Paul Orshoski
Author

Paul Orshoski, an international children’s author and poet, is a former schoolteacher, coach and principal from Sandusky, Ohio.  He writes witty, humorous, rhyming children’s books and poems.  Paul is the author of eight children's books published by Treasure Bay, Inc. of Novato, California.  Treasure Bay is a leading publisher of educational children's books designed to enhance parent involvement in reading.  His books, part of Treasure Bay's "We Read Phonics" series, include:  "Where is My Frog?," "Bugs on the Bus," "Ant in Her Pants," "I Do Not Like Greens!," and "Robot Man." 

Forthcoming books in the "We Read Phonics" series, "Talent Night" and "Sports Dream" will be released in January, 2011.  The "We Read Phonics" books are designed to make it easy for parents to help their children improve phonics skills and read a decodable story.  Each book combines a fun story with simple games for phonics and sight words.  Treasure Bay also publishes a "We Both Read" series.  Paul has one book published in that series entitled, "My Sitter is a T-Rex!," which will also be released in January, 2011.  Paul is also the author of several poems that have appeared in poetry anthologies published by both Meadowbrook Press of Minnetonka, Minnesota and Scholastic, Inc. of New York, New York.  These include:  "My Teacher's in Detention," "Dinner with Dracula," "I've Been Burping in the Classroom," "I Hope I Don't Strike Out," and "What I Did on my Summer Vacation." 

Paul’s poems have also appeared in the following magazines:  "Boys' Quest," "Fun For Kidz," "Hopscotch For Girls," "Scholastic Action," and "The School Administrator."  Paul enjoys making kids giggle during school visits by enthusiastically performing his poems and books in small or large group settings wherever he is asked to present. 

Published Books

Where is My Frog? (We Read Phonics: Level 2)Publisher: Treasure Bay, Inc., Novato, CA  2010 Ages 4-8, 26 pages
ISBN-10: 1601153236 ISBN-13: 978-1601153234

A Pet Frog is on the loose, creating havoc wherever he hops! This story offers non-stop fun and excitement, as a boy chases the frog from one crazy mishap to the next.  We Read Phonics makes it easy for parents to help their children improve phonics skills and read a decodable story. Each book combines a fun story with simple games for phonics and sight words.  LEVEL 2 - 90-110 word count, adds short "e", short "o", and short "u"

Reviews:         5.0 out of 5 stars
Especially appropriate for inculcating a love of reading, June 19, 2010 By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)

Reviewer: Susan Borges
This is a wonderful book for beginning readers. It is a humorous story about Ben, a pet frog who is on the loose, hopping from here to there, and leaving a trail of chaos in his path. An endearing young boy follows Ben as he hops from a car to the mud to a jar and safely into bed. Luckily, all ends well for Ben the frog and young readers will be entertained by this funny story, which is simple, direct, humorous, and captivating. The large-print text is predictable, repetitive, and familiar. Humorous, brightly colored illustrations of Ben the frog and the young boy who chases him accompany each page of text, and the expressive engaging illustrations fully support the meaning of the story. There is one line of text on each page and most of the one-syllable words contain the short e, u, or o vowel sound such as tent, tub, and hop. Repeated use of a few high frequency words such as down, my, and where make this text accessible for beginning readers.

 Bugs on the Bus (We Read Phonics: Level 2)
Publisher: Treasure Bay, Inc., Novato, CA, 2010 Ages 4-8, 28 pages

ISBN-10: 1601153260   ISBN-13: 978-1601153265  

Jack is bringing a jar of bugs to school. Unfortunately, the jar breaks on the bus and all the bugs escape! The result is a very wild ride in this story filled with lots of humor and lots of flying bugs!  We Read Phonics makes it easy for parents to help their children improve phonics skills and read a decodable story. Each book combines a fun story with simple games for phonics and sight words. LEVEL 2 - 90-110 word count, adds short "e", short "o", and short "u"

