About the Author:
Kathy Combs lives in a suburb of Houston, Texas with her husband and two dogs. A former junior high ESL, creative writing, and yearbook teacher, Kathy now works part-time in the offshore drilling industry because it affords her more writing time.

Honorarium / Presentations:
Half Day (2 presentations) - $400 + mileage over 30 miles
Full Day (4 presentations) - $700 + mileage over 30 miles
-----Transportation, lodging, and misc. expenses
-----for out-of-town presentations.

Grade Range:
As a certified teacher, Kathy is aware of the different needs of various age groups. Presentations for K-2nd grade are geared toward entertainment, while 3rd-8th grade presentations focus more on language and writing. Kathy also has a presentation and creative writing workshop appropriate for middle-school students.

Size of Groups:
In a school, the best room for her presentation is usually the media center. Kids seem more relaxed sitting on the floor, close to her, making microphones unnecessary and allowing a pleasant and informal exchange of ideas. She has done groups as large as 300 and will certainly do so at your request.

Equipment Needed:
If speaking to large assemblies, she will need a microphone and computer set up to view her Power Point presentation on a large screen.

Book Signings: Yes

Presentation Description:
(TEKS Assessment is available for Texas Teachers.
Please Contact Me to request this information.)
 

Cowboy Sam and Those Confounded Secrets (Grades K-3): Kathy comes to schools with a giant cowboy hat and a few critters (soft, stuffed ones). She discusses "colorful language" and shows the original picture that inspired the book. She explains the collaboration between her Pennsylvania co-author, the Minnesota illustrator and the New York editor.


The Foot-Stomping Adventures of Clementine Sweet (Grades K-5): Clementine Sweet is the meanest, most ornery and pugnacious, pigtail-wearing, pint-sized person in the whole entire Texas Hill Country—until she discovers a way to get noticed that makes her happy instead of mad...and makes other people happy, too. Kathy talks to children about how turning their “mad” into “might” can create something positive. Showing personal photographs, she explains the idea for the book and how children can use everyday occurrences as a creative springboard. Kids participate in a compare and contrast activity using PowerPoint pictures from the book.

Creating Tall Tales
(Grades 3-8):
Where do ideas come from?   Do stories need a beginning, middle, and an end?   Do authors have to rewrite?   Where did the idea for Cowboy Sam and Clementine Sweet come from?   These questions and many more are addressed as Kathy inspires children to draw from personal experiences for their writing.   She also touches on the illustration process that Mike Wohnoutka shared with her while working on these two books.  

Spicin' Up Your Writin' (Grades 4-8):
Kathy talks about the writing process from the inception of an idea, to adding details, to revision.  The main focus is on colorful writing.  Students help brainstorm similes and exchange weak verbs for strong verbs to paint pictures with their words. This presentation ends with a 10-15 minute writing assignment where the students start a story from a picture prompt.  

Where I'm From (Grades 4-Adult):
Kathy talks about the writing process from the inception of an idea, to adding details, to revision.   She then presents a poem by children's author, George Ella Lyon, entitled Where I'm From , and explains how each stanza tells a story about the author and how all the little pieces of her life add up to who she is today.   Students are then given 10-15 minutes to write about where they are from.   Volunteers are asked to share pieces of their poem with the class.

Teacher In-Service – Inspiring Better Writing
Kathy shares ideas she used teaching writing workshop to junior high students that led to better writing and in many cases, student publication.  She encourages you to give students ownership of their work so that they are eager to rewrite a story to make it the best that it can be.  Many of Kathy’s methods were developed using Nancie Atwell’s In the Middle model.

Ordering Books / Promotional Materials:
Books can be ordered directly through Houghton Mifflin at 1-800-733-2828. The representative there will be able to explain discounts and consignment policies. Books may also be ordered through your local supplier (Barnes & Noble, Scholastic Book Fairs, Southwest Books, etc.).