Author Visits

General Information

Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss are award winning authors and recording artists and would be happy to visit your school in that capacity. They will tell stories, give some tips on telling, and answer any questions students have. Their story collections for kids include world tales that have been rewritten so that they are accessible for telling by children. After seeing Mitch and Martha tell stories, students will be excited about telling tales themselves. Storytelling is a fun activity that is highly educational. All the story books have tips for telling which makes it possible for teachers to have each student (second grade and up) choose a different tale, learn it, and share it in front of classmates. Those who choose to do so can tell for other classes as well. Some of the tales are simple and short enough that they can then be retold by first graders and even kindergartners. Mitch and Martha's performances will also serve as catalysts for creative writing. For example, students can make up their own "How and Why" stories (see Writing How & Why Stories: A Unit for Second through Sixth Graders) or "Noodlehead" tales ( see Writing Noodlehead Stories: A Unit for Second through Sixth Graders) based on the folktale models in Mitch and Martha's books.

If you are able to have Mitch and Martha visit for more than a day, they can visit individual classrooms and give storytelling workshops.

Mitch and Martha will be happy to discuss any details or concerns you have regarding an Author Visit. They are willing to be flexible in order to adapt to the needs of your school. They can also pass on information on how to plan a successful Author Visit from other schools where they've worked.

For full information on all of Mitch and Martha's books and recordings, see Books and Recordings.

Reviews from Author Visits

"The visit that Kaegebein School experienced from Beauty and the Beast Storytellers ranks among our top author visits. Mitch and Martha truly love their work, and their enthusiasm is contagious. Every audience was charmed by their spell. They seem to fine-tune each performance to be in complete synchronization with each other, and with the audience. Their performances are definitely not 'one size fits all.'

In addition to Mitch and Martha's stellar performances, everyone enjoyed and benefited from our preparation for Beauty and the Beast's visit. The students loved reading folktales and learning about folklore. Teachers were thrilled with the students' success in writing 'Noodlehead' and 'How and Why' stories. As a result of Mitch and Martha's visit, many teachers plan to integrate more folklore into the curriculum.

I highly recommend Beauty and the Beast Storytellers to any school thinking of having an author visit."

Pat Rizzuto
School Library Media Specialist
Kaegebin Elementary School
Grand Island, NY

"Mitch and Martha's visit was a wonderful experience for both students and teachers at Saint Maur International School. They confidently engaged with and enthused students, from Montessori to High School, with their entertaining and dramatic storytelling. Laughter and excitement filled the library as they performed for all levels of our K-12 school over two days.

Their books are wide-ranging, covering many different cultures and time periods from traditional folk tales to modern tales. This is particularly valuable for an international school community such as ours.

We were also very impressed with their professionalism and easy going manner which made their author visit delightful and stress free."

Maureen Fitzgerald, Head of English
Jennifer Schumacher, Head Librarian
Saint Maur International School
Yokohama, Japan

"Beauty & Beast Storytellers have so much talent wrapped in one package! They are authors, dramatists and educators bursting with energy and enthusiasm. Their books delight all audiences and when they 'talk their books,' it's an unforgettable performance. Students continue to request their books and boast how they are practicing the storytelling. We will surely invite them back again for the fourth visit to our school!"

Sue Penney
School Library Media Specialist
Milton Terrace Elementary School
Ballston Spa, NY

"Mitch and Martha's Author Day visit was totally wonderful! The students, teachers, and parents talked about it for months afterwards. For about six weeks before they arrived, the teachers and I read folktales from each of their books. The children loved the stories! Some then wrote their own "How and Why" stories and "Noodlehead" stories based on Mitch and Martha's books. Some students learned stories from the books and told them to their classmates, and then went to other classes as well. The classes created numerous bulletin boards displaying their writing, drawings, and even "noodleheads" made from spiral pasta! There was such a sense of excitement on the day of the Author Visit. Mitch and Martha did not disappoint! They knew how to choose the perfect stories for a particular grade level. Their presentations were dynamic and involving. Their tremendous warmth and love of what they do was contagious. They left the students with the best gift of all - feeling they could make up and tell great stories as well."

Kathy Witter
School Library Media Specialist
Lindbergh Elementary School
Buffalo, NY

"Martha and Mitch's program is a terrific bridge between an author experience and a cultural performance. Their collections of multicultural tales are perfect for solo reading, reading aloud, or telling. They have vast experience working with children and a passion for what they do. It shines through in their dynamic performances that keep kids fascinated and laughing, and feel more like sharing than telling."

Michele Linse
School Library Media Specialist
Putnam Valley Elementary School
Putnam Valley, NY

"Our students recently had the wonderful opportunity to listen to 'Beauty and the Beast Storytellers' tell their tales. We were fortunate enough to have Mitch and Martha collaborate with faculty on the school's study of folklore before their visit. During the school day each grade level listened to a custom presentation geared towards the type of folklore they were learning. Mitch and Martha also performed in the evening at our annual Octoberfest which was a huge success and gave family members the opportunity to enjoy the art of storytelling with their children. Beauty and the Beast Storytellers were flexible and made having an author visit simple. They are great communicators which made it easy to work out all the details. Our school highly recommends Mitch and Martha for your next author visit. Since their visit, I have been told by some of our students, if you haven't heard them tell the story of Tailypo, you haven't yet heard a story!"

Colleen M. Goodwin
School Library Media Specialist
Union East Elementary School
Cheektowaga, NY

Preparation for an Author Visit

Mitch & Martha

The more familiar students are with Mitch and Martha's books, the more likely they are to get excited about storytelling. Teachers can play sample stories from Mitch and Martha's recordings in the weeks preceding their visit. Their recordings include not only them telling stories but also many tellings by students ranging from age five to sixteen. When children hear other children telling stories, the idea of "That sounds like fun. I'll bet I could do that, too" is planted in their minds. Teachers, librarians, parent volunteers, and older students can also tell or read the stories to younger children.

Follow-Up

Mitch and Martha's story collections provide lots of ideas for how to follow-up with storytelling and writing. Their Children Tell Stories: Teaching and Using Storytelling in the Classroom has all the information a teacher needs to know to get students telling stories.

Selling Books

Schools can buy books from the publishers or from Mitch and Martha. Mitch and Martha will offer a 15% discount and will take back unsold copies. (For information, see Fundraising Ideas.) Publishers will offer larger discounts, with the exact percentage dependent on the number of copies purchased. They will take back unsold copies, but you will pay shipping costs. You could also get a local bookstore to supply you with the books. They will generally offer less of a discount but will absorb the shipping costs.

Note well: No matter how you decide to acquire the books, be sure to allow plenty of time to fill your order.

Some schools pass the discounts on to the students. Others use the sales for fund-raising. That's entirely up to you.

Autographing Books

Mitch and Martha are always happy to autograph books. Have the books marked with sticky notes on the front so it will be clear to whom they should be signed. Depending on how many are to be signed, there are a couple of ways this can be done:

1. If there is not a large amount, you can set aside a time for students to come to a designated spot (preferably the library) and they can line up to have their books signed. This does take longer so it's not advisable if there is a large number to sign.

2. If there is a large amount, it's best for Mitch and Martha to sign them during any time off from presentations during the day and after school. They also may arrange to get some to sign in their hotel room the night before.

If you would like Mitch and Martha will provide a bookmark with their photo and signatures which can be photocopied and given to all students.

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