Barry Wittenstein writes narrative nonfiction and historical fiction picture books. His book A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, received the 2020 Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children. It was named a Bank Street Best Book of the Year and nominated for an NAACP Image Award, among other honors. Barry lives with his wife in New York City. To learn more, please visit OneDogWoof.com or @BWittBooks on Twitter  or  @bwittbooks on Instagram.

Presentations

March on Washington – a PowerPoint presentation that uses video, audio, and images to recreate the story behind Dr. King’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech. The video shows parts of the speech and interviews with Dr. Clarence Jones – one of Dr. King’s advisors who confirmed the events of the impromptu nature of his presentation. Those four words “I Have a Dream” were never written down for that day, not even once. They were ‘set’ pieces preachers know by heart.

Audience:  K-8th grade (adjusted to be age appropriate for attending audience)

Oscar’s American Dream – a PowerPoint presentation that gives students a tour behind Barry’s  research and writing of the story of American immigration from 1850-present time. The barbershop in Oscar’s American Dream is modeled after a real barber shop on Broadway and 103rd Street, on a corner in Barry’s neighborhood in Manhattan, where for over 30 years, he witnessed how his neighborhood grew and changed over time.

Audience:  K-8th grade (adjusted to be age appropriate for attending audience)

The Day the River Caught Fire — an attention-getting multimedia presentation that gives students the history of the Earth Day movement.  On June 22,1969, the polluted Cuyahoga River burst into flames! Soon after, the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts were passed, and the Environmental Protection Agency was formed. During the presentation, Barry shares video clips that include: the larger 1952 fire, snippets of documentaries detailing the historical damage to the mighty Cuyahoga, the Randy Newman song, “Burn On,” Mayor Stokes speaking on the topic, and more about the first Earth Day.

Audience: K-8th grade (adjusted to be age appropriate for attending audience)

 

Design your Own Presentation- Barry loves making and using PowerPoints with audio/still images/movies/etc. If requested, he can create a new presentation focusing on any one of his books to cater to your particular school audience. Barry expands the experience of the picture book reading by adding context with personal author stories.He enjoys taking the audience on an author’s journey from the spark of an idea to the finished product.

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