St. Charles Borromeo. Tacoma, WA.

Carol enjoyed speaking to this attentive audience. After viewing, "The Making of Left-over Louie," the students asked insightful questions about the process of writing and publishing. Carol's multi-media presentation captured everyone's attention.

Harbor Heights Elementary. Gig Harbor, WA.

Carol was a guest speaker, helping to kick off a Read and Lead Assembly for Harbor Heights Elementary School. She was impressed by the children's enthusiasm for reading. The assembly was a sporting event, complete with pom-poms.

Purdy Elementary School, Gig Harbor, WA.

Speaking for an assembly at Purdy Elementary was special for two reasons. Carol's sons, Greg and Jeff, attended Purdy as did Louie, the inspiration for the fictional character of Louie Twitwhistle. The children responded with excitement to Louie's antics, especially upon hearing about the pet slug that Louie brought to school on a leash.

Grant Elementary School. Wenatchee, WA.

Sharing Left-over Louie at Grant School sparked memories. Carol's mother taught at Grant during Carol's childhood. It was here that Carol's passion for teaching was born. In fact, Carol celebrated her 11th birthday in her mom's classroom.

Whittier Elementary, Tacoma, WA.

Students at Whittier enjoyed an assembly and participated in writing workshops. Carol returned in the evening to interact with parents and enjoy the students' published work.

Ocean Shores Elementary, Ocean Shores, WA.

A highlight of this visit was the presentation of the song, "The Key is Creativity," by Ocean Shores High School students for the elementary students. Giant keys made Carol laugh; clear voices touched her heart; and the lyrics, expressed in sign language, brought tears to her eyes. "The Key is Creativity" was written by Carol and the founding campers and staff at Camp Write-Away.

Columbia Elementary School, Wenatchee, WA.

The students at Columbia School embraced Louie at a school assembly and writing workshop. Many are eager to see the book translated into Spanish.

St Patrick's Catholic School, Tacoma, WA.

Carol arrived to conduct an assembly and discovered artistic versions of Left-over Louie lining the halls. This made her feel welcomed and got things off to a great start. The children enjoyed hearing all about Louie and touching the real French WWI battle helmet.

Capital Montessori. Olympia, WA

Capital Montessori and Barnes & Noble joined forces to host Carol's visit. The children enjoyed Slime and created some new friends for him: a ballerina slug, a baseball slug, and even a hippie slug with his own van.

Central Park Elemenatry, Aberdeen, WA

Carol received a warm welcome in this part of the state. The children liked Louie and they were crazy about his pet slug, Slime. The students impressed Carol with their wonderful stories during writer's workshop.

Arlington Elementary, Arlington, WA.

After a full day of assemblies and workshops, Carol returned to speak to the parents. She enjoyed the family atmosphere and enthusiasm.

Charles Wright Academy

At Charles Wright the students tried their hand at screenwriting. Carol enjoyed the smiling faces and respectful attitudes.

Point Defiance Zoo

Carol was a guest author for Wild about Books, a fund raiser for the zoo. She enjoyed meeting many young writers at this event, while helping her friends at the zoo.

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Borders Books & Music in Seattle, Tacoma, and Federal Way hosted the first free writing workshops for kids and many young authors were inspired by Carol's story.

Barnes & Noble Bellevue, Seattle, Federal Way, Olympia and others have sponsored free writing workshops for the public. Carol Has enjoyed meeting many eager young authors in this way.