We loved the presentation and it was particularly great to hear about your challenges and massive edits/rewrites. Helps us keep faith 🙂 My students provided the following feedback: “Great strategies for editing and revising work. We liked hearing about your struggles like when you are down on yourself or think you are a bad writer – it tells us that it happens to all writers, even the best of them, and we should keep going. We like the examples you used from your own life to inspire stories. We really liked the strategy you showed us to narrow down possible story ideas and focus on a plot. You inspired me to keep writing, even when it seems tough. I won’t be so afraid of a little editing next time I write.

Mark’s book, A Ticket to the Pennant, is a great story about perseverance, responsibility and community. The book has a unique way of also sharing a slice of Seattle’s history at the same time. A teacher by trade, Mark fielded questions with ease, and kept kids engaged. My kids did a lot of work crafting stories this school year, and it was wonderful that Mark shared his personal experiences as a published author and insights about the writing process. At the end if the session, Mark led the kids through a story starter… all of the kids began bubbling over with ideas. It was great.

Thank you Mark! I can’t wait to read what you come up with next!

After years of having my Advanced Ecology students undertake research projects, I’d been searching for new ways for my students to communicate their findings. Though I have used a variety of formats, Mark introduced my class the concept of presenting their work as an illustrated children’s book. This technique required my students to take complex ecological concepts, distill them down, and communicate them clearly to a broad audience. With helpful examples and valuable insights from his own experience, Mark offered expert guidance that was really well received by my students. Their completed projects exceeded my expectations!