Reviews:          5.0 out of 5 stars

Especially appropriate for inculcating a love of reading, June 19, 2010 By  Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)

Reviewer: Susan Borges        

This is a wonderful book for beginning readers. It is a humorous story about Jack and the experience he has when he brings a jar of bugs on the bus headed for school one morning. When the bus hits a bump, the chaos begins! Bugs fly out of the broken jar and go in every direction, causing quite a big fuss! Young readers will be captivated by the drama of the flying bugs and they will be entertained by this funny story, which is simple, direct, humorous, and engaging. The large-print text is predictable, repetitive, and familiar. Humorous, brightly colored illustrations of Jack, his classmates, and the swarming bugs accompany each page of text and the expressive detailed illustrations fully support the meaning of the story.

Ant in Her Pants (We Read Phonics: Level 3)

Publisher: Treasure Bay, Inc., Novato, CA,   2010Ages 4-10, 27 pages
ISBN-10: 1601153279 ISBN-13: 978-1601153272

What if an ant got in your pants? Would it drive you crazy? An odd little ant causes a lot of craziness in this very funny book that will leave beginning readers smiling.  We Read Phonics makes it easy for parents to help their children improve phonics skills and read a decodable story. Each book combines a fun story with simple games for phonics and sight words.  LEVEL 3 - 120-140 word count, adds long vowels "a" and "i" with silent "e"

Reviews:         5.0 out of 5 stars

Especially appropriate for inculcating a love of reading, June 19, 2010 By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)

Reviewer: Kathy Leggett

The thought of what might happen if one actually found an ant in his or her pants turns to actuality in this laugh-out-loud Level 3 "We Read Phonics" title, which will quickly draw emerging readers. The rhythm and the rhyme bring a new adventure on each page as Miss Grant jumps and runs and even rolls in the mud in her attempt to get the ant. Readers will roar with laughter when the ant tries to toast a marshmallow in her pants. This publisher is a current leader in the area of parent involvement in reading. With this series they merge a book physically perfect for early readers with a comprehensive guide for parents. The extra-large font size, expanded spacing, and one short sentence per page assist the reader while parents are guided on how to interact with their child and involve them in simple rhyming games. The activities require no extra supplies, and each encourages young readers to think about letters and sounds and how they work in words. In the early stages of reading development, placing the right books in the hands of the reader at the right time is often the key to success and growth. This combination of the right book along with an easy-to-follow parent guide to provide just the right support offers an ideal situation for the emerging reader. This series is sure to make its way into classrooms and reading programs everywhere. It is an ideal book for the developing reader who wants to read independently, but it needs additional support at the same time.

    I Do Not Like Greens! (We Read Phonics: Level 4)

Publisher: Treasure Bay, Inc., Novato, CA, 2010
Ages 4-10, 32 pages
ISBN-10: 1601153317  ISBN-13: 978-1601153319

Greens, greens, and more greens! Dad likes to cook, but he will only cook healthy food. What if you want some sweet and fatty junk food? Well, junk food is okay if you are Dad's dog. But for his little girl, Dad only serves greens and other foods that are good for her. What's a girl to do?

Robot Man (We Read Phonics: Level 4)

Publisher: Treasure Bay, Inc., Novato, CA, 2010 Ages 4-10, 32 pages
ISBN-10: 1601153309 ISBN-13: 978-1601153302   

A boy and his dad build a robot man and their life is great! The robot does all their chores. It even makes them ice cream treats. Their robot does everything for them! But then, robot man falls off the roof and everything goes wrong!

Coming Soon

Forthcoming January, 2011

 Forthcoming January, 2011

 Forthcoming February 2011

 
My Teacher’s In Detention 
(NOTE: Reprinted as My Teacher’s in Big Trouble, Scholastic, 2008) 

Publisher:Meadowbrook Press, Minnetonka, MN,  2006 Ages 6-12, 80 pages

ISBN-10: 0689052456 ISBN-13: 978-0689052453

Get ready to giggle, because here are 50 hilarious poems about messy lockers, mysterious bus drivers, teachers in detention, silly principals, and other wacky tales about school. These side-splitting poems have been tested and approved by more than 1,000 elementary students, and Stephen Carpenter’s amusing illustrations will have you in stitches as you turn each page. This book will have kids and teachers hooting and hollering so much, they just might get sent to detention!

