“I am always thrilled to see the poems that the children create under her tutelage.”—Karen Hoge, fourth-grade teacher
LAURA SHOVAN’s debut middle-grade novel, The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, was a NCTE Notable Verse Novel, a Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Book of the Year, and won a Cybils Award for poetry, as well a Nerdy Book Club award. Her son’s experiences as a member of a travel wrestling team were the inspiration for Takedown, which is on the Amelia Bloomer/Rise List of Recommended Feminist Literature for Birth through 18, the Bank Street Books of the Year list, and is a Junior Library Guild Selection, Gold Standard. Her Sydney Taylor Notable book, A Place at the Table written with author/activist Saadia Faruqi, was selected for New York Public Library’s Reading America: 250 Years, 250 Books. Laura’s most recent book is an award-winning collection of poems for kids, Welcome to Monsterville.
A veteran poet-in-the-schools in her home state of Maryland, Laura has taught for Boyds Mills, SCBWI, Whale Rock Writing Workshops, Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers, and Vermont College of Fine Arts. She currently mentors teen writers in the Navigating the Margins author program.
Bookshelf
About the Visit
As a former classroom teacher and a longtime poet-in-the-schools, Laura excels at working with young readers and writers. Here a few of her offerings, and she can also craft customized presentations for different audiences:
- K-12 Assembly Presentations on “Characters and Conflict” with The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary or Takedown as the mentor text
- Classroom Writing Workshops on “Persona Poems”
- Social Emotional Learning Workshops with Welcome to Monsterville
- Poetry Lessons and Residencies: Introduction to Poetry, Poetic Form, Literary Devices, Wordplay/Zany Poems, Generating Ideas
- Food poem workshop with A Place at the Table
- Bullet Journal for Writers Workshop for Adults
Laura’s presentations also model for educators how to run a poetry workshop.
Testimonials
“For more than a decade, I have had the pleasure of working with and learning from Laura Shovan as our poet in residence. Her love of poetry shines through every lesson. She is truly a master and introduces the students to such a wonderful variety of poems. Each time I work with her, my love of poetry deepens.”—Karen Hoge, fourth-grade teacher, Howard County Public Schools, Maryland