When I go to schools, I talk to kids about writing—mine and theirs. I want them to look at me and say, "I can do what he does." One fourth grader took my message literally. He went home and wrote a new ending to my book Playoff Dreams—he said mine wasn't happy enough!

I have visited more than 200 schools and find that the visits are never dull. Schools in the greater Washington, DC, metro area are the easiest for me to visit. I live in Silver Spring, Maryland, just outside the city.

Presentation Description:

I begin by showing my original notebook—the one with all the scribblings for my first book, T.J.'s Secret Pitch. I want the children to see that I start my stories the same way that they start theirs: with pen and paper and imagination. Nothing else. I want kids to see that they can do what I do.

I also tell them that I put a lot of details in my writing so that my readers can "see" my stories. I show them what I mean by reading from one of my original outlines—some plain statement like, "Jamie looks for his lost glove." Then I read the corresponding passage from The Golden Glove—the passage about Jamie alone in the late evening darkness groping the damp grass for his favorite glove.

I try to get the children to think about putting more details into their own writing (and thinking). At one school visit, I asked the children to describe a recent blizzard. The children started off very broadly. One child said: "It snowed a lot." But I said: "I need more detail. I'm not getting a picture in my mind." Then another child said: "There was so much snow it covered the tops of the cars!" Another called out: "The whole world looked white." And I said: "Wow, now I'm getting a picture!" And we were on a roll.

My presentations are always very lively and interactive.