appendix B: Free books given to participating students: Authors, Titles and Quantity Distributed

Survey Highlights:• 100% of teachers would like to have their students participate in the

Generation Genius Authors sessions next year.• 97% or teachers received positive feedback from their students regarding

the author presentations and their books. • 67% of teachers will incorporate the featured book into their curriculum in

the future.• 95% of the teacher’s students have expressed an interest in reading other

books on the same subject, by the same author, or both.

Teacher Comments:In response to the question “As a teacher, reading coach, or librarian, what do you find the most valuable in the Generation Genius: Authors program:

-“the chance to meet a real author-illustrator- to get a real book in their hands- now that all of the book”

-“stores have closed in our neighborhood, none of the kids have been to a bookstore in years.”

-“This is a fun way to encourage students to continue to read.”

-“Having students see the connection between the author and the text.”

-“The students get to see authors as real people.”

-“Students are inspired by authors to read and to write more.”

-“What is of most value of the program is the encouragement aspiring authors receive from seeing someone who has written a successful book and the ability for students who could not afford a book to receive a free book of such quality.”

-“The students get to hear from a real author and they can ask the authors questions and learn about what inspired them.”

-“Most of my students have never been to a book reading or talk. This really opened their eyes to a new experience.”

-“Meeting and listening to an author. Simply magical to my students.”

-“Students were extremely excited to have met the authors!”

-“Michael Fry, his book and having him sign the book!!!!! Priceless!!”

-“They are avid readers and this motivated them even more.”

-“I think it encourages them to be more active writers.”

-“Meeting a real life author and holding their book in their hands was an amazing experience for them.”

-“Thank you for a wonderful day! The parents were still e-mailing me and telling me in person how much their child enjoyed this field trip.”

In response to the question “Did you receive any feedback from your students on the author presentations you attended or its related book:”

-“The most fabulous fieldtrip ever!”

-“Yes, they were thrilled to receive a book and have it signed by the author. They were also all excited to read their books when they got home.”

-“Best experience they had ever had. Many thank yous!”

Appendix C: Teacher Survey Results

BRAD MELTZER

Students on a field trip

listening to jason segel

TONY DITERLIZZI

Lessons Learned:Overall, the Generation Genius author sessions were again very successful and well received by teachers, students, parents, and authors alike. While this is a strong program, there are always lessons to learn and improvements to make. Below are key lessons we learned from this year’s program and future improvements we intend to implement.

•Books for every student and More buses.

•Yes, they loved Jason Segel, but students were disappointed because they were not enough books for all of them.

•I know the books are from donations but maybe to make sure each kid that is there can have a book

Again, we received similar comments from several of this year’s participating teachers. Both the requests for more books and for buses are tied to funding. We purchase as many books as we can with the funding available, and always seek discounts for the books to try and stretch our program dollars. Last year we gave away more than 200 more books than we had the previous year. As you can see from the quote above, teachers and schools are creative in the way they distribute the books. We also seek to accommodate as many schools as we can with buses as we know there are so many schools in Miami Dade County who otherwise would not be able to come to the Fair. We will continue to seek additional funding for this program and continue to maximize our budget to ensure as many students as possible are able to attend the fair and receive free books.

-“He was amazing and very generous with his answers and time. I loved how he expressed to this generation of kids the importance of reading and to enjoy the simple moments.” a

-“One student said, “I was this close to crying...”

-“Students enjoyed reading with the author!”

-“They enjoyed the presentation and the book very much.”

-“The students really enjoyed it!!! The authors are great with the kids.”

-“My students absolutely loved the author presentation and they were thrilled to receive the book. They all waited in line to have Michael Fry sign the book.”

-“Yes, my students were inspired. They are reading the book for their reading log.”

-“My students loved the experience and being able to go home with a book to share with their families. “Some went online and did more research about the authors.”

-“We were able to see Katherine Applegate, and the students were really engaged in the topic of gorillas in captivity. It helped them think of this concept in a different way.”

kazu kibuishi

Students at Michael Fry’s presentation

Robin LaFevers

Making science fun in children’s alley

Sponsor recognition and more fun with Generation Genius Authors

Thursday, November 20

The Batchelor Foundation

With the Support of

Generation Genius is a literacy and learning initiative for children and teens. Its goal is to rear the next generation of engaged world citizens: Generation Genius.

Author Sessions: For Elementary School Students

10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Brad Meltzer on I Am Albert Einstein Auditorium (Bldg. 1, 2nd Fl.)

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. James Kochalka on The Glorkian Warrior Delivers A Pizza - Room 2106 (Bldg. 2, 1st Fl.)

10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Tony DiTerlizzi on The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight - Room 3210 (Bldg. 2, 2nd Fl.)

For Middle School Students

10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Kazu Kibuishi on Amulet #6: Escape from Lucien - Room 2106 (Bldg. 2, 1st Fl.)

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Ben Hatke on The Return of Zita the Spacegirl Room 3210 (Bldg. 3, 2nd Fl.)

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Tom Watson on Stick Dog Chases A Pizza Room 3314 (Bldg. 3, 3rd Fl.)

For High School Students

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Conor McCreery on Kill Shakespeare: Mask of Night - Auditorium (Bldg. 1, 2nd Fl.)

10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Paige Rawl on Positive: A Memoir Room 3314 (Bldg. 3, 3rd Fl.)

Play Time! International Children's Theatre Festival

sponsored by

Teatro Prometeo (Bldg. 1, 1st Fl.)Presenting some of the best local, national, and international children’s theatre companies for the enjoyment of children and families of all ethnicities and cultures. Events are free!

10:00 a.m. Light as Water Luz como agua

Two brothers take a magical journey in a rowboat to the source of their childhood memories. (Non-verbal)

11:45 a.m. Neighbors Vecinas

The acrobatics will amaze you in this story of two neighbors who can’t seem to agree on anything. (Non-verbal)

Play Time! is made possible thanks to a Knight Arts Challenge Grant from the Knight Foundation and with the support of the Miami Book Fair International and Miami Dade College.

Event Promotion Example

Friday, November 21 | Auditorium

10 a.m. - Maggie Stiefvater on Blue Lily, Lily Blue

11:30 a.m. - Ben Hatke on Julia’s House for Lost Creatures

1 p.m. - Raina Telgemeier on Sisters

This session is brought to you with the support of

The Batchelor Foundation

Event signage example

Book Label example

Students browsing the street fair