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CAROLE G. VOGEL is the award-winning author of 26 nonfiction books for children and young adults. Fascinated by the power of nature, she conveys her passion for unusual geological and meteorological events in SHOCK WAVES THROUGH LOS ANGELES, NATURE'S FURY: EYEWITNESS REPORTS OF NATURAL DISASTERS, her six-book series, THE RESTLESS SEA, and most of her other books.
According to the review journal Booklist, “Vogel adeptly walks the line between scientific information and the irresistible fascination with disasters...and she puts it all at child level.” THE GREAT YELLOWSTONE FIRE, co-authored with Kathryn A. Goldner, was described in Appraisal as a “model of good science writing.” The Boston Parents’ Paper deemed it “one of the 100 best children’s books of the century.”
CAROLE’S PASSION FOR WRITING ABOUT THE NATURAL WORLD IS RIVALED BY HER LOVE OF TEACHING.
Before embarking on her writing career, Carole taught for five years at the elementary and middle school levels, including one year in a tough inner city school. In her late teens and early twenties, she spent many a summer working as a camp counselor, and later volunteered as a Girl Scout leader for six years because she wanted her daughter to have the scouting experience.
Carole is also the daughter of Holocaust survivors and has spoken about growing up in the shadow of the Holocaust to many middle school, high school, college, and church groups in both the United States and Germany.
Please visit Carole's website to see the wide variety of books that she has written and the numerous awards and accolades that she has accrued.
Selected Works:
THE MAN WHO FLIES WITH BIRDS
Coauthored with Dr. Yossi Leshem
(Kar-Ben, 2009)
Named a Smithsonian Notable Book
Yossi Leshem, a world-renowned bird expert, soars with eagles—and with storks, pelicans, and other high-flying birds. Using a silent glider, motorized only for takeoff and landing, Yossi can stay aloft among bird flocks for eleven hours. By tracking the migratory patterns of the 500 million birds that pass over his nation each year, he has been able to significantly reduce the number of bird/airplane collisions.
Since early childhood Yossi has been fascinated by birds but it wasn’t until he reached his mid-thirties and learned about birds striking planes that he began his life’s work of studying and eventually flying with migratory birds. Spending so much time in the air, made Yossi acutely aware that birds have no boundaries. He wondered if a shared concern about birds could be used to connect people of different nationalities.
This unique nature book is based on Yossi’s research, and offers new insights into the science of migration, examines the impact of changing ecological and cultural conditions on birds, and tells the story of one man’s mission to protect the environment and make peace in the Mideast one bird-lover at a time.
THE RESTLESS SEA SERIES
(Scholastic Library, 2003)
In her trademark vivid style, Carole Vogel writes about the turbulent rhythm of ocean waters, the astounding power of shifting tectonic plates, and the eerie creatures that survive the dangers of their underwater world. She traces the devastating impact humans have had upon the sea and our scientific exploration of its depths.
Carole tells terrifying true stories about ships--those that survived and those that were lost--after facing the natural fury of the sea.
The six Restless Sea titles include:
1. Savage Waters
2. Shifting Shores
3. Human Impact
4. Ocean Wildlife
5. Dangerous Crossings
6. Underwater Exploration
WEATHER LEGENDS: NATIVE AMERICAN LORE AND THE SCIENCE OF WEATHER
(Millbrook Press, 2001)
Weather Legends retells the native legends of murderous serpents, immense sky warriors, and kindly spirits beings, and how these entities are linked to the amazing dramas that take place in the sky overhead. The book also gives a brief summary of how scientists understand the meteorological forces that dominate the atmosphere and create the weather we experience.
NATURE'S FURY: EYEWITNESS REPORTS OF NATURAL DISASTERS
(Scholastic, 2000)
Tornadoes, blizzards, hurricanes, wildfires—the eyewitness accounts of people who faced 13 different natural disasters and lived to tell about it. Their stories are taken from historical archives, newspapers and other published sources, and from personal interviews and correspondence. They show the courage, ingenuity, and resilience of survivors in the face of natural forces that cannot be controlled. The result is a thrilling, inspiring, and very real view of what it is like to face nature’s fury and survive.
