The Animal Menagerie, written by Francine Dingeman and illustrated by Marta Maszkiewicz, is an enchanting A to Z picture book filled with captivating characters from the animal kingdom for children ages 4-8. This book is written to entertain and educate by introducing dozens of creative new words into a child's vocabulary. Children are invited to embark on a wild and whimsical journey through The Animal Menagerie! Each letter of the alphabet comes to life with vibrant illustrations and story vignettes, making early literacy development a delightful adventure. The visual imagery, engaging rhymes, and clever context comprehension of The Animal Menagerie will spark a child's curiosity and imagination as they learn new vocabulary words and animal names in a fun and unforgettable way. Twenty to thirty minute visits to grades pre-k and k include readings from select pages of the A to Z picture book and a short discussion surrounding each animal character. First to third grade presentations include a full reading of the book followed by a personal account of the writing/publishing journey with a focus on inspiring young writers and encouraging them along their individual writing paths. The opportunity to project the pages of the book as it is read, so children can view the illustrations along with the reading, allows for an optimally engaging presentation, sparking a child's interest and curiosity as each new animal character story is shared.

Seagle Festival offers a touring in-school children's opera performance each early fall season in September and early October. Available children's operas are suitable for pre-K-6 audiences. The booking includes a 30-45 minute performance, plus a short question and answer session, as well as a professionally produced teacher guide with pre and post opera activities to integrate students' opera experience into their regular curriculum.

Hudson Valley Dance Cultivators (HVDC) provides dance residency programs for children and teens in grades PK to 12. All HVDC programs are designed to provide sequential dance learning that nurtures students’ creative expression while teaching foundational skills. Residencies are developed in collaboration with teachers and administration to integrate with grade level learning goals. HVDC artists have extensive experience teaching diverse students including students with disabilities in inclusion and self-contained classrooms. Residencies are designed to meet the access needs of ALL students.

With a reach of over 12 million students, TEEN TRUTH is a leading educational services company dedicated to empowering student voices, fostering positive school culture, and building student resilience. Originating from the success of an award-winning, student-filmed documentary series, TEEN TRUTH delivers North America’s best school assemblies, interactive student leadership summits, and high-quality professional development workshops. Visit www.teentruth.net to discover how we can elevate Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) initiatives at your middle or high school.

Fun and learning go hand-in-hand when you book a fall field trip to Ellms Family Farm. Pick pumpkins, explore a maze, attend the educational “chicken show”, and so much more. Students from pre-k and elementary school, all the way through sixth grade, enjoy the mix of agricultural learning experiences and old-fashioned barnyard fun.

Corey Rich is an 8-Time Guinness World Record Holder that’s been featured on The Late Show with David Letterman, ESPN First Take, Comcast Sportsnet, Fox News and is widely considered the World’s Greatest Dribbler! Along with performing his amazing talents at NBA Halftime Shows, Corey travels the country inspiring kids with a character education message, The 4Rs for success. Respect, Responsibility, Ready to Learn, and Reading is Power are the Four Principles Corey The Dribbler encourages youth to live by. Corey teaches the importance of treating their Teachers, Parents/Guardians, and Classmates with Respect. They are taught the value of kindness and how to treat others the way they themselves would like to be treated. Self-Respect is also taught and the importance of eating healthy, staying active, having a great attitude, being responsible and ready to learn!

Established in February of 2011, the Theatre Institute at Sage is dedicated to providing quality live theatre and arts-in-education programming to Capital Region youth, educators and residents. The Institute also provides opportunities for Russell Sage students as performers, technicians and teachers. Programs include educational support services (such as in-class preparations, teacher in-services, post-show residences, and study guides), after school drama programs, weekend workshops, and several theatre camps during the summer for children ages 6-18.

Stomping Ground is an overnight camp in the gateway to the Adirondacks in Saratoga Springs, New York. We are building radically empathetic communities through humble curiosity, personal responsibility, restorative practices, and unbounded creativity. In the off season, we offer more focused programming around community building, conflict resolution training through circles, and practices focused in empathy and inclusion. Our mission is to partner with young people to inspire the next generation of radically empathetic decision makers. Together we re-imagine a more perfect world.

Author visit with Stephen Swinburne Hello! It is my pleasure to recommend author Stephen Swinburne for an author visit to your school. Trust me, you will be so pleased that you have. I have been booking authors for the past 20 years in my career as a librarian and can honestly say that Steve is one of the most engaging authors that you will ever book. All of my teachers love his visits and compare all other authors to Steve. Students will be so enthralled in his session and will not want to leave. If I financially could book Steve for my school every year, I would. There are five other elementary schools in my district and they all feel the same way. I know from experience that some authors are fabulous writers but unfortunately lacking in their presentations - Steve is not one of them. Booking Steve for your school is a win for you - your staff will love him. If you have any questions, please feel free contact me. Best wishes and enjoy your visit with Steve! Sincerely, Leslie Balzano lbalzano@trumbullps.org Teacher-Librarian Middlebrook Elementary School 220 Middlebrooks Avenue Trumbull, CT 06611

Alan Katz is the author of more than 50 picture books, poetry collections, and middle grade novels for young readers (including Take Me Out of the Bathtub, Got Your Nose, OOPS!, The Funniest Joke Book Ever for Kids, and Misty the Cloud, a NYT bestseller written with Dylan Dreyer of the Today show). Alan's program is an inspiring look at his career as a reader and writer. In a virtual multimedia presentation that includes his work as an award-winning author, TV writer, animation creator, comic book/trading card writer, theater producer, kids' radio host and more, he laughingly fosters a “hey, I can read that/I can write that” attitude. Silly Dilly singing, ridiculous rhyming and a recap of his wildly creative career make for an insightful and enjoyable presentation. (Incidentally, he's also got three-person musicals based on my Silly Dilly songbooks and on my joke book, and can bring them to your school or library...starring my son, who's now playing Peter in the Pinkalicious musical Off-Broadway!)

The Unique Game Show uses multi-media trivia and team-building activities to combine team spirit, character education, and curriculum enforcement into one program. This multi-purpose assembly is perfect for any subject because you can customize the program if you wish! The Unique Game Show can be customized based on your school’s curriculum. Math, Science, English, Reading, Social Studies and History, Drug and Alcohol Awareness, and Character Education are only a few subjects to which we can tailor the show. The most popular curriculum show, however, is built around the core subjects of history, science, English, and math. The entire assembly is divided into teams (red, yellow, blue and green.) The game begins with a curriculum-based reading question; followed by a video question about pop culture trivia with large-screen video projection and music enhancement. Each round finishes with an audio bonus question. Teams can generate points not only by answering correctly but also by demonstrating good sportsmanship and team spirit. The team-building part of the game includes activities such as physical challenges and team karaoke. This program is a great way for your students to work together while reinforcing their studies.

An 8-week, high-engagement enrichment intensive that empowers students to find their voice through the art of filmmaking. Social-Emotional Growth: The cooperation nature of the process requires students to practice empathy, active listening, and conflict resolution during the high-stakes production phase. Confidence Through Creation: By moving a project from a blank page to a public screening, students develop the belief that they can tackle complex, long-term goals. Career & Technical Foundations: Students gain early exposure to digital media careers, developing a portfolio-ready short film and a foundational understanding of the digital arts.