Reviews:         5.0 out of 5 stars

Students love these poems! November 30, 2009 By T. Judd

My third grade students love all of Bruce Lansky's poem books. The books are invaluable because not only do they expose the children to poetry, but the students find them so funny that they want to read them over and over. The humor is often cheesy and lowbrow however the kids can relate to the topics.

Dinner with Dracula
(NOTE: Reprinted by Scholastic, 2009) Publisher: Meadowbrook Press, Minnetonka, MN 2006 Ages 6-12, 32 pages

ISBN-10: 0689052316 ISBN-13: 978-0689052316

"Dinner with Dracula," is a hilarious collection of scary, spooky, spine-tingling poems about werewolves, vampires, headless horsemen and other creepy creatures that will tickle kids' funny bones. That's right — a scary, but funny (or funny, but scary) poetry book that will start selling at Halloween and keep selling throughout the year because the content is about scary stuff rather than Halloween stuff.

 
I’ve Been Burping in the Classroom
Publisher: Meadowbrook Press, Minnetonka, MN  2007 Ages  6-12, 32 pages

ISBN-10: 1416929460 ISBN-13: 978-1416929468 

This collection of silly songs about school will entertain and charm children and have them laughing their way through every page. This book is sure to fill any musical occasion with giggles because the sidesplitting songs are about icky school lunches, the prettiest girl in school, and messy lockers. Children will love singing these silly new lyrics to familiar tunes like "I've Been Working on the Railroad," "Deck the Halls," and "America the Beautiful."

Reviews:         4.0 out of 5 stars

Students Loved it! May 16, 2010
By H. Bacchus
My students loved the book! They thought it was very funny. We even turned some of the poems into classroom theater skits. Great to use during a poetry unit!

Children's Literature Review: Are your students a little bored and uninterested in their regular school routine? I've Been Burping in the Classroom and other Silly Sing-Along Songs is sure to get them moving and grooving. This collection of nineteen songs are set to the tunes of old favorites like "Deck the Halls", "Do your Ears Hang Low," "America My Country 'Tis of Thee," "I've Been Working on the Railroad," "Miss Suzy," and "I'm a Little Teapot," just to name a few. Children will giggle their way through songs about loathsome lockers, labyrinth lunches, and lovely leaders using songs written by the author and several others. Children can create skits and learn to recite poetry by reading or singing these silly songs. This book is a great teacher resource for any school-age program to incorporate multiple learning levels for all students.

         
I Hope I Don’t Strike Out
Publisher: Meadowbrook Press, Minnetonka, MN  2008Ages 6-12, 32 pages

ISBN-10: 1416951989 ISBN-13: 978-1416951988

“I Hope I Don't Strike Out” is the first major anthology of funny poems about sports. Kids will love poems about how to trick batters into taking their eyes off the ball, what to expect on your first day of karate school, what not to pack for a ski trip, and how to score the winning goal in a peewee soccer game. In all, these are twenty-two of the funniest sports poems ever published, and they're sure to have both bench-warmers and starters laughing.

Awards: 

iParenting Media Awards – Excellent Product Winner: Poetry (2008)

USABookNews.com – FINALIST: Poetry: Anthologies (2008)

Teachers’ Choice Awards (TCA) – For the Family: Children’s Books (2009)

Learning Magazine Teachers’ Choice Awards for the Family: Children’s Books (2009)

Young Voices Foundation Awards – GOLD AWARDS: Poetry (2009)

What I Did on My Summer Vacation
Publisher: Meadowbrook Press, Minnetonka, MN 2009 Ages 6-12, 80 pages

ISBN-10: 1416970479 ISBN-13: 978-1416970477

Summer Days are here again! Here are over forty sidesplitting poems about summer vacation covering everything from the last day of school to family road trips. Have fun while camping swimming, visiting amusement parks and days at the beach without leaving your home! And like all good things it comes to an end at the first day of the new school year.

