#KidLitPhil Auction item 5 from Leslie Bulion

KidLit for the Philippines is an online talent auction to benefit Mercy Corps and UNICEF relief efforts for Typhoon Haiyan (aka Yolanda). Agents, editors, authors, and illustrators have donated various services and items to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with donations being made directly to Mercy Corps and UNICEF.

Auction #5: Skype visit

Description: Leslie is donating a 45 minute Skype visit for large or small group. Her visit will include discussion, a reading, and plenty of time for prepared questions and answers from students.

Estimated Value: $150

Minimum Bid: $50

Auction Ends:  12/2/2013 at 10:00 PM EST

Bio: Leslie Bulion is a children's poet and author of the upcoming RANDOM BODY PARTS: GROSS ANATOMY RIDDLES IN VERSE (Peachtree 2015), AT THE SEA FLOOR CAFE: ODD OCEAN CRITTER POEMS (Peachtree 2011), HEY THERE, STINK BUG (CHARLESBRIDGE 2006). Leslie's science poetry books have garnered accolades from NSTA, AAAS, and Bank Street College, and she is a regular contributor to THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY series (Pomelobooks.com). Her third and newest middle grade novel THE UNIVERSE OF FAIR (Peachtree 2012) is a Parents' Choice and Bank Street Best Book that explores facets of string theory and lemon meringue pie.

Donor Leslie Bulion’s website: http://www.lesliebulion.com/

Auction Instructions:

* Bid by posting a comment with your bid amount in U.S. dollars; no anonymous bidding.

* Do not bid unless you intend to pay that amount to Mercy Corps or UNICEF.

* To automatically receive updates on the latest bids, check the “Notify Me” box when you submit your comment.

* Highest bid before the end of the auction wins.

* A note about last-minute bidding: If you are used to online auctions that end at an exact, given second, please know that the KidLitPhil auctions don’t work quite that way. Each auction ends when I post the “Auction closed” comment. I do that when my computer turns to 10pm EST, but because I have multiple auctions to close at that time (also because I am human) it will not be precisely at 10pm EST. At any rate, the winning bid is the high bid before the Auction Closed comment, even if the time on your computer reads slightly after 10:00. Thanks for understanding!

* Winning bidder must donate the winning bid amount to a designated charity organization and provide a copy of the receipt within three days of notification.

* For physical items, unless otherwise noted, donor pays standard shipping within the U.S.; winning bidder pays for express shipping or for shipping outside the U.S.

At the Sea Floor Cafe

Another author I saw at the SCBWI conference was Leslie Bulion. Leslie and I met once before at a publisher's open house. We connected again through the KidLit for Japan auction when I "won" the bid for a two copies of her latest book, plus a Skype visit. I already owned and loved her book, Hey There Stink Bug, so I was happy to get a copy of her second book of poetry, At the Sea Floor Cafe: Odd Ocean Critter Poems.

 At the Seafloor Cafe, illustrated by Leslie Evans (same illustrator as Hey There, Stink Bug) offers up a variety of interesting poems and illustrations about ocean critters.  For each organism, there' s a poem plus additional scientific information. At the back of the book, there's a glossary of terms, notes on the specific forms of poetry used, and additional websites kids can explore to learn more.

During the Skype visit with my son's class, Leslie focused on three poems: 'Walk Like Nut' (about the coconut octopus), 'The Invasion of the Bone Eaters' (the Osedax worm), and 'With Her Eggs Tucked Underneath Her Arms' (about the broody squid). Even though Leslie was basically a "talking head" projected on the wall, it felt like she was in the room with us. We simultaneously ran a brief Power Point presentation that Leslie had prepared to illustrate her points. She shared information about how scientific research in the deep ocean has changed over the last 20 years or so and then taught us about some of the odd and wonderful sea creatures in her book. Leslie's visit was content rich and engaging.

In an age of standards-based education and high-stakes testing, books and Skype visits such as Leslie Bulion's offer the perfect opportunity to address both science and English Language Arts standards. Many so-called integrated lessons fall short. They may involve reading a science book in an ELA class but no real science is learned. Or, the science may take a back seat to reading skills. Leslie's work, however, bridges the two areas flawlessly. After all, she's been writing poetry since she was a kid and she studied oceanography in college.

Have you Skyped with an author? How did it go? Can you suggest books that successfully bridge two or more content areas?