Archives: Reviews

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

Mark Holtzen made his books come to life for my class! He brought in original programs and news articles. They loved that he pointed out specific pictures in the story and how they represented the time period – cushions that rented for 15 cents, the peanut and popcorn bags, the hidden radios, the original baseball cards and how they were included … Read more

Mark caught and held everyone’s attention as he spoke about the difficulty of getting started, shared his own worries about the possibility of a disappointing result, and addressed students’ fears about taking the next step in the creative process. In sharing with the class, he brought them into his writing world and encouraged them to … Read more

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 … Read more