Over the past few years, I have visited schools in many parts of the world and given presentations to students from the age of two(!) to teenage. While Patrick is always a special favourite with all the students, I am pleased to add that my visits are always enthusiastically received by the staff of the various schools. The fact that I have been invited back to many of the schools I hope speaks for itself, but I thought a few of the kind words of praise that have come my way would also be useful for anyone who doesn’t know me and would like to contact me. I put a post up on this a while ago but the comments will now have their own space on the website menu where I can add to then from time to time.
So here are few from staff in some Bangkok schools:
“I’ve never heard my children laugh so much. Having Gail come to our school was a real treat. The session was interactive and the children completely engaged – thank you.”
“The children loved the story and found ‘Mischief at the Waterhole’ hilarious! Thank you from Year 1.”
“The children were completely transfixed and came away bubbling about the different characters and the puppets. They were so excited to buy the book afterwards. Such a treat! Year 2.”
“…the puppets and the different voices were particularly engaging and made the children laugh. Fantastic and a lot of fun.”
“… it is so important for children to see what it takes to write and illustrate a book and they loved the true story of the rescue of Ndotto the orphan baby elephant. Hopefully some of them will be inspired to write books in the future!”
“…I really liked that you discussed the ‘ingredients’ of a story with the children. They loved your presentation, illustrations and puppets. Thank you.”
“Such a special treat! Many of the children remembered you from previous visits. Very engaging for both students and teachers.”
“Everything was pitched at exactly the right level for the children to be able to engage with the story and be active participants. The pace kept them enthralled as did the illustrations and the puppets. Great use of questioning and excellent understanding and willingness to cater for individual needs within the group. Thank you and please come back soon!”
“I love that there are so many facts in your stories and at the back of the book. This really adds to the value of the stories and makes them a learning experience as well as fun – fabulous!”
“I’m full of admiration. You kept sixty children absolutely captivated for almost an hour. I sometimes have difficulty keeping the attention of twenty–five of them for twenty minutes! You’re amazing!”
Finally, from a teacher during Q and A time:
“Miss Gail, have you always been an author and illustrator or did you ever have another job?”
“Yes I did, I was a teacher for almost forty years.”
“HA! I just KNEW IT!” :–)