I love encouraging young readers and writers with my visits! To request a visit or more information, please contact allyson@bookedauthors.com | allyson@bookedauthors.com. Visits can be tailored to your needs for timing and titles.

New Presentation! Making Mistakes With Ava Lin

30-40 minutes, best for K-3rd grades

Introducing a new school visit presentation, featuring Vicky’s newest series, Ava Lin! In these heavily illustrated early chapter books, an optimistic first grader navigates tricky social situations with unintended and hilarious results.

A seasoned school presenter, Vicky talks about how she invents stories, similar to how she invented products at Google. She shares how Ava Lin was inspired by her kids and her own childhood, including a whole lot of hilarious MISTAKES. She gives the behind-the-scenes of how a book is written and illustrated, including how her process connects to students’ own writing processes at school. Finally, she shows kids how to draw Ava Lin and leads them in a group creation activity.

Vicky will autograph any books pre-ordered for the visit. Ava Lin makes for a great grade-wide gift for K-2nd graders!

Book a Visit

More Presentations

DESIGN THINKING WITH LAYLA AND THE BOTS

30-45 minutes, best for K-5th grades

Vicky talks about her journey as the author of the Layla and the Bots series, including her childhood interests and her time at Google as a product designer. She’ll discuss the invention process that Layla uses in the books and how that ties to writing books, including collaboration and iteration. She’ll share real examples from her work as a product designer and as an author-illustrator, both using the process she presents. Together, they’ll engage in a group design thinking activity that reinforces this creative problem solving approach that kids can apply in their own lives.

STORY TIME & BOOK TALK

20-25 minutes, best for pre-K-2nd grade

Author and illustrator Vicky Fang will read from the book of your choice (such as Best Buddies or Invent-a-Pet). She’ll include a brief book talk about the inspiration and process behind the book, engage in a group activity (such as a drawing demo or character creation exercise), and answer participants’ questions. This option is great for younger audiences or for shorter assemblies!

WRITING WORKSHOP

60-75 minutes

In a hands-on writing workshop, Vicky will read from her author-illustrated books and discuss story basics, such as character, motivation, obstacles and arc. She’ll talk about writing approaches, with hands-on exercises. Students will have a chance to develop their own character into the beginning of a story. Participants will be encouraged to work in prose, comic panels, or a combination of both to tell their story. Vicky will engage with students throughout the process by providing feedback while they create.

Video & Testimonials

“Over 120 kindergarten and first grade students (and their teachers!) were completely captivated by our recent visit with author Vicky Fang. Not only did Vicky give young children the sense that ‘regular people’ can grow up to become authors, but she also left them excited about her books. CEE ended the school year with the school library being totally checked out of all of Vicky’s titles – a testament to how much children were inspired by her visit to be reading!”
– Natalie Adams, Head of Lower Elementary at The Center for Early Education

“Vicky provided a wonderful program for our library that brought in elements of literacy, creativity, design, and science. Her presentation and hands-on activity kept a Zoom of 50 kids engaged and excited for the entire hour. Kids loved the opportunity to meet an author and make their own project.”
– Renee Ting, Librarian at the Mountain View Public Library

“Our classes, aged 6-12 absolutely loved reading the Layla and the Bots series. The kids really loved how Layla and her crew solved problems through fun inventions. The teachers loved seeing the kids so engrossed in reading, especially while learning about STEM topics. Vicky’s visit was a big success as our students were thrilled to actually meet a real life author, see what she was like as a kid, and learn all about how a book goes from an idea to a finished product!”
– Patrick Brooks, Windmill Montessori School

“Vicky Fang virtually visited our primary elementary school in New Jersey in February 2022. In advance of the visit, Vicky communicated promptly via email and shared background information, photos, flyers and attended a Zoom rehearsal to help work out any technical issues. On the day of the event, Vicky was well prepared and organized to meet our students. She presented with kindness and built a rapport with our young students. Vicky engaged children in a Design Thinking Activity with successful results, despite the virtual platform. I wholly recommend Vicky Fang for any visit to your school or library community.”
– Christina Cucci, School Library Media Specialist, Reynolds School