Presentation Comments

Here I am at Harrington Elementary in Harrington, WA as part of Get Lit's rural school outreach. It's a drive from Spokane, but it was such fun -- totally worth it. Thank you Kathy Countryman for sharing this photo and for making me feel so welcome. The kids at Harrington are SWELL!

Praise from Librarian, Kathy Kalich -- March 2008

Students, parents and staff always have a blast with Kelly Milner Halls. I have seen her give presentations to a total of 1,000 children at three schools since 2002. Students were engaged and giggling at every presentation, no matter which book Kelly was sharing. They were in awe as she described stories connected to Tales of the Cryptids and Albino Animals. Unlike some popular authors, Kelly is humble, kid-friendly and goofy. Every library teacher in the Central Valley School District (Spokane, WA) reported that Kelly was very easy to work with and that she charged extremely reasonable fees for school visits.

Praise from Harrington Schools, March 2006 for GET LIT:

Kelly did a great job. I get a little stressed with an author comes because they can be rather demanding. Kelly was just the opposite. She even brought her own bottled water. She interacted well with the students and they loved her fossils. Here is a comment from our second grade teacher: “I thought Kelly did an awesome job with our children. My kids loved the non-fiction aspect as compared with other fiction authors. They were amazed by the models as well as the authentic fossils and her knowledge was unquestionable.”
Every comment from teachers or students was positive. Kelly met with grades K-1, 2, 3^rd/4^th and 5^th/6th, about 60 students in all. She explained how she came to write I Bought a Baby Chicken from a real experience and encouraged the students to do the same some day. She answered all questions, even if they weren’t related to her books. She just knew how to draw them back to her subjects. The students loved learning about albino animals and dinosaur fossils, of course. I had the students preview her webpage before she came so they were prepared for her visit. That idea came from her own website.
I emailed Kelly that we would like to have her return sometime and do writing workshops. She did an excellent job with all ages. I sent her a picture which she put on her website today.
Asking Kelly to come was the right choice. Thank you for making her visit possible.
Kathy Countryman
Harrington Schools

Fun with the Hoffstetter Hawks!

Praise from my Hosts

Sprague Elementary

March 2005

Ms. Halls was in our school, Sprague Elementary, last Tuesday. She was awesome with the small groups of kids that went into the library to meet with her, listen to her talk about what being an author is like, and showing the kids her books and fossil replicas.

I am the third grade teacher and have a small group of 5 kids. They were extremely involved. This was mostly due to the high interest level of the material - dinosaurs and animals. She developed a rapport very quickly with the kids. She even had on dinosaur tennis shoes!

We would love to have her come back some day as we just didn't get enough time with her. We could have easily had our session last a lot longer!

Holly Sue Swannack

Hoffstetter Elementary

January 27, 2005

Kelly,
We are still jazzed about your visit on Tuesday! The students and staff were inspired and in awe of your knowledge and skills. We hope to do this every year and maybe we can have you visit again! We're looking forward to your new books, especially Wild Dogs. Thanks so much for the craft book on using foam trays. We are also going to order the stick book! I am attaching the picture of you, Claire, and the interview girls, Taryn and Glenna. They both have permission for you to use the photo if you like. All the best to you in your adventures and thanks again for sharing your inspiring writing.

Katy

P.S. I loved the black bracelet!!

RESPONSE:

Katy, I had a GREAT time with your Hoffstetter Hawks, and I love the picture. Thanks. I'm glad I didn't offend your with my "I Didn't Vote 4 Bush" bracelet. I'm still laughing over that one, and I've got one here on my desk just for you!

Kelly

* * * * *

Deer Park Elementary

January 12, 2005

Kelly,
Everyone was talking about your presentation in the lunch room today. They loved it. One parent told me the first thing her daughter said when she walked through the door was, "I touched dinosaur poop today". And the fact that you e-mailed a student was awesome. Thanks so much!!

Claudia Sobczuk
Deer Park Elementary
Washington

* * * * *

January 11, 2005

You did a good job today. I think your books are neat. I like dinosar mummies. Pink is my 2nd favorite color. Green is my 1st favorite color. The fossils are cool. Where did you get all of those feathers. Good Luck!

Katheryn V., 2nd Grade
Deer Park Elementary
Washington

RESPONSE

Hi Kathryn,

Wow! Thank you so much for telling me I did a good job today at your school. Pink is my 2nd favorite color too, and red is my first. So if we put your favorite together with my favorite, we look like Christmas. <smile>

Where did I get all those feathers? I got them at the craft store. I'm glad you liked taking one home with you. That makes me smile.

Thanks again for writing to say nice things about my visit to your school. You made my day.

Best wishes,

Kelly

* * * * *

Newport Elementary

February 9, 2004

Kelly, You recently visited my 2nd grade son's class in Newport WA. He has done nothing but talk about the raptor claw he says he can purchase for $7-10. Please send us the information on how to get one. He has already saved up enough allowance to purchase it. Thanks for sparking his interest. Bobbie B.

