Below you'll find comments sent to me by teachers, librarians and others
who have seen one of my presentations.
Re:
Peace Library System Author Tour, October 24-27, 2011.
"Rose-Marie and I both agree that you did an excellent job of the author
tour; you held up well on a long four-day tour to 592 students!
"Your presentation style was very engaging and drew the children’s interaction.
It seemed particularly effective when you sat down at their level and they sat
near you. The children’s responses to your questions and their insights into
what you read demonstrated how keenly they were listening, and showed their
interest in both your published novel, Under a Living Sky,
and your manuscript Two Skies, One Sun.
"You paced the presentations well, with just the right amount of reading and
then question time, and then introduced the manuscript of the novel you are
working on now. I believe the audiences also really enjoyed the progression of
your readings from published book, to manuscript, to ideas for the third and
final novel.
"Your humour and calm delivery style kept the participants attentive and
engaged.
"We enjoyed touring you around our region and hope that Scamp has fully
recovered from missing you!"
(Scamp had gone missing the day before I left.
The owner of a local coffee shop thought he'd take Scamp home, but his waitress
ratted him out, gave him up to the law. Scamp is home now, and has developed a curious distaste
for espresso.)
Margaret T. Stevenson's comments about the May 5 workshop:
The activity you selected
involved the students in a discussion in pairs, a good choice since the
students were from different schools and hadn't met before.
Students could draw on their
knowledge of the lives of grandparents/great-grandparents, their memories,
and also their own creativity as they moved from discussion into their own
writing.
As students read aloud from what
they had written, your comments were perceptive and succinct.
The focus was on the strengths
the students had demonstrated and how they could improve their writing by
building on their strengths.
Certainly a rewarding morning for
all.
(Shown in the picture are Margaret T.
Stevenson, Rachel (16th annual winner of the award), and me as one of the judges.
The contest is for grade 8 students in Edmonton Public Schools.)
Joe’s presentation is low-key, full of gentle wit,
and many anecdotes that inform, amuse and keep students focused. I listened to a
session for junior high age, and even though the audience for “Under a Living
Sky” is generally younger than these students were, they were interested and
attentive. And I thought the book was wonderful – great characterization of the
relationship between sisters, and of parents pressured by economic and climatic
situations beyond their control. If what doesn’t kill you makes you strong, then
these are people who don’t yet know how strong they actually are.
Joe
came up with a great idea to help the students understand exactly how the Great
Depression affected families. He called it "The Web of Human Life." It was a
very creative and thought provoking exercise.
Following the presentation, some of the students stated that they sure wouldn't
like it if they had to live through a depression. I thought this was really
great because when they came in to the presentation, I am sure many of them
didn't even know what a depression was. They hear people talk about 'depression'
but more as a state of mind than a societal problem. I think the students left
the presentation with a new understanding of the word. Thanks, Joe.
Louise Davison
Fort Assiniboine Library
Fort Assiniboine. Alberta
Your sensitive approach in presenting this story about the
struggles of a family in a small prairie town during the Depression was well
received by our school audience. Students were able to make connections with the
challenges all families face and many were asking for the book after your
presentation, to continue to read on and find out about the family's fate.
Deb Walsh
Media Resources
J.J. Bowlen Catholic Junior High School
Edmonton, Alberta
Joseph Simons' visit to our school was inspiring to the
students, staff and community members who attended. He quickly gained rapport
with his audience, and both young and old drank in the story behind the creation
of Under a Living Sky. Students were also fascinated and excited to hear of
Joseph's plans to write another book involving our
town as a location. We look forward to reading his next book!
Thank you for your presentation to our grade three students. Your kindness,
humour, and kid-friendly ideas were appreciated. I'm sure they'll feel more
inspired & less anxious as they compose their own stories.
Mr. Simons gave a presentation at our school,
Calgary Academy, on
December 16th for grades four, five and six. It was an introduction to his book,
“Under a Living Sky.” His presentation included a brief explanation of the time
period and introduction to the main characters. He then read a chapter from the
novel. It was evident that Mr. Simons has had experience reading to children, in
his ability to stop at appropriate points to clarify understanding.
My favorite part of his presentation was when he took questions from the
children. He was patient and thorough in his answers. He discussed the amount of
effort and number of revisions it took before he had a book published. This was
of particular importance to me as an educator because it is often difficult to
motivate children to revise their written work. Mr. Simons ended with a book
signing which was enjoyed by the students.
This was a meaningful presentation for my students. We enjoyed hearing about the
depression in Saskatchewan and learning about becoming a writer. I recommend Mr.
Simons to other schools to share his latest book.
Re:
Peace Library System Author Tour, October 24-27, 2011. 
