Michael Anthony Steele

 

 
Just before heading out of town, I spent the day at Forestridge Elementary in Dallas. I received one of the warmest welcomes I had received in a long time. The kids were all jazzed about my arrival and recognized me before any of them attended a show! I gave three performances, signed lots of books and conducted a writing workshop with several aspiring young authors. Keep writing, gang!
 
Thanks to Andrea Dysput for inviting me and thanks for Jennifer Zia for all the help. And a big thanks to all the great students at Forestridge Elementary!
 
Oh, and thanks to Genesis Barrientos who took time off from taking photos for the Diversity Photography Competition to take a few shots of me for the school. Good luck, Genesis!
 

 

 
I had a great time today at Hunt Elementary, in Murphy, Texas! I gave presentations to all the Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders. While the 4th and 5th graders got to see another author the next day. Sounds as if all the Hunt Hounds will get revved up about reading!
 
And I know where they can start… they can begin with two of my earliest titles right in the Hunt Elementary Library: Wishbone: Forgotten Heroes and Wishbone: Case of the Impounded Hounds. Not only are these two of the very first books I ever wrote but also they’re two of my all-time favorites. How cool is that? And if any of you hounds happen to check them out, you’ll see that I wrote a special message inside each one.
 
Thanks to Kelly Hamilton for inviting me and to Shannon Dugger and the Hunt PTA for having me out! I had a very nice time. And an extra-big thanks to all the Hunt Hounds! Keep barking! Keep reading! And keep saying those four words… “I can do that!”
 

 

 

 
After my visit to Westwood, I made my way to Moss Bluff, Louisiana, and gave a show at the Moss Bluff Public Library. I was greeted by this cool sign and enjoyed performing for the families that took the time out of their busy evenings to come out. They all had some great questions and the kids made awesome giraffe noises!
 
Libraries are great—especially their wonderfully unique library smell! Just like Boz the Bear said: “…the smell of all those books! It’s the smell of all those stories mushed up together. The smell of fun! The smell of adventure!”
 
Thanks to Danielle McGavock & Ginette Evans for inviting me and a great big thanks to Elizabeth Daigle for hosting a great event and helping me set up. And an extra special thanks to all the families who spent an evening with me at the library!
 

 

 

 
I briefly crossed the border into Louisiana to visit Westwood Elementary, in Westlake near Lake Charles. I enjoyed performing my shows and, believe it or not, my hand wasn’t too tired from signing 630 copies of one of my favorite books: King Julien’s Guide to Ruling the Zoo. That’s right! The school made it possible for all of the students to receive a copy of my book. How cool is that?
 
I’d like to thank Paige Powers for inviting me and setting up a wonderful author visit event. Thanks to Mr. Mike, Ms. Jackie, and Mr. Pitre for helping me set up. And an extra special thanks to all the great kids at Westwood Elementary. I hope each of you enjoy your books!
 

 

 

 
I had another great author visit today in Plano, TX. This time, it was at Barksdale Elementary. Little did I know that I had visited many of the students’ older brothers and sisters last year at nearby Renner Middle School!
 
I enjoyed the wonderful murals throughout the school, all the nice teachers, and the very well-behaved Barksdale students. I was especially happy to find that there was a copy of my favorite Wishbone book in the library: Case of the Impounded Hounds.
 
I’d like to thank Poornima Poondi and the Barksdale PTA for having me out. Thanks to Paige Edwards for the use of the library, for helping set up, and for the wonderful literary conversation during lunch.
 
I’d like to give a super-big thanks to all the Barksdale Broncos! Be sure to check out my Wishbone book when you get a chance! Like Wishbone says, “there’s nothing like chewing on a good book!” Okay, don’t really chew the book. There’s only one left, after all!
 

 

 

 
I just returned from my very first author visit in the great state of Tennessee—at Oak Elementary in Bartlett!
 
It was a fun day all around. When I arrived, I enjoyed a huge breakfast with the faculty and staff. Then, as I performed my first three shows, I realized that the students had been going over videos, books, and my website before I arrived. They knew almost as much about me than I know about me!
 
I enjoyed a fine lunch with the Oak Elementary Library Crew (the kids lucky enough to work in the library) and I got to see all the winners of the special bookmark contest. Many of the students created bookmarks based on some of my books and there was a huge display with all the winners. Each of the lunch tables were decorated with the runners up and several of my books! I felt very welcomed and honored, indeed!
 
A HUGE thanks goes to Tammy Phillips for inviting me and organizing one of the best author visits ever! I’d also like to thank all the parents, teachers, and PTA members who worked so hard helping throughout the day. And, last but not least, I want to thank all the great kids at Oak Elementary. Keep reading, keep writing, and remember the four words!
 

 

 
I finished my brief San Antonio tour at Esparza Accelerated Elementary! It was Author Day at Esparza Elementary and I discovered that I was in good company indeed. Not only did the students get to see my live presentation but also two video conferences by authors R.L. Stine, of Goosebumps fame, and the author of all the wonderful Hank the Cowdog books, John Erickson.
 
Little known fact: when I was a Wishbone author, Big Red Chair Books almost set up a Wishbone/Hank crossover book but it never happened. Too bad, that would have been a lot of fun to write!
 
Thanks to Dani’el Mason for inviting me. Thanks to Coaches Wilder and Gutierrez for all their help. And a big thanks to all the Esparza Eagles for the warm welcome for author day. Hopefully, being around all us authors all day inspired some of you to become authors yourselves!
 

 

 
The second day of my San Antonio tour took me to Carson Elementary. I arrived early and got to be on TV! Carson TV, that is. I had a special guest spot with Mrs. Pais the librarian. I’ve been to many schools with their own TV studios but I don’t often get to be a part of it. Very cool!
 
After each show, Mrs. Pais the librarian, gave away copies of my books to the best behaved kids. I signed books for Karli, Tony, Hannah (same spelled backwards), Candido, Eli, Giancarlo,Niko, Ava 1, Ava 2, and many more! I hope you all enjoy reading them as much I as I enjoyed writing them.
 
I’d like to thank Mrs. Pais for inviting me and I’d live to give an extra special thanks to all the Carson Cowboys at Carson Elementary!
 

 

 
Had a great time during my first author visit of the school year…at Brauchle Elementary in San Antonio, Texas! It’s pronounced, “broccoli” by the way, and they have a superhero theme going this year. That’s perfect since I’ve written so many superhero books (one of my favorite kinds) However, their slogan is, “You don’t have to be super to be a hero!” I’m not sure about about that; I met tons of super kids while I was there!
 
In between shows, I admired the bee smoker in their display case (representing how Mr. Brauchle–the school’s namesake–used to keep bees). Unfortunately, I forgot to tell the kids that when I worked in special effects, I used to use those bee smokers all the time to make outdoor smoke. Cool, huh?
 
Thanks to Mrs. Stanley for inviting me and to Mr. Felix for helping me set up. And a special thanks to all the Brauchle Cougars!
 

 

 
It’s that time of year again and I’m ready to get out there and meet more diligent students and fans of reading! I truly enjoy entertaining and educating the future readers and writers of the world. And I especially enjoy encouraging students to believe in themselves and use those four special words, “I Can Do That!”
 
Contact me as soon as possible if you’d like me to visit your school. I already have a few weeks booked so try to have a couple of dates in mind.
 
Don’t live in Texas? Not a problem! I’ll travel anywhere in the world to visit your students! I often do! I’ll even consolidate travel costs by booking several schools in the area.
 
For more information, click HERE to navigate to my School and Library Visits page and click HERE to view several pages of summaries of and acknowledgements to past school visits.
 
I look forward to meeting you!
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