VOting Rights, WOmen’s rights & Censorship
k-12 author visits
Votes for all!
America’s democratic journey
Author Jasmine A. Stirling will talk about her journey as a writer, then lead students in a high energy election to decide which song will be played during the author visit dance party. But there’s a catch: only the kids wearing a particular color that day get to vote. Is this fair?
This will lead to a discussion about questions like: What is democracy? What is the US Constitution? What does it feel like when someone else can vote, but you can not? How can those who are excluded make change?
Jasmine will read an excerpt from her book, Dare to Question: Carrie Chapman Catt’s Voice for the Vote, and discuss the superpowers of activists who have shaped voting rights in US history: Thomas Jefferson, Frederick Douglass, Carrie Chapman Catt, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Now, the excluded students will pair share to choose a superpower to advocate for themselves. Then, all the students will have the right to participate in the election. Once the winning song is selected, the dance party will begin!
An author Q&A (for grades 3+) a book signing will follow.
The Right to Read:
Book Banning and Censorship
Author Jasmine A. Stirling will give a mini lesson on the 1st Amendment, then talk about book banning and censorship happening today. Are there times when a book should be banned or changed? Who should decide what books are available to read? Do you think Dare to Question should be banned?
her power,
Her Voice,
Her Vote!
Author Jasmine A. Stirling will engage students in an exploration of ideas about gender, and how these ideas have changed over time. Ideas about gender led to differences in what women and men were allowed to do, such as voting, owning property, getting an education, and participating in most professions.
Leaders like Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Ida B. Wells, and Carrie Chapman Catt stood up for women and changed people’s minds. Students will explore how it feels to have restrictions on their rights based on how they look.
BOLD AND BRAVE!
aDventures in activism
Author Jasmine A. Stirling will talk about how small steps by everyday people can change the world: after all, 27 million women got the right to vote after one woman wrote a letter to her son. What would you like to change in your community? How can you help? A variety of approaches to activism will be discussed, and games and activities will bring the topic to life.
Queer Through the Ages:
How Ideas about
Gender and Identity
Evolved in the West
Author Jasmine A. Stirling will talk about how definitions of queerness have changed in the past 200 years. She will also engage students in a conversation about the many queer women in United States history who led the movement for women’s rights, including Susan B. Anthony, Margaret Chung, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Frances Willard, and Carrie Chapman Catt.
This presentation is aligned with the standards listed above, but is more focused on diversity, for example:
The second-grade chapter includes the first reference to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in families, as well as families with a wide variety of structures, religions, ethnicities, and racial identities.
Let’s plan your visit
First:
Download my
Author Visit Kit
for Young Audiences>
OR
Download my
Author Visit Kit
for Adult Audiences >
Then:
Contact me Below or Email me for scheduling and honorarium info >
writing
workshopS
your words, your voice:
Write on!
Author Jasmine A. Stirling will lead students in a creative writing workshop, and discuss the difference between fiction and nonfiction. the elements of storytelling, and how to become a professional author. Students will develop their own stories and talk about their favorite books.
Here’s my article in the Children’s Book Review about
How to Teach Kids About Writer’s Voice >
Letter Writing Workshop:
Letters Through the Ages
Your Words,
Your Voice:
Write On!
Let's Write
Picture Books!
voting RIGHTS & WOmen’s rights
author visits for adultS
How Carrie Chapman Catt
Reinvented suffrage
and won the vote for women
“I’d rather see my wife dead in her coffin than voting.”
This was the sentiment of many husbands when Susan B. Anthony handed the reins of the National Woman Suffrage Association to Carrie Chapman Catt at the turn of the century. By then, the suffrage movement, advocating a women’s right to vote, had been limping along for decades. At turns scoffed at and ignored, The Cause had little credibility among either women or men.
Catt’s vision was to question the movement’s identity, transforming it from dour and stern to creative, exciting, inclusive, and fun. Along with her partner, Mollie Hay, Catt grew The Cause from a few thousand to more than two million members, in the process leading everyday women to question what they could do and become. Discussion and signing of Dare to Question: Carrie Chapman Catt’s Voice for the Vote (2023, Union Square Kids) to follow.
From romantic friendships
to boston marriages:
Queer power couples
and women’s rights
If you are a person who values a woman’s right to vote, open a checking account, and buy property, you have a long list of queer power couples to thank.
