Bec J. Smith is the writing team of science fiction and fantasy novelist, Rebecca Laffar-Smith and her two children, Kaylie and Joshua. Rebecca established Aulexic, a small press publishing house specialising in early readers for children with language and literacy acquisition difficulties, because she wanted to inspire her own son to love reading. What better way to do that then to work together to create books he would love and to share those books with other children just like him!
Rebecca, the mum in this fabulous trio, is available for author talks and workshops. Sometimes Kaylie and/or Josh will come along too! Here are some ideas of the talks and workshops Rebecca presents as Bec J. Smith:
Meet The Author Talks
Find out how the P.I. Penguin series came into being. See the process from beginning to end and talk with Rebecca (and the kids) about where the ideas came from, how the story was written, and which parts were the most fun or the most challenging.
Kids Can Make Picture Books
See how a picture book can be made as Rebecca shows children the process and then helps them brainstorm their own main character and a short, six scene story outline. Children learn the crucial parts of a story, and get to explore character development and narrative structure while going home with the outline of a story they could turn into a book of their very own.
Word Play – Series
Word Play is a series of 45-minute workshops that give children an opportunity to play with language in a fun and engaging way. Each workshop can stand alone, or be run over a series of weeks. The Word Play series currently includes: Rhyme, Alliteration, Rhythm, Onomatopoeia, Synonym, Metaphor, Simile, and Emotion. This is a continually developing series so if you have a linguistic focus you’re highlighting with your children recommend it to Rebecca who can put together a short workshop.
Turning Resistant Readers Into Book Lovers (for adults)
This 1-hr talk shows parents and teachers that even children with language and literacy difficulties can learn to love reading. It is hard, and sometimes parents don’t realise their own resistance to reading stems from an underlying literacy difficulty. This talk is often inspiring, sometimes teary, and always impassioned. There are plenty of opportunities to ask questions, and brainstorm ideas to work with specific children/families and their individual challenges.
To book any of the sessions above or contact Rebecca directly, email: bec@aulexic.com.au