Helaine Becker

Readings

Always fun, always educational, always different! My presentations include hilarious poetry (such as the notorious giggle inducer “Ode to Underwear’) dramatic interactive readings from Looney Bay or my other fiction titles, done-right-on-the-spot science experiments, and impromptu story development, mixed with student Q&A and a hearty dose of curriculum linking. Presentations will be customized to your needs in terms of student age range (Kindergarten through High School), group size, and curriculum content. 50 minutes.

Book Sales:

yes

Workshops

Get ready to laugh out loud in this fun and funny hands-on workshop on boosting lateral thinking. Using proven techniques used by writers, comedians and cartoonists, I will unleash your students’ creative thinking skills and show you how to loosen up those uptight tweens and teens you call your students. Association lists, the magic grid, defeating the blank page, doodling, the world’s worst first sentence and more! 50 minutes; with lots of hands-on activities.

Special Equipment:

Depending on the workshop I might use powerpoint

Book Sales:

yes

Biography

Helaine Becker is the bestselling writer of children’s and YA fiction, non-fiction and verse including the smash holiday hit, A Porcupine in a Pine Tree. Her Scholastic chapter book series, the Looney Bay All-Stars, has sold over 175,000 copies to date, making her one of Canada’s best-known authors among boys ages 7-10. Her non-fiction book, The Insecto-Files, won the prestigious 2009 Lane Anderson Award for Science Writing for Children, which comes with one of the richest cash prizes in children’s publishing. She also is a four-time nominee & two-time winner of the Silver Birch Award; for Boredom Blasters in 2006, and for Secret Agent Y.O.U. in 2008; The Insecto-Files is currently shortlisted for the 2011 Hackmatack Award, and Science on the Loose is shortlisted for the 2011 Red Cedar Award. What’s the Big Idea? was selected as a Best Bet for 2010 by the O.L.A., the CCBC, and the Canadian Toy Testing Council, and is shortlisted for the Silver Birch Award.

Helaine is in high demand as a performer at schools across North America. She has twice been selected for the Canadian Children’s Book Week Cross Country tour, travelling to both Yukon and Nunavut to present to school children. She has been a featured speaker at the Frye Festival in New Brunswick, Aloud International Children’s Festival in Ontario, Weaving Words Conference in Alberta, Literacy for Life Conference in Saskatchewan, and the Red Cedar Awards in British Columbia. She was also a featured speaker at the 2009 Orange County Children’s Book Festival in Costa Mesa, California and the Literary Guild Festival in Irvine, California.

A New York native, she has lived in Toronto for 20+ years. She has been on the executive board of CANSCAIP and is a member of the Writers Union of Canada and the CCBC. She is married with two teenage sons and has the cutest dog in the world, Ella.