News
Lesson Plan Ideas for Presidents’ Day: Introducing the New If I Were President Curriculum Guide
I am pleased to announce that just in time for Presidents’ Day and the upcoming election year, there is a new If I Were President curriculum guide based on the picture book by the same name available for free to educators and parents.
The guide was created by Leigh Courtney, Ph.D., who teaches first and second grade in the Global Education Program at a public school in San Diego, CA. She holds a doctoral degree in education with an emphasis on curriculum and instruction.
The curriculum guide offers activities in creative writing, map skills and cooperative problem solving, while also familiarizing students with the responsibilities and the perks of the Office of President of the United States.
To access the guide, please visit my website’s homepage at http://www.catherinestier.com/. Below the star icons, you’ll find the link at Click here for free curriculum guides!
Newly Released: The Terrible Secrets of the Tell Club in Paperback with a New Cover!
The fresh, funny ‘tween novel is now available in paperback! This new release features an eye-catching new cover, with two of the fifth grade characters in profile against a backdrop of the fifty tell-all questions.
Visit Albert Whitman Publisher’s website to read the great reviews from Kirkus, Horn Book Guide, School Library Journal and Children’s Literature at www.albertwhitman.com
See You at Cynsations!
I am very honored to be featured this week in a “New Voice” interview on the Cynsations blog at:
http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com:80/2011/02/new-voice-catherine-stier-on-terrible.html
The popular Cynsations website and blog offer a wealth of information on the world of Children’s, Middle Grade and Young Adult Lit, presented by inspiring, New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith.
Celebrate Presidents’ Day at the San Antonio Children’s Museum
Author Catherine Stier stops by the San Antonio Children’s Museum on Monday, February 21 for a fun-filled Presidents’ Day event. Stier will read from her honor-winning book, If I Were President, and invite kids to imagine what they would do if they were President of the United States.
The museum will also offer exciting Presidents’ Day crafts and activities.
Date: Presidents’ Day, Monday, Feb. 21, 2011
Time: 1 pm and 1:30 p.m.
Place: The San Antonio Children’s Museum, 305 E. Houston, San Antonio, http://www.sakids.org/
Phone (210) 212-4453
Time: 1 pm and 1:30 p.m.
Place: The San Antonio Children’s Museum, 305 E. Houston, San Antonio, http://www.sakids.org/
Phone (210) 212-4453
A Memorable Day at the San Antonio Children’s Museum
A big thank you to the enthusiastic families who stopped by for the storytelling event at the San Antonio Children’s Museum on November 6. I shared the book If I Were President. Then the visiting kids wrote and illustrated their own ideas of what they would do if they were president!
Young visitors to San Antonio — and those who live in the great city, too — should check out this exciting interactive museum. There’s a pretend grocery store to shop, an awesome treetop to climb, a trolley to hop aboard, and tons of other cool things for kids to explore. For awhile, I greeted guests at the front desk and watched kids nearby having a blast as they made colorful balls rain down from above!
You can check out the museum and their amazing activities at their website at http://www.sakids.org/
One more note — for a limited time, the gift shop will have signed copies of If I Were President and If I Ran for President available for purchase.
The San Antonio Children’s Museum to host author Catherine Stier
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be the President of the United States? Join award-winning author Catherine Stier at the San Antonio Children’s Museum on Saturday, November 6 as she reads and signs her book If I Were President. Afterwards, kids can take part in a fun, presidential-themed craft activity. The event begins at 12:30 p.m. and a book signing will follow. For more information, visit http://www.sakids.org/
New Podcast series features author Catherine Stier
Publisher Albert Whitman has started an exciting new Podcast series, and invited me to be a part of it. During the online interview, Albert Whitman’s Melissa Ackerman and I talk about the title Bugs In My Hair?! and discuss how the character of perfectly groomed Ellie deals with a case of lice. The interview was posted just as the new school year begins, as the book addresses a common classroom issue and depicts how little Ellie is at first dismayed by “the horrid things hanging out in her hair” and then discovers a way to help others. To hear this and other interviews conducted by Melissa Ackerman with Albert Whitman author and illustrators, visit http://albertwhitman.wordpress.com/category/author-podcast/
Senior Advisor to the President reads Stier’s Book at Dept. of Ed. Event
I was honored to learn that Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President on disability policy, recently read the Braille version of If I Ran For President to children at a U.S. Department of Education’s “Let’s Read. Let’s Move” event, according to a U.S. Department of Education website article.