Hi Bobbie,

Yes, you can get a replica of a raptor claw fossil for a reasonable price. If you'll go to this URL: http://www.paleoclones.com/dinosaurs/clawsandteeth.htm#105

You'll see the Utahraptor replica I use in my presentations. It's $8.00 now -- has gone up a dollar since I last checked. But it's a really good copy of the real thing and relatively sturdy. I'm delighted to think your son had fun at the presentation, and thrilled if I helped spark his fire for learning. That's why I do what I do. So thanks for saying so. Let me know what he thinks of his claw, will you?

Kelly

May 14, 2004
Discovery School
Spokane, WA

May 14, 2004 at Spokane's Discovery School. I had SO much fun talking to all the kids -- thanks for having me, Lorna Kropp.

January 28, 2004
Odessa Schools
Odessa, WA

From Ms. Kim Todd's Third Graders at
PC Jantz Elementary, in the Odessa Schools

Hi Kelly!

Thanks for taking time to come and share with our students some of your expertise! It is always so fun to listen to the "How I became an author... and you can be one, too!" pep talk! I have attached some thoughts and thank-you's from my third grade students. We hope to see you again.

Kim Todd

Third Grade

PC Jantz Elementary]

Odessa Schools

Dear Kelly Milner Halls,
Thank you for coming today. My favorite part was when you passed out the cool fossils. I liked the cool books, too. My favorite book was Albino Animals. I hope that you come and visit us again,
Fondly,
Koralynne Kuch

Dear Kelly Milner Halls,
I liked your visit. I am looking forward to your book about albino animals. I think that albino people are very interesting. I hope that I get that book for my birthday because my birthday is in March! On your book, Dinosaur Mummies, I think the page about dinosaur you-know-what is funny. My brother won't believe me when I say I toughced a real dinosaur bone! Thank you for coming to our school. I hope you had tons of fun, 'cause I did!

Your friend,

Kendall GraceAnn Todd

Dear Kelly Milner Halls,

Thank you for coming to talk to us about your books. I really want to read all of your books. My favorite part was when you passed around the cool dinosaur egg. I’m going to see if my mom knows as much about dinosaurs as I know. I’ll see if my brother knows about dinosaurs, too.

Sincerely,

Lacey Nelson

Dear Kelly Milner Halls,
Thank you for sharing the wonderful things that come from the dinosaur world. My favorite thing was the dinosaur egg. It was heavy and awesome. I really want the book I Bought a Baby Chicken. It’s funny! I'm going to take the information that ou gave me and pass it on to my brother in Kindergarten, since he's so little and forgets information instantly. J

Sincerely,

Amanda Hardt

Dear Kelly Milner Halls,

Thank you for visiting our school. My favorite part was when we got to look at the fossils. You gave us a lot of information. I’m going to see if my parents know all that.

Sincerely,

Cade Weber

Dear Kelly Milner Halls,

I love what you did when passing around the fossils and telling us about the people who had to dig in poop. I’m sorry if it was stinky. Kelly, you are a good writer and scientist. This is my favorite part: when you told us a story and when you talked about your daughter getting chicken pox.

Sincerely,

Taylor Munson

Dear Kelly Milner Halls,

Thank you so much for showing us fossils and telling us more about dinosaurs. My favorite part was getting to hold the dinosaur poop and the fake egg! I never knew that there was a dinosaur with feathers.

Sincerely,

Thomas Michael Henderson

Dear Kelly Milner Halls,

Thank you for showing us the bone and dinosaur poop. My favorite thing was about your visit was of the fossils you brought to show us. I learned that albinos are light colors.

Sincerely,

Nick Tebow

Dear Kelly Milner Halls,

Thank you for coming to our school and talking about dinosaurs and being a writer. I enjoyed when you read to us. Also, showing us a dinosaur egg, poop, and claw was fun. Thank you for signing our book. My favorite dinosaur is the duck dinosaur. What is your favorite dinosaur?

Your friend,

Michaela Johnson

Dear Kelly Milner Halls,

Thank you for coming to Odessa and visiting our school. Thank you for showing the book about dinosaurs. My favorite part was when I touched the poop. I liked the fossils a lot.

Sincerely,

Nick Nelson

Dear Kelly Milner Halls,

Thank you for coming to our school. I liked when you should us the dinosaur fossils. I hope you can come again. I liked the book I Bought a Baby Chicken. Do scientist know what color dinosaurs are?

Your friend,

Kayla Minaker

Dear Kelly Milner Halls,

Thank you for showing us the books. My favorite book is Dinosaur Mummies. What is your next story going to be? I like the book I Bought a Baby Chicken, too.

Sincerely,

Jacob Wheeler

Dear Kelly Milner Halls,

Thank you for coming to our school. My favorite books are Dinosaur Mummies and Albino Animals. Those cool dinosaur fossils…I liked those a lot! I hope you come next year.

Sincerely,

Jared King

Dear Kelly Milner Halls,

Thank you for coming to Odessa. I liked the fossils. I hope you can come again sometime. I liked the book, Dinosaur Mummies. I know now that one dinosaur still had skin.