Susan B. Anthony and Emily Gross, Carrie Chapman Catt and Mary “Mollie” Garrett Hay, Lucy Anthony and Anna Howard Shaw, Lucy Diggs Slowe and Mary Burrill, Frances Willard and Anna Adams Gordon, Jane Addams and Mary Rozet Smith are just some of the couples who fought for the rights all American women enjoy today.
From romantic friendships to Boston marriages, join me for a discussion of queerness and cultural norms in 19th and 20th century America. Talk to be followed by a signing event for Dare to Question: Carrie Chapman Catt’s Voice for the Vote (2023, Union Square Kids).
One Letter,
27 million votes:
how the 19th amendment was won
August, 1920. Nashville, TN. The battle for the ratification of the 19th Amendment has reached an impasse. It all comes down to Tennessee.
Carrie Chapman Catt awaits the news in her hotel room at the Hermitage Hotel. The suffs do not have the votes to win, and she knows it.
Join me for a lively discussion of the last-minute letter that changed the vote of young lawmaker Harry T. Burn from a “nay” to an “aye,” thereby enfranchising 27 million women, the largest enfranchisement in human history.
Who sent the letter, and why was it so effective?
Talk to be followed by a signing event for Dare to Question: Carrie Chapman Catt’s Voice for the Vote (2023, Union Square Kids).
Women, money, and jane austen
author talk
podcast interview
the children’s book review
jane austen
author visits
for adults
jane austen, creativity,
and persistence
Author Jasmine A. Stirling will speak about what Jane Austen’s life teaches us about creativity and persistence, with a special emphasis on how the myth of the creative genius vs. the reality. As Austen’s life shows, creativity requires a supportive community, a rootedness in place, time, financial stability, a willingness to improve, discipline, and consistency—often over decades—in order to mature. A reading from her upcoming picture book biography of Jane Austen, A Most Clever Girl, and Q&A will follow.
Pride & Prosperity:
women, money
and jane austen
Author Jasmine A. Stirling will speak about Jane Austen’s legacy, with a special emphasis on how the rights of women—in particular the ability to create financial independence—have evolved since the Regency period. We’ll discuss how women’s limited economic freedoms impacted Jane Austen, leaving her dependent on the charity of her male relatives after her father died, and the devastating impact that had on her writing. We’ll also touch on Austen’s frank treatment of money in her novels—a hallmark of her writing—and what that tells us about Austen as a person and an artist. A reading from her upcoming picture book biography of Jane Austen, A Most Clever Girl, and Q&A will follow.
Jane austen:
the heroine’s journey
Join author Jasmine A. Stirling for a discussion of how Jane Austen’s life story reflects the archetypal heroine’s journey. She’ll discuss the phases that Austen went through on her path to greatness: innocence, mentoring, loss of innocence, wisdom, and mastery—and how these phases mirror those in ancient stories such as the myth of Cupid and Psyche. A reading from Jasmine’s upcoming picture book biography of Jane Austen, A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice, and Q&A will follow.
For young people
Imagination Unleashed:
Keep Creating, Keep Going!
Author Jasmine A. Stirling will engage students in an exploration of how someone becomes a great artist, filmmaker, musician, painter, or video game designer. We’ll discuss how persistence and constant improvement help someone master any new skill, even (and especially) a creative one. We’ll discuss creativity in the context of Jane Austen’s life and journey to find her voice, followed by excerpts from A Most Clever Girl and Q&A.
Jane Austen:
Literary Rebel!
Author Jasmine A. Stirling will engage students in playacting, book reading and games. What was life in Regency England like for women? What has changed? What has not changed? What would you like to see change for women in the future? We’ll talk about how Jane Austen challenged ideas about women in her books, followed by excerpts from A Most Clever Girl and Q&A.
From Ballroom to Boba:
a brief history of tea
(Great for tea parties)
Let’s talk about tea through the ages, whether served to nobility in ancient China, at Japanese tea ceremonies, during Regency balls, to Pooh Bear with his elevenses, or to you, at your local boba shop. How was tea tied to colonialism? What’s your favorite tea drink today? We’ll discuss tea in the context of Jane Austen’s time, followed by excerpts from A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice and Q&A.
Photo by Allison at Some the Wiser