Dear Educators, Librarians and Fans,

I hope this holiday season finds you safe and well. My heart goes out to you brave folks who are struggling every day to educate our children either at home or at school. You are truly my heroes.

I do continue to do school visits (once a teacher, always a teacher), and my writing workshop, Let’s Get Specific, Let’s Get Creative, works well in a virtual format. During this 45 minute lesson, I use a variety of engaging exercises to encourage students in grades 4-7 to use more specific and descriptive nouns and verbs. In the second half, we talk about the basic elements of plot, and the students write creative stories and share them. I have taught the workshop virtually to groups of students at school and to students who are at home. I can also give a short and peppy version of my author assembly that encourages kids to read, write, unplug and leave time to daydream.

Cathy Arvizu, MS librarian at the Episcopal School of Dallas, was kind enough to write this about my virtual teaching. “Polly exceeded our expectations in every way. She inspired and motivated our students, and they clearly felt engaged and interested during her program.” Wendy Dantas, fifth grade teacher at the Iolani School, said, “Polly is the closest thing to a breath of fresh air that a Zoom classroom can offer.” You can read more about my virtual workshops here.

Every year I help several junior troops to earn their Scribe Badge, and I can do it virtually. In this workshop Juniors in fun and engaging ways complete four of the five steps towards earning their Scribe Badge.

I’m also thrilled to announce that I have a two-book contract for a new middle grade fantasy series. Skyriders is the story of brave young couriers on their flying horses fighting to save their world from a deadly chimerae invasion. Watch for Skyriders from Viking Children’s Books, releasing summer of 2022.

In the meantime, I continue to receive fan email every day from young people around the world who enjoyed reading about my Neptune kids, their dolphins and their adventures beneath the waves. I am touched when young readers tell me The Neptune Project was the first book that made them love reading. Others share that the series made them care about the oceans and climate change, and that’s fantastic news.

The third and final book in my Neptune trilogy, The Neptune Promise, continues to sell well and is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Apple Books.  Books make great gifts!  If you would like me to send your Neptune fan a signed bookplate and a bookmark, please send a self-addressed/stamped envelope to:

Polly Holyoke
5820 Braemar Drive
Plano, TX 75093

I so hope you and your families stay safe during this challenging time.

Warmly,

Polly Holyoke