-Professor, Early Childhood Department, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
-Former US Army Officer
Empowering children with insightful respect for our veterans, past and present!
As the 2019 year comes to an end, I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you that continue to support my books and work to empower children with insightful respect for our veterans, past and present! A special thanks to all the schools, organizations, and individuals that purchased books or brought me in to share my school assembly this year! Following are photos from some of the fall book tour school visits!
I am so honored to be featured on an upcoming WPXI-TV Pittsburgh special! The interview with WPXI Katherine Amenta was amazing and I can't wait to see how they highlight the books. Keep your eye out for the upcoming feature!
Four school assemblies for Haine Elementary today on the newest book! Always so much fun visiting schools with good friends and successful former students! Special thanks to Rebecca Rockey and Mary Boburczak for your help today with getting my student volunteers in to the uniforms and technology set up!
Just wanted to take a moment to welcome Meagan Reed to the Robert Snyder Books, LLC team! Meagan will be working on all things publicity and marketing-wise for my books and visits! Very fortunate to have such a talented person guiding me in this endeavor!
Special thanks to the GFWC/Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs for inviting me to be their speaker at the 121st annual convention and also for their incredible support of veterans!
I am thrilled to announce that a portion of the proceeds from every one of my books sold from 2019 and beyond will go towards the SRU Veteran Service Dog program! Not only will the books continue to help children learn about military veterans, but now they will actively support veterans as well!
https://www.srufoundation.org/servicedogdonation.html
Honored to be a guest author at the Butler School District Reading Fair.....ran into to one of my former sixth grade students that is now a teacher here! So fun to chat with you tonight Emily!
Thanks to the students and staff at Neidig Elementary in Quakertown, PA for a fabulous morning! What great children! I was so impressed with the attentiveness and questions they asked about veterans!
Thanks Rebecca McLean and Erin Pratt for another wonderful visit to Hillside Elementary! I was so impressed with how much detail the students remembered from my first presentation! Keep doing amazing things with your students!
I brought a close to the 2018 book tour today at St. Joseph's and St. John's in Verona, PA! It was awesome to reconnect with former students that are now teaching there! I will be reflecting back on all of the schools that have graciously helped me educate our students about veterans over the past 2 months!
Recap of the Veterans Day Assembly this past Monday at SRU! Awe inspiring to see the turn out to honor our heroes, and humbled to have served as the speaker for the event!
http://www.sru.edu/news/111218b
Busy day delivering four assemblies at Elm Street and Kirtland Elementary Schools today near Cleveland, Ohio, but I absolutely loved very minute of it! Thanks to all the staff, students, and American Legion members for the fabulous day!
My book tour took me to Neshannock Memorial Elementary yesterday! I was amazed by the flag made of the hand prints of the entire student body!
Three streamed author presentations yesterday! Two for Streamable Learning and one for Sleepy Hollow Elementary School!
Today's school visit was to Cecil Intermediate School! I loved working with this 5th and 6th grade building since the majority of my elementary teaching career was spent teaching 5th and 6th grade! Also, always great to see former Slippery Rock students making good things happen in the local schools!
I spent the third day of the current book tour at Liberty Bell Elementary near Allentown. What a terrific staff and attentive students!
Many thanks to the staff and students in Marienville, PA at East Forest School for an amazing morning! I was impressed with the student questions and by the patriotism of the students and faculty (many veterans themselves)!
Today kicked off the fall 2018 author assembly tour! I spent the morning at Bascom Elementary! This was one of the first schools I visited when the first book came out and the first to get the new book's assembly!
Special thanks to the Trumbull County Federation of Women's Clubs for hosting me as their guest speaker today! It was a pleasure getting to meet all of you today! I am glad you all enjoyed learning about my books!
Always grateful for the incredible support Slippery Rock University gives to its faculty! http://www.sru.edu/news/092818b
Special thanks to the Yellow Ribbon Girls and the Beaver County Rehabilitation Center staff and clients for all of the care packages and support they offer to our deployed troops! It was a pleasure sharing my new book with all of you today!
Pics from yesterday's author visit to the SRU Childcare Center! What an awesome and inquisitive group of students!
Fabulous author visit to Erie Rise Academy today! The students were stellar! I am also always thrilled when I show up and see so many former students, now teaching at the same school together!
Thank you to principal, Barbara Pagan and all of the staff and students at Elroy Elementary in Brentwood PA for a wonderful author visit today! I love the patriotism displayed in the artwork and attitude of all of the students!
