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Welcome!

Read a delightful review, and an interview with Laurence Pringle at the Picture Book Buzz blog of Maria Marshall    https://www.mariacmarshall.com

Momma skunk and her kits, early in my 120th book, The Secret Life of the Skunk
Schools often have wonderful displays, preparing the kids for visiting author day!

"TAZ in Big Trouble" is one of several nonfiction minutes I wrote (and narrated).  Viewable any day, and free for use by teachers. Go to www.nonfictionminute.org.

A "devil" looking kinda cute!


If you asked me--in elementary school, high school, or even after college--"Will you ever write a book?"--my answer would have been a loud "NO!"

When I was a kid, growing up in farm country, I had two strong interests: reading, and having adventures in nature. I loved to explore outdoors, roaming woods and fields, investigating ponds. I never dreamed that a person could have a career that called for lots of reading, and learning about wild animals. I've been lucky, working hard but also having fun, creating a career writing children's nonfiction books. In 2022 my 123rd and 124th books were published.


Each book has helped me learn a lot about research and writing. That's why I love visiting schools. As a visiting author my motto is: "celebrating nature, inspiring good writing." Both my school programs and my many animal and nature books cover a wide range of grades. My excitement about nature, science, biography, and history--and the writing process--shines through in a variety of school programs.

As a reader, I've always been curious about the lives of writers. How do they work? Why did they choose to write about a certain subject? On this website you can learn "the story behind" many of my books. Click on a book title and discover where ideas come from, my personal adventures, research, and working with artists and science experts. author visits elementary schools

Funny things can happen when a writer works, and visits schools. Some of them are scattered through different parts of my website. Watch for A FUNNY THING HAPPENED...

Here's one: A FUNNY THING HAPPENED:
Long ago, my 6th book was published: Cockroaches: Here, There, and Everywhere. For most people, cockroaches are repulsive, disgusting creatures, but also highly successful and--to me and others--fascinating insects. I gave a copy of this book to a young mother, and she read it to her 5-year-old son. She told me that, at the book's end, her son excitedly asked, "Can we get a cockroach?!"
school visits by author
____________________________________________________________author in elementary schools

I hope you enjoy exploring here, and have fun learning about my books, school visits, writing life, and more!

TRY SOME NONFICTION MINUTES!
Type "nonfiction minute" into Google, and you will land on a site that is loved by growing numbers of teachers, librarians, and students. A group of more than 30 authors of nonfiction books for children have written "minutes" (more like 2 minutes plus) about a diversity of fascinating topics. Many fit very nicely with seasonal events or school curricula. Each selection (170 for the school year) is accompanied by an audio of the author reading the text of about 400 words. Most also include photos or brief videos that enrich the experience. The Nonfiction Minute is a kid-friendly way to expose students to nonfiction text. And it is FREE.

Six of these Nonfiction Minutes are mine. The first to be posted was "Tiny Frogs Are Big News", then "Did the Hero Dog Survive?," "In Your Great Grandmother's Kitchen"--about ice and ice boxes, "Taz in Big Trouble," "Here Come the Cicadas!," "Watch a Web Master at Work," and "How Skunks Play Fair." You might enjoy these, and others!

school author visits


Please explore my website. Here you can learn about my books, school author visits, and even how to become a better writer! (Oh, and you might want to check out my BLOG, and also go to Facebook.com/laurencepringle, author)

school author visits

 
A busy writer needs help! Once an intern, now my Chief of Staff, this is Turtle. Often he allows me enough space for us to share the chair in front of my desk. My daughter Rebecca named him Turtle because he runs so fast!
 

Click on the titles to the left to read stories and details about the creation of each book