LEGENDS OF LANDFORMS: NATIVE AMERICAN LORE AND THE GEOLOGY OF THE LAND
Exploding volcanoes, earth-rattling quakes, mammoth floods, as well as a myriad of other geological and meteorological events have shaped the landscapes of North America. Long ago native Americans attributed these events to fearsome dragons, bloodthirsty serpents, helpful giants, and other spirit beings with earth-sculpting capabilities. These interpretations were passed on in the form of legends.
This book retells some of these legends and also provides dynamic scientific explanations of earth-shaping forces. Together, the legends and science contribute to the enjoyment and appreciation of landforms more than either kind of account could on its own.
WE SHALL NOT FORGET: MEMORIES OF THE HOLOCAUST
Edited by Carole Garbuny Vogel
We Shall Not Forget is the story of the impact of the Shoah within one American Jewish Congregation—Temple Isaiah in Lexington, Massachusetts. In its pages, written by Holocaust survivors and the sons and daughters of survivors, the reader meets the individuals who endured the nightmare of nightmares and lived to tell about it.
Many of those whose experiences are recorded in this book were reluctant to tell their stories to an audience beyond their kin. Some claim to be unworthy of being considered Holocaust survivors because they left before war broke out. Readers, however, will have no doubt that they are indeed survivors: survivors of shattered childhoods, devastated communities, confiscated property, interrupted educations; survivors of families and friends who didn’t survive; survivors of brief goodbyes, and no goodbyes, and goodbyes that never go away.
Each of the forty-two stories speaks for itself. They include the destruction of the Jewish communities in Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and Greece; histories of escape from the Nazis; life as a hidden child; survival in ghettos and concentration camps; as well as histories of growing up in genocide’s aftermath.
SEE CAROLE'S WEBSITE FOR DESCRIPTIONS OF MORE OF HER BOOKS.
No travel expenses charged for programs given within a 90-minute drive of Lexington, Massachusetts
No travel expenses charged for programs given within Sussex County, and parts of Morris and Warren Counties, New Jersey.
CAROLE HAS GIVEN MANY PRESENTATIONS IN GERMANY, primarily in Berlin, and Munich.
Program Info
Program Descriptions:
WHAT DO NONFICTION WRITERS AND STUDENTS HAVE IN COMMON?
In a fifty-minute presentation geared for grades 3-9, Carole Vogel explores the common ground that nonfiction writers share with students. Using an interactive approach, she demonstrates how her stories evolve from idea to printed word utilizing the same strategies students apply in report writing. These dynamic and fun presentations reinforce the research and writing tactics students require for creating successful reports.
Ms. Vogel also addresses the PROS AND CONS OF USING THE INTERNET FOR RESEARCH.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME A WRITER?
This fifty-minute presentation for grades 3-6 explores the process of becoming a writer. Hands-on materials from actual book projects are used to demonstrate the making of a book from start to finish. The necessity of rewriting, the challenge of selecting the right photographs and illustrations, and the survival of the editing process are emphasized.
THINKING LIKE A WRITER
Designed for GRADES K-2 this 30- to 45-minute presentation shows younger students how nonfiction writers create stories from their own experiences or from real events that have happened in the world. Carole Vogel demonstrates the steps used in writing a story—prewriting (thinking), drafting (painting with words), revising (checking for a strong beginning, middle, and end), editing (making it better), and publishing (selecting the best work).
New:
THE MAN WHO FLIES WITH BIRDS
This 30- to 45-minute PowerPoint presentation introduces students and their parents to the amazing work of Yossi Leshem, the Israeli bird expert who soars with eagles—and with storks, and other high-flying birds. By tracking the migratory patterns of the 500 million birds that pass over Israel each year, Yossi has been able to significantly reduce the number of bird/airplane collisions in his nation’s airspace. The presentation is chock full of stunning photographs of Israel’s birds.