Wrapped up the week's Virginia/North Carolina book tour at W.M. Irvin Elementary School! Always a joy to see former SRU students changing young lives. It was a pleasure to see both of you today, and thanks for all the help setting up Kaitlyn Elizabeth and managing the technical glitch in the second assembly Kellie Bongivengo!
The second school visit today was to Newton-Lee Elementary School. Chelsea Marousis, it was wonderful to be able to see your first-year classroom! The students there are so lucky to have you as their teacher!
Special thanks to Kylie Gilmore, the teachers and administrators, and especially the students at Wallace Elementary School for a wonderful morning set of assemblies! I had a great time visiting your school! Kylie, I am proud to have watched you grow from a student teacher a year ago to now a full time second grade teacher there!
Excellent day today with a book assembly at Hillside Elementary in Ashburn, Virginia! Always amazed to visit a school and find it has 3 SRU graduates teaching there! Special thanks to Rebecca McLean for arranging the visit and entertaining me for the evening!
Congratulations to Josh Wolford of Haine Elementary School for winning last year's contest! I challenged the students at each school I visited to illustrate a new page for my book! As the winner, Josh's illustration will now be featured in the new book, "Why Did Daddy Have to Leave? Here is his artwork and what it will look like in the book's illustration.
Literacy week celebration at 10th Street Elementary! It was a pleasure to join the students and families and catch up with another former student doing amazing things in the schools!
The 2018 book tour kicked off today at Buckeye West Elementary in Adena,Ohio! It was the first school I was able to give a sneak preview of the new book to! Special thanks to American Legion Post 525 for arranging and sponsoring my visit!
Thank you to the National Council of the Social Studies, the Children's Book Council, and Blue Marlin Publications for making me part this author event in San Francisco! I appreciate everyone's support and the award given to my book! #NotableTradeBookforYoungPeople2017
Teachers, don’t forget that I am available for video presentations if you cannot bring me live to your buildings! I enjoyed connecting with four schools through Skype & Zoom. http://wset.com/news/local/holy-cross-unveils-new-learning-lab-to-help-students-interact-with-people-around-the-world
I ended my fall 2017 book tour today at Summit Academy Youngstown Elementary! Preceding my assembly was a flag-raising with a new flag donated by the American Legion Post 301. I was also excited to see 4 of my former students that are now teachers at the school! It was so nice to see you all! I had a fabulous day at your school!
Always grateful for reviews!!!
https://aprilcrews.wordpress.com/2017/11/03/what-is-a-veteran-anyway/
Photos from Weisenberg Elementary.. The audience included 80 veterans from the community. The veterans arrived for breakfast and then stood in the hallway to greet the students as they got off the buses and entered the school! It was impressive to see the look of surprise on the children's faces!
Back stage at The Scottish Rite Cathedral waiting to speak for the Veterans Day program sponsored by the Mohawk FBLA! Special thanks to the New Castle News for their coverage of the event! http://www.ncnewsonline.com/news/video-mohawk-students-honor-area-veterans/article_6646b8d4-c59e-11e7-b251-d7552ffce5a1.html
My largest assembly to date...750 students at Mohawk Elementary yesterday! The support this school provides to troops is incredible! Thank you for sharing your day with me Mohawk Elementary students, teachers, and administrators! Special thanks to Mr. Caughey and the student video crew for making the creative introduction!
I was blessed to spend the entire school day yesterday at Elderton Elementary. What a patriotic community and school!
Very appreciative that so many VFW and American Legions are supporting my book by purchasing for their local schools and libraries!
No better way to end the week than visiting one of the school's near and dear to my my heart! Thanks for a great afternoon West Middlesex Elementary School!
I just finished hosting my first live stream presentation to 12 classrooms across the country! For any teachers out there interested in streamable presentations, check out this service at www.streamablelearning.com.
To the staff and troop leaders of the American Heritage Girls in Cranberry, It was so nice to meet your troop last night! I was super impressed that the girls already visit VA hospitals, when I mentioned that as a recommendation to write letters to the veterans there! You're doing some awesome things with your girls!
It is a wonderful feeling when you go do a school assembly and look out at the crowd of teachers and feel like you're almost back on your college campus! It was great to see, not one, but two of my former students teaching at Allard Elementary School today! Very proud of the teachers that you ladies have we come!
Thank you Hyde Elementary for a great morning together!
