Ruth is pleased to offer a variety of programs for conferences, school assemblies, festivals, and other events. Her interests include creativity, growing ideas into stories, and the many benefits of introducing STEM subjects and makerspace activities to even the littlest learners. She enjoys sharing her enthusiasm for writing and hopes to inspire both children and adults to pursue their own creative passions.
For author visits and all other event inquiries, please use the form here.
Public Presentations, Conferences & Events
Ruth has presented at venues including the Rotunda at Mall of America, museums, libraries, international conferences, and large outdoor festivals. She’s comfortable speaking to audiences of all sizes, both in-person and virtually.
For all event inquiries, please use the form here.
Vernon Area Public Library District Educator Conference Keynote
Children’s Festival of Stories (CO)
Museum of Science & Industry (Chicago)
Chicago Public Library STEAM Saturday
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
Illinois Art Education Association (IAEA)
American Writers Museum (IL)
Air Zoo Aerospace & Science Museum (MI)
Virginia Festival of the Book
Colorado Book & Arts Festival
Sheboygan Children’s Book Festival
School Visits
Ruth LOVES working with students of all ages!
Students are surprised to hear that as a writer, Ruth searches the beach for seashells and story ideas, and plays with toys so she can write reviews about them! Ruth previously worked as a freelance writer and her articles and essays have been published in Disney’s FamilyFun, CHILD, The Writer, and in many popular anthologies.
For the past ten years she has focused exclusively on writing children’s books, with more than thirty titles in print or forthcoming. Because of her wide range of publishing experience, Ruth is uniquely qualified to discuss the many “jobs” a writer can have. Her presentations combine a real-life example of the writing (and revision) process with a discussion of creativity, problem-solving and teamwork.
Popular topics include:
STEM and Storytelling
Making Makers
Creating Picture Books
Writing in the Real World
Ruth’s “Smartypants Celebration” – Designed for Preschool/Pre-K/TK!
Programs, whether in-person or virtual, may include a hands-on activity upon request.
Mall of America Toddler Tuesday “It was a pleasure to work with Ruth Spiro for our Toddler Tuesday event in the Mall of America Rotunda and at Fourpost. She did equally well in commanding an audience in the Mall’s large event space and having intimate conversations parents in our store. Her books are very appealing, and I would be happy to work with her on any event in the future.” —Karen Walne, Fourpost, on behalf of Mall of America (MN)
World Science Festival “It has been such a pleasure working with you in preparation for Science & Storytime this past weekend. The kids and their parents were so thrilled for the opportunity to learn more about the scientific method and how to become makers. This hands-on program showed them the range of possibilities for their future. Thank you for sharing your time and expertise and inspiring the next group of scientists and authors!” —Zoë Hockenberry, World Science Festival (NY)
Children’s Festival of Stories “As a presenter Ruth captivates the audience, both kids and adults, with her energy and enthusiasm! Kids line up and wait eagerly to interact with her!” —Dea Lavoie, Second Star to the Right Books, Festival Coordinator (CO)
Picture Book Summit “Ruth presented on the topic of writing science books for young readers in a way that was not only informative but fascinating and FUN. I think all our attendees were inspired to write STEM books for the smallest readers after her presentation. She was prepared, professional, and attendant to our needs as an online conference. We highly recommend her as a terrific speaker.” —Julie Hedlund, Co-Founder of Picture Book Summit (CO)
School Visit Testimonials
“Ruth Spiro is an author whose stories truly connect with kids and act as a springboard for extended learning in the classroom. As a gifted resource teacher, I’ve used Made by Maxine with kindergarten students all the way up to 5th graders, and the results are the same, excitement, wonder, and collaborative efforts to use creativity to solve problems and redefine failure.” —Brian Schumann, Brookdale Elementary School
“Ruth Spiro did two author presentations at our elementary school, one for younger children and another for the older grades. She was engaging and very personable with the students. They loved her and her books!” —Janna Heinen, Oostburg Elementary School
“The students were thrilled to have Ruth visit our school, read Made by Maxine, and learn about life as an author! Ruth was engaging and really connected with the children. After Ruth’s visit, the students continued talking about an author being able to write and publish both fiction and nonfiction. They also loved hearing that authors can occasionally write in their pajamas! Many students connected with the book’s character Maxine. They were eager to participate in a maker challenge to design and create a chair for their stuffed animal with supplies at home. Thank you for inspiring our students to read, write, and create!” —Cindy Larson, Westbrook School
“Ruth Spiro provided both a keynote presentation and breakout session at the Ready to Learn Early Childhood Conference at Western Illinois University, Quad Cities. Her interactive presentations received enthusiastically positive feedback from the early childhood educators in attendance! Teachers received a copy of one of her amazing books in the Baby Loves Science and Made by Maxine series. They raved about how excited they were to share these books with their students. During the presentations, educators used Ruth’s materials to collaborate in learning about how to integrate literacy and STEM in the early childhood classroom. We highly recommend Ruth as a presenter at any educational conference or event for students of all ages.” —Melissa Gravert, Director of Educational Outreach at WQPT PBS
Virtual Event Testimonials
NEA BIG READ Author Storytime Event “I just want to thank you again for participating in last weekend’s virtual author visit, we really appreciate you supporting our event. All the books on our ‘Ruth Spiro’ display at the Tustin Library were checked out and we are happy to have promoted your fabulous books. Thank you for being such a great speaker and perhaps one day we can have an in-person event someday.” —Samantha Smith, Tustin Library, Orange County (CA) Library System
STEMecosystems STEM Virtual Home Lab – Making Makers “Highest level of family