WRITING ABOUT SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE
Telling the story of someone’s life can be tricky, whether you are writing about a famous person whom you never met, or you are compiling the history of living members of your family. How do you sort truth from fiction? Is it okay to write about embarrassing or hurtful events if the person is still living? How can you keep the story interesting if the person was or is sometimes boring? In this presentation, Carole Vogel discusses the research process, writing challenges, and ethical dilemmas that writers face when their topic is another human being. This 50-minute presentation is for grades 3 through adult.
CREATING YOUR OWN WEATHER LEGENDS
Snow, sleet, thunder and rain—modern science gives us complex explanations for the weather we experience. In ancient times these tools didn’t exist. Native Americans viewed the sun, wind, and clouds as living entities with a spirit and personality of their own. How would you have explained the fury of a thunderstorm? Based on Carole Vogel’s book Weather Legends: Native American Lore and the Science of Weather, this 45-minute workshop for grades 2-9 will allow students to invent their own weather legends. The use of vivid verbs will be encouraged.
WHO NEEDS NATURAL DISASTERS?
In a 50-minute PowerPoint presentation for grades four and up, Ms. Vogel explores the vital role played by volcanoes, earthquakes, wildfires, and floods in maintaining Earth’s life-nurturing environments. As she delves into the less sinister aspects of natural disasters, Vogel shows how desolate the world would be without these cataclysms.
WRITER IN RESIDENCE
In a period of five to six weeks, Carole Vogel works with a core group of students in grades 4-8 to produce a nonfiction book from beginning to end. In teams or as individuals, students research, organize, write, edit, and publish their own books about a disaster that impacted their community, such as the 1938 New England Hurricane. This approach can be adapted to writing about scientific phenomena, historical events, biographies, family histories, sports, and how-to-books. It focuses on the research and writing skills needed for reports, term papers, and communication in the business world.
FOR ADULTS: WRITING NONFICTION
Topics include a detailed overview of the research process, determining if a topic is salable, finding and approaching experts on your subject, steps involved in the actual writing process, photo research, and how to obtain illustrations if you can't draw. Guidelines for marketing manuscripts, negotiating contracts, working with editors, and promoting books are included. Presentations: 90 minutes. Intensive workshops: Half day or full day.
FOR ADULTS: CREATING COMPELLING STORIES FROM THE HEART
In this 90-minute presentation, Carole Vogel will share her strategies for writing about the significant moments in a person’s life. The emphasis will be on describing events that elicit powerful emotions and capturing the qualities of the people who touched your life. This talk will be applicable to people writing for their own pleasure and for those with an eye toward publication.
Contact Carole Vogel directly about her Holocaust programs.
Number of presentations Carole gives in a day: Maximum of four
Group size: Individual classes or two classes combined
Program Pricing:
CAROLE VOGEL BELIEVES IN THE ROBIN HOOD APPROACH TO FEE STRUCTURING.
Her fees are variable, often reasonable, and sometimes waived for inner city schools that have never hosted an author and are within an hour’s drive of her home.
Special Features:
Carole Vogel’s programs are especially appropriate for elementary schools nationwide which use Houghton-Mifflin’s reading series “Invitations to Literacy,” because Vogel’s book THE GREAT YELLOWSTONE FIRE serves as the basis for a complete chapter in IMAGINE, the fourth grade reading book, and was reprinted in its entirety.
Middle school students, who use Prentice-Hall’s “Science Explorer” series for their science texts, will recognize Carole Vogel as the author of INSIDE EARTH the textbook that addresses plate tectonics, volcanoes, earthquakes, rocks and minerals. Vogel contributed the narrative text (as opposed to the experiments and activities).
Vogel’s programs are particularly fitting for fourth graders in Massachusetts as the Massachusetts Department of Education used Carole’s writing as an example of vivid writing for the English Language Arts Framework (the state curriculum).
Audience Levels:
Lower Elementary; Upper Elementary; Middle School; High School; Adult
Contact Info
Contact Email:
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Home City:
Lexington
Home State:
Massachusetts
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