Michael Anthony Steele

 

 
I’m thrilled to have been asked back to Kansas City by Lee’s Summit Reading Council!
 
This morning, I got to visit Summit Pointe Elementary — home of the Panthers! I was greeted by a very cool sign, drawn with smelly markers, no less. Mmmm… strawberry… Then I gave a presentation to a wonderful audience and began signing a ton of books. In fact, there are so many books to sign, I am going to have to take a bunch with me to sign later! It’s going to be hard to get to them, I have a busy day ahead.
 
Thanks to Mrs. Cox for inviting me. And a big thanks to all the Summit Pointe Panthers! Keep reading and keep writing!
 

 

 

 
I still haven’t signed Summit Pointe’s books because I had to rush over nearby Prairie View Elementary! I had two shows to perform there in front of a great bunch of kids. They had some of the best questions and really put their all behind those giraffe sounds. Way to go!
 
Thanks to Mrs. Rowett for being a wonderful host. She was a great help with the lunch, the shows, and the book signings. She really whizzed them through the line (but I still didn’t get to my box of books from Summit Pointe — uh-oh!).
 

 

 

 
After a quick shower and wardrobe change back at the hotel, I headed back to Prairie View Elementary for the special Young Author Reception. It’s where many wonderful young authors and illustrators from a bunch of nearby schools were recognized for their great work. They even had their stories and illustrations published in a special book!
 
I gave another presentation and (even with some minor technical difficulties) it went great! I was honored to congratulate each and every one of the young authors and illustrators and even posed for a picture with each group! I signed a bunch more books (under the watchful eyes of Rico and Skipper, as you can see) and, after everyone had gone home, I finally signed the rest of Summit Pointe’s books! Whew!
 
Thanks again to Jessi Cox and Lee’s Summit Reading Council for a great day all around. And, as you can see, I’ve already taken my Summit Pointe Panther shirt hiking up some cool Kansas City trails I found!
 

 

 

 
Last night, I had the distinct pleasure of performing at the 2012 Blue & Gold Banquet for Cub Scout Pack 928 in Southlake, Texas! While enjoying pizza with the pack, a few Scouts recognized me from when I visited Walnut Grove Elementary. It was great seeing you guys again!
 
After dinner I performed my show, stuck around for some photo ops, and signed some autographs—all while watching these hard-working Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts, and Webelos receive their awards and advancements. I was even present for a special Den Chief award and Wood Badge presentation. Congratulations, everyone!
 
Thanks again for having me out, Pack 928. I hope all your Scouts stay in Scouting, keep working hard, keep having fun, and someday soon, make it all the way to Eagle Scout—just like I did! Believe me, Scouts, the trail to Eagle is quite an adventure!
 

 
Художник

 

 
I had a wonderful welcome at Chambers Elementary in Houston, TX. When I checked in at the school this morning I saw that all of the students recognized me and were very excited that I came. I also noticed something else; most of them (and the teachers, too) wore … hats. Turns out the Chambers Chargers found out about my hat collection and wore hats in my honor. Very cool! Just check out the banner above!
 
My presentations went great and I hope all the hat-wearing Chargers enjoyed themselves as much as I did. I even had some of them wish my chihuahua, Echo, a happy birthday; she’s fourteen today! I also hope all the 4th graders had fun at my writing workshop. Don’t forget the homework I gave you!
 
Thanks to Mrs. Di Felice for inviting me and to Mrs. Renner and Mr. Brown for all the help. And a super big thanks to all the Chambers Chargers for the great day and all the wonderful hats!
 

 

 

 
The beginning of this semester’s round of author visits began back in Houston, TX, at Hearne Elementary! I had a fun time presenting to all the wonderful Hearne students in their humungous library (I think I pulled something in my throat showing them the loud giraffe noise)!
 
The best part of the day was when I got to eat lunch with the top Accelerated Readers! The best readers in the school get rewarded sometimes and the most recent reward was getting to eat with a real, live author (hey, that’s me!) Thanks for the stimulating lunch conversation: Eliud, Alan, Reymon, Jimmy, Nayeli, Nicole, Jamie, Mindalia, Fernando, Oba, Janella, Wendy, Mellissa, Alexander, Juan, and Kenneth! Better yet, thanks for being such good readers!
 
I’d also like to give a shout out to super Wishbone fan, Joanna Baczek (Ms. Baczek, to all you Hearne Elementary 2nd graders). Keep rooting for the little dog with the big imagination!
 
