School Visit Presentation for Stand as Tall as the Trees

 Behind the Book with Laura Resau—Stand as Tall as the Trees: How an Amazonian Community Protected the Rain Forest (co-authored with Patricia Gualinga and illustrated by Vanessa Jaramillo)

About the book and the presentation:

·      This is a picture book based on a true story, ideal for grades 1-5.

·      The book is available in Spanish and English (Charlesbridge, July 18, 2023.)

·      The Powerpoint presentation lasts 30 minutes with an additional 10-15 minutes q&a. (40-45 minutes total)

·      Book-signing and chatting afterward.

·      Laura is fluent in Spanish and can present in either English or Spanish.

·      Laura will bring her Powerpoint presentation on a flash drive. Ideally, she’ll use her flash drive with your school’s laptop. As a backup, she’ll bring her own laptop (a PC with the presentation on her hard drive), along with cable adapters.

·      The school will need to provide a screen, projector, mic (if there are more than 50 students or if the room is large with ambient noise), a tall stool, and a laptop/computer (if possible.) An internet connection is not necessary. There are some short audio/video clips in the presentation, so audio speakers would be ideal, but not vital.

Presentation Description

Award-winning author Laura Resau gives a behind-the scenes peek at how she worked with her co-author, Patricia Gualinga, and illustrator, Vanessa Jaramillo, to create Stand as Tall as the Trees. In this fun and interactive presentation, Laura shows slides of her trip to an Indigenous community in the Amazon rain forest of Ecuador and shares the eye-opening experiences that inspired her to reach out to her co-author, Paty. Students learn how Paty’s Indigenous Kichwa community protected their sacred forest home from an invading oil company, winning a landmark victory. Laura shares glimpses of the writing process and Vanessa’s work with the watercolor art, then reads the story aloud as she shows the illustrations. Kids will leave the presentation feeling inspired, informed, and enthusiastic about creating books and protecting human and environmental rights.