Reviews:         5.0 out of 5 stars

February 23, 2010 By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)

An anthology of kids' poetry from Giggle Poetry books, "What I Did on My Summer Vacation: Kids' Favorite Funny Summer Vacation Poems" is full of hilarious verse especially created for children about summer vacation experiences. There are so many funny lines and telling details, complemented by the black and white cartoon illustrations of outrageous examples of summer fun.

Awards:          Beach Book Festival Awards – HONORABLE MENTION: Children’s Books (2009)

School Presentations

Paul enjoys enthusiastically performing his hilarious poems in small or large group settings.  Each 45-60 minute session includes a PowerPoint Presentation where Paul recites and discusses his poems and books with students and teachers.  He enjoys sharing with others the stories behind his poems and books, as well as where the ideas for each one came from.

Each presentation is geared toward the age and interests of the school or classrooms he visits.  Each program is age-appropriate, with simpler poems for younger audiences and more emphasis on the writing process for older students.

Many of the presentations are tailored to include an interactive poetry writing session where students help Paul write a new poem.  Students will experience the creative process in action, be guided through the early stages of idea development, and will pick a topic of interest to write about.  Paul will then rely on his “class of experts” to help him brainstorm ideas, generate rhymes, and begin a new poem.  As a result, students will experience firsthand just how much fun language can be with jokes, puns and wacky wordplay.  Each presentation concludes with a question-and-answer period, giving students a chance to ask questions of the author and to share their thoughts.

Cost For A School Visit:

Paul’s fee to speak at a school is based on several factors:  the number of programs to be presented, length of stay at the event, and location of the event (for travel and other expenses).  Paul’s experience has been that he can accommodate most budgets, and that he can customize his presentation to match your needs.  Contact Paul with details of your event for a specific estimate.

Testimonials:

“Your easy-going manner with the kids was great, most enjoyable.  You definitely have a gift to be shared.”– LouAnn Cebull, Teacher, Hancock Elementary School, Sandusky, OH

 “I really enjoy your work.  I am so lucky to have a great connection to a great author!”– Kathy Luc, Paraprofessional, League Elementary School, Norwalk, OH

 “The students really enjoyed hearing how you became an author.  You did a very good job!!  Thanks so much.”– Wilma Roth, Title I Coordinator, Seneca East Schools, Attica, OH

“Thanks for spending the day at our Young Author’s Day Conference.  Your poetry sessions were fabulous and it was obvious that the children thoroughly enjoyed your presence.”– David Zitner, Principal, Monroeville Elementary School, Monroeville, OH

“Mr. Orshoski gave a fun, informative and entertaining presentation.  He was able to keep the attention of our first graders and did a great job answering their questions.  I would recommend your work and presentation to anyone interested.”– Janet Basilone Welsh, Teacher, Furry Elementary School, Sandusky, OH

“As I went about my work, I could consistently hear the children giggle, laugh and interact with Mr. Orshoski.  I was surprised that he was able to engage the kindergarten classes.”– Kathy Thompson, Library Aide, Furry Elementary School, Sandusky, OH

“Thank you so much for coming into our classroom.  I loved that you pre-prepared the poem, as it would have been near impossible to create a poem from scratch in the time allotted.  My kids were very excited and very wiggly that day.  They loved the props and your whole presentation!” – Paula Dwyre, Teacher, Madison Elementary School, Sandusky, OH

Contact

Paul Orshoski
Children's Author & Poet
601 Marshall Avenue
Sandusky, Ohio 44870

Phone: (419) 621-7516

E-mail: porshoski@bex.net

Website: http://web.me.com/paulorshoski