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TITLES
- Enchanted Lions (Dutton)
- A Tugging String (Dutton)
- Slugs (Little, Brown & Co.)
- Bugs! (Little, Brown & Co.)
- Skunks! (Little, Brown & Co.)
- Snakes! ( Little, Brown & Co.)
- Whatever Happened to Humpty Dumpty? (Little, Brown & Co.)
- Your Dog Might Be a Werewolf, Your Toes Could All Explode (Bantam)
- The Great School Lunch Rebellion (Bantam)
- The Book of Boys for Girls — The Book of Girls for Boys (Little, Brown & Co.)
- Don't Forget Your Etiquette! The Essential Guide to Misbehavior (Farrar Straus Giroux)
- Crocs! (Little, Brown & Co.)
The following books are to be published soon:
- Octopi!
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AWARDS
- A Tugging String was the winner of the 2008 Oregon Spirit Award and a finalist for the 2008 Oregon Book Award.
- The Great School Lunch Rebellion was the 1990 recipient of the Children's Choice award.
GRADES
- K-2 (only poetry based assemblies)
- 3-5 (poetry based or civil rights assemblies)
- Middle School (poetry based or civil rights assemblies)
- High School (poetry based or civil rights assemblies)
LENGTH OF PROGRAMS
Depending upon grade and type of presentation, from thirty to sixty minutes.
AUDIENCE SIZE
As a very rough guideline, around two hundred maximum per assembly, one hundred maximum per writing workshop. Inservices and Family Evening sessions can accommodate any number.
PROGRAMS AVAILABLE
There are two broad categories of programs available.
Poetry Program: These are based on my poetry picture books (whose reviews you can access at this site by clicking on the book covers). They are fun, funny, inspirational, filled with wisdom about what makes good writing and good writers.
Civil Rights Assemblies: These are based on my novel, A Tugging String, which, in turn, is based on the fact that my father was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr;s primary lawyer and helped to argue Brown v. Board of Education. These assemblies give children a real understanding of the issues of the civil rights movement, the attitudes of the time, the important people involved. They are deeply moving. Inspirational. They speak of the greatness of our country to transcend profound injustice and call upon children to follow the example of Dr. King.
Assemblies
Poetry Assemblies: Greenberg dynamically and expressively reads, or, better yet, performs his rollicking poems for kids. His poems are filled with alliteration, acrobatic meter patterns, snazzy rhymes. Students regularly are so captivated by the joy of Greenberg's performances that they leave his assembly quoting their favorite lines. Greenberg also weaves into his presentation explanations of the various elements that activate his poetry. He discusses the craft of writing and the fierce perseverance necessary to succeed. He emphasizes the key importance of the writing process.
Civil Rights Assemblies: Based upon his novel, A Tugging String, Greenberg discusses the racial attitudes in the United States at the end of the civil war, how deep prejudice against blacks still persisted. He talks about the rights denied to blacks, emphasizing that although blacks technically had the right to vote, they were quite often denied it in practice, and thus denied a voice in our political process. He talks about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s attempt to march from Selma to Montgomery to call attention to this injustice, the response of the racist governor of Alabama, George Wallace, and how King (helped by Greenberg's father) used the courts to peacefully overcome the forces arrayed against them, bringing about the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and how this has helped to make America a far better place.
Additional Programs
Writing Workshops: These are intensive, personalized writing sessions that exude a spirit of love for language. Based upon unique, highly motivational lessons, students write impressively thoughtful work.
Family Evening Presentations: Loads of fun, the purpose of these sessions is to bring kids and parents together in an important educational activity. Greenberg starts the evening session by reading several of his poems. Next, he demonstrates a writing activity at the overhead, and family groups collaboratively try their hand at the same sort of writing (which always has some sort of family theme). Kids clamor to take completed work home as a memento.
Teacher Inservices: These are refreshingly fun in tone, yet absolutely practical in content. They provide teachers with numerous, unique and compelling writing lessons that they can implement in their classes immediately.
A WORD FROM DAVID GREENBERG
"It is my goal that when kids leave my assemblies they say to themselves 'I want to be a writer when I grow up!.'
In my poetry assemblies I do far more than read my poems and talk about what goes into them. I make a major point of talking about the many many rejections I've received for my writing, and how in the face of this I've persisted. Likewise, I feel that there are many kids who face adversity, not only in their curriculum, but in their daily lives, and I hope to serve as an example and inspiration for them to keep kicking, keep trying. Such tenacity, I think, underlies success as a writer, and, probably, at any endeavor.
"In my civil rights assemblies, I want to give students a firm understanding of the issues, attitudes, emotions, politics, and personalities of civil rights movement in the mid-1960's. This assembly is very much based on personal experience because my father was the primary lawyer for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and helped to argue Brown v. Board of Education. And so, as a child, I had a front seat to history in the making. It was an era which saw the transition from an America still strongly marked by racial prejudice to an America where an African-American could become president. The assembly is deeply inspirational, patriotic, filled with photos of the time. King said, in his speech at the end of the Selma-Montgomery Voting Rights March, 'that the arm of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.' This assembly calls upon students to eschew prejudice and injustice, and bend their arms to the moral end of the universe."
FEES
$999 for the first two presentations of a day. Each presentation thereafter on that same day is $395 each. Afternoon Inservices and evening Family Presentations are $695 each. Half day Inservices are $1,250 (not combined with any other presentations that same day). Full day Inservices are $1,750. There is usually no additional fee for expenses. (The only exception to this is if David Greenberg is asked to travel to an area that cannot be integrated into one of his tours. In this case, a fee will have to be negotiated and expenses charged in addition.)
International School Visits: $1000 a day plus expenses for up to four student presentations, one teacher inservice, one Family Evening Presentation.
SET-UP AND EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS
David Greenberg needs:
For Poetry Assemblies:
- An overhead projector
- As large a screen as possible. The screen should be mounted as high as possible so kids have a clear line of sight that isn't blocked by the overhead itself. If the screen doesn't pull down from the ceiling, it would be ideal, if possible, to place it on tabletop.
- A microphone. The very best microphone is a wireless lavalier (or collar) mike. If this isn't available, a microphone affixed to a stand that can be removed, so Mr. Greenberg can walk around, is best. It's important to check the microphone so it's sound quality is adjusted before Mr. Greenberg starts presenting.
- A small table for Mr. Greenberg to place his materials.
- A bottle or glass of water.
For Civil Rights Assemblies:
- The same as above, but an LCD projector instead of an overhead.
AUTOGRAPH INFORMATION
Mr. Greenberg brings his books along for autographing with kids. Here's how he works it. He mails or e-mails you a Book Order Form that lists all his books and their prices along with a space indicating to whom a book should be autographed. He asks that you send this form home twice before his visit (the first time perhaps two weeks before the visit and then theday before the visit). Then, on the day of his visit, Mr. Greenberg physically brings his books to your school in boxes. All of the order forms are collected and Mr. Greenberg signs books to all who ordered them. Often, after seeing Mr. Greenberg present, kids then want to get books. Mr. Greenberg suggests that you copy and send home the order form one more time the afternoon or day after his visit. Collect any final orders and mail them to him. Mr. Greenberg will pay all postage/handling and send back the signed final book orders right away.
LEARN MORE ABOUT DAVID GREENBERG
David Greenberg
7327 SW Barnes Rd.
PMB 623
Portland, Oregon 97225
Phone: 360-560-7766
Fax: 503-842-1291
E-Mail: authilus@teleport.com