Thanks to Mrs. Arevalo for inviting me and for setting up the lunch. And a big thanks to all the great students at Hearne Elementary! Keep reading and maybe you’ll get an even bigger prize next time!
 

 

 
Just like last year, I had the privilege of performing for Young Authors Day at The Montessori Academy of Arlington! I even came up with a new show all about reading where I read a couple of passages from one of my latest books Night of the Dragons. One student brought his own copy of the book for me to sign so he knows how the book ends (I kinda left everyone hanging at the end of my reading). Glad you like the book, Evan!
 
After lunch (just like last year), I joined Mrs. Proctor’s E5 class for ice cream! I enjoyed meeting everyone and talking about their favorite books and authors. I even showed some of the students the books I’d signed for Mrs. Proctor the year before!
 
Thanks again to Mrs. Hryekewicz for inviting me back. Thanks to Mrs. Proctor for inviting me to ice cream again (and the killer doughnut). And a big thanks to all the young authors I met today! Keep writing and keep reading!
 

 

 
I just spent two lovely days at Walnut Grove Elementary in Southlake, Texas — home of the Dragons! This was my second year presenting to the Dragons even though they were in a different building last year and under a different name — Durham Elementary.
 
I had a little scare on the way there when I began warming up my voice and quickly realized that I was loosing part of it! I had been talking to schools the week before in Kansas City and now my voice didn’t make any noise in higher registers. Luckily, I was very careful how I spoke the first day and Cheryl from the front office fixed me up with some hot tea that really helped. Thanks, Cheryl! I made it through both days just fine.
 
I enjoyed meeting all the 3rd graders and seeing all the 4th graders again (I met them last year when they were in 3rd grade). We had a great two days and I even showed a couple of 4th graders how they could teach themselves to juggle. It’s easy, really. Ask me at my next show and I’ll show you, too!
 
Thanks to Stacy Kristynik and the Walnut Grove PTO for inviting me back. Thanks to Mrs. Fangue for the use of her classroom. Thanks to Mrs. Cooper and Mrs. Cobb for helping me set up. And an extra-special thanks to the 3rd & 4th grade students at Walnut Grove Elementary! Keep roaring, Dragons!
 

 

 

 
The last day of my Fall Kansas City tour found me at Gracemor Elementary — home of the Crusaders! I was greeted with the cool banner above and after my first show, assistant principal Julie Badders was kind enough to take me on a quarter mile tour of their huge school. And with a mascot like the Crusaders, how cool is it that they have suits of armor in the hallways?!!
 

 
I was lucky enough to have lunch with a second grader named Robert who traded in his good behavior tickets to have lunch with the principal. The principal wasn’t available but he had lunch with me, Mrs. Badders and Mrs. Ziehm the library media specialist instead! We had a nice time and talked about my fun trip to Kansas City (my fourth so far).
 
For the rest of my shows, all of the students were very energetic and ready to learn about new things. Mrs. Boehmer’s fourth grade class even had questions written out before they got to the show. I tried to answer as many as I could while they were there!
 
Thanks to all the Gracemor Elementary Crusaders for being such a wonderful audience and thanks to Mrs. Badders for the fun tour. I’d also like to thank Mrs. Ziehm for inviting me and making my last stop in Kansas City such an enjoyable one. And an extra special thanks to all of Second Grade who made me a nice thank you card and wrote me the huge letter below. Click it so you can see how all the students even signed it. Very cool!
 

 

 

 
I had a fun day at Miss Outly’s other school, Chouteau Elementary — home of the Dragons! Once again, I performed in the library and signed more of my books Miss Outly ordered. She said that all the ones I signed yesterday were checked out already and I hope the dragons enjoy theirs, as well.
 
Even though Thursday is chicken nugget day at Chouteau, Miss Outly took me out for some authentic Kansas City BBQ! One of my favorite meals! Unfortunately, we enjoyed our lunch so much that we got back just a little late for my last show. I really appreciate the patience of Kindergarten and 1st grade as they waited quietly for our arrival. And guess what? The Chouteau Strings (who had to leave early from my first show) came back to catch the final part of my last show. I hoped they liked my own string instrument — my Washburn Rover travel guitar!
 
Thanks to all the Chouteau Dragons for being such a great audience (who were especially good at making dragon roars). And a super-big thanks to Laraine Outly for being such a great host for not one but two days at TWO separate Kansas City schools. I had a wonderful time all around!