Thank you to all of the staff and students at Burchfield Elementary! I enjoyed, not only speaking with all of the students, but meeting so many veterans connected to the community and school staff! What an amazingly patriotic school and community you have! Having the entire student body sing three patriotic songs at the end of my presentation gave me goosebumps! Special thanks also to VFW post 709 for making the connection between us!
Indiana became the 6th state to be included on my author visit tour! Thank you Marie Mastellone for an incredible day at St Anthony de Padua! The staff and students were so much fun to work with! I also appreciated the tour of Notre Dame University!
A few photos from a visit last week by a group from the Beaver County Rehabilitation Center. What an amazing group of students, and I love their patriotism too! They are integral in helping the Yellow Ribbon Girls package and send items overseas to deployed soldiers! http://www.yellowribbongirls.com
Could not think of a better way to spend Memorial Day than to serve as guest speaker for American Legion Post 506's Community Memorial Day Ceremony! Thank you Kinsman, OH for being a tremendously welcoming and patriotic community!
I finished up my 2016-17 school author visits yesterday at Haine Elementary School! After 21 schools spanning 5 states, it was bittersweet to see the school year come to an end. Thank you students, staff, and parents at Haine for a fabulous day. Special thanks to Rebecca Rockey for organizing the day's 4 assemblies!
Special thanks to the veterans of the Parker VFW and the staff and students of the Emlenton Boys and Girls Club of America for a wonderful afternoon!
Photos from the Author's Among Us 2017 event at the American School Foundation in Mexico City on April 24, 2017! The students had some amazing questions for us, and it was so nice getting to know the other five authors present. Hopefully we have inspired some of the students to become future authors as well!
Special thanks to the Beaver County Rehabilitation Center group that made a road trip to Slippery Rock University for my veterans and book presentation. This group is an amazing support group for veterans! For the last 10 years they have helped the "Yellow Ribbon Girls" help sort supplies, make treat bags, wrap gifts and shop for the troops.
I was blessed to able to spend my time today with the teachers, administrators, and students at J.W. McLauchlin Elementary in Raeford, NC.
Day 1 on my North Carolina tour was a blast! Thank you administration, staff, and students at WR Odell Primary for a fun-filled day!
Fabulous evening being invited as one of two authors to present for the Family Literacy night at JA Allard Elementary! Always a pleasure to see former students that have now become awesome teachers too!
All of the elementary schools are getting ready for Dr. Seuss Week/Read Across America, so it was a pleasure to drop in and read my book to the second grade students at Victory Elementary today! We ended with practicing some military hand signals.
Thank you to the officers and members of the SRU National Council for Teachers of English for inviting me to present on my book this evening! I had a great time meeting all of you!
Thanks you Dassa Cub Scouts for the cards and gifts!
Thank you Orange County Preparatory Academy for sharing your day with me!
Special thanks to the teachers, staff, and students at Musser Elementary School (who were an amazing audience), for bringing me to their school and also for the thoughtful gifts!
Thank you Bascom Elementary students and staff! Jenna DePizzo, it was so much fun doing some extra activities with your first grade students and team!
Kiski Primary East Family Reading Night!
Thank you Jenn Scherdin for having me at your school today! It was a joy to spend the day at Pine Bush and Circleville schools!-:-)
What a touching day to be back at my old teaching grounds at Dassa Mckinney Elementary for an author visit!
SRU Daycare visit photos!
There is no better way to start the morning then to have one of your former students teaching in Florida send you a text letting you know that your book is being read in their classroom!
I was blessed to spend the day with the students and staff at Slippery Rock Area Elementary!
A huge thank you to the staff and students at Moraine Elementary for a wonderful afternoon together!
Case Avenue Elementary. The students all sang patriotic songs to over 60 veterans that were in attendance before I did my book presentation!
Book signing at the conference for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators conference!
Thank you Mercer Elementary!
Thank you Kiski Upper Elementary for a wonderful day!
Nice getting to see you today Chelsie! I hope your kindergarten class enjoys my book!
Thank you Emily Sivak for the wonderful letters from your class!
Thank you to the staff and students at Hillview Elementary!
Edinboro education majors, you amazed me tonight!
Prepping for my last assembly on my fall tour!
Showing the students some military hand signals.
Thank you for sharing this Molly! Tara Lightner thank you and please thank Mrs. Simpson for the two of you for writing this up and submitting it!
I love that I have been able to reconnect with so many of my former 6th grade students, and to now impact their own children through my book!
Honored to be a guest author at the Butler School District Reading Fair.....ran into to one of my former sixth grade students that is now a teacher here! So fun to chat with you tonight Emily!