The “Let’s Read. Let’s Move” program encourages children to develop a healthy mind and body and is part of the Obama administration’s “Together We Serve” initiative. Hosted by education secretary Arne Duncan, the July 30, 2010 event featured other esteemed guests including U.S. Congressman Jim Langevin and actor Quinton Aaron, who starred in the film “The Blind Side.”
Children in attendance included students from the Stafford Public Schools, the Maryland School for the Blind, the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind and other schools, The article may be viewed at http://www.ed.gov/blog/2010/08/congressman-actor-and-advisor-to-president-join-secretary-duncan-for-lets-read-lets-move
Patriotic book signing
A big thank you to everyone who stopped by the Twig Book Shop in San Antonio last month during the patriotic book signing on July 3. And thank you to all those young people who colored the activity sheet and shared their ideas of what they would do if they were President!
Gone to Washington!
Last month I made my very first trip to Washington D.C. for the American Library Association’s (ALA) Annual Conference. Not only did this visit offer up-close views of many of our nation’s most impressive landmarks, but it also afforded opportunities to attend some exciting children’s lit events. 
First, just for fun — who could resist this photo op? One Washington D.C. gift shop has a mock-up of the Oval Office where visitors can pose, appearing very presidential. I felt as if I’d just stepped into the cover of my book, If I Were President.
On Friday, June 25, the wonderful people of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Mid-Atlantic chapter hosted a fun ALA Kid Lit Drink Night at a local meeting place, the R.F.D. Washington. SCBWI members, editors, writers, illustrators, librarians — in fact, anyone interested in children’s literature — had the chance to mingle at this evening event. Such a great idea!
Publishers Albert Whitman and Company invited their authors to join staff members for a get-together on Saturday, June 26. We took a brisk walk to the White House for this memorable picture (Alison Formento, Josalyn Moran, Margaret Read McDonald, Dori Butler, Margaret Coffee and me). Publishers Weekly even featured a photo just like it on their website’s slideshow of ALA. For a peek, visit http://tiny.cc/amkna
On Sunday, June 27, I had the honor of conducting a book signing at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History for my two presidential themed picture books, If I Were President and If I Ran for President. What a treat to meet people from all over the country! The museum’s impressive collection includes the Inaugural Ball Gowns of our First Ladies, Lincoln’s top hat and the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to compose the poem that became our National Anthem.
An author I truly admire, Kay Winters, had a book signing at the museum that day, to
o, for her books, Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books and Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak. I first met Kay at a Highlights Workshop in Honesdale, Pennsylvania awhile back and it was so nice to be reacquainted with this lovely lady.
o, for her books, Abe Lincoln: The Boy Who Loved Books and Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak. I first met Kay at a Highlights Workshop in Honesdale, Pennsylvania awhile back and it was so nice to be reacquainted with this lovely lady.Finally, on Monday, June 28, I made my way to ALA, a huge, inspiring, book-filled event! Albert Whitman and Company made me feel most welcome at a book signing at their booth.
During this quick trip, we also fit in some family sight-seeing and lunch with an awesome librarian friend I don’t get to see nearly often enough.
While it was ALA that led us to head to Washington D.C. this summer, the time spent with family and friends, the wealth of history, the abundance of literary events — and the World Cup playing on big screens in establishments throughout the district — all contributed to a most unforgettable visit to our nation’s capital. So glad I headed to D.C.!