School Readings

My name is Todd Schleuning.  My wife, Cheryl, and I are from Louisville, KY and are co-authors of two children’s books entitled The Misphits: Story of Snake and Carma’s Tail: Diary of a Homeless Albino Pit Bull.   

We would love to do a reading for the students of your school and wanted to take just a moment to introduce ourselves and share some information about our readings.  Our simple goal is to entertain and educate your students. 

We offer our books at a discounted rate to the students and would be happy to send you a copy of each book to review.

A Little About Us

• We have three daughters, aged 13 and 15 (twins) and many, many pets.
   
• We operate a small business and received a patent in March of 2016 for our t-shirt frame.
   
• I have a Bachelor’s Degree from Bellarmine University.  Cheryl has a Master’s Degree in Special Education and has been Assistant Head of School of Friends School for nine years. 

Our Books

The Misphits: Story of Snake

Appropriate Grades (Preschool to 5^th graders) / 45 minutes per reading

Lessons:  Diversity, Empathy, Disability, Accessibility, Team Work, Overcoming Adversity and Inclusion

We start with the story and then midway through the book, there is an interactive portion where the students are encouraged to participate as they have to help the Misphits fix all of the accessibility issues at Animal Elementary.  We then read the ending of the story and take a few minutes at the end to answer questions, talk a little bit about the creative processes behind the book and challenge the students to come up with other Misphit animals of their own.
 

Carma’s Tail: Diary of a Homeless Albino Pit Bull

Appropriate Grades (Preschool to 5^th graders) / 30 minutes per reading

Lessons: 

• What to do if you see a lost or hurt animal?
• Is it safe to approach and rescue?
• Where can you take the animal?
• How to care for a rescued animal
• How else can I help?  Volunteer and Donate

Similar to the Misphits, Carma’s Tail is a mix of story and interactive sections that are designed to educate, entertain and get the kids involved.

A Couple of Reviews

 “Great visit from Todd and Cheryl Schleuning, authors of The Misphits. They shared some of their writing process, did an interactive reading of their book, and left the students with a positive message about tapping into their own creativity and appreciating all of our differences!” 

  -Dianna Crawford, Library Media Specialist, Lebanon Junction Elementary

 
“Today I received in the mail a copy of the Misphits by the authors of the book. Cheryl is a former special ed teacher and she and her husband Todd wrote this great book about inclusion and acceptance of all. Also, if anyone is looking for a perfect teacher gift for an elementary teacher, this would be a wonderful addition to their classroom library. The story is very engaging, the art work is colorful and there are many interactive pages to support learning."

  -Mary Jacob, Families Helping Families of Jefferson

 A Few Accolades

• The Story of Snake was selected for inclusion at the 33^rd annual Kentucky Book Fair 

• We have made multiple appearances at the Kentucky Reading Association conference both as authors and presenters - Session Title:  Educational Entertainment for Diverse Learning Capabilities (PreK-3).  We have also appeared at the Southern Kentucky Bookfest. 

• We have read our books for thousands of kids at elementary schools, libraries, bookstores, storytelling festivals, Barnes and Noble Booksellers, Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival and the Muhammad Ali Center 

Our charge for a reading is $350 plus travel expenses for anything more than an hour away from Louisville.  That includes a maximum of eight hours (including travel time) and up to five readings.

If you have any questions, please fill out the form below or email us at todd@misphits.com.  Thank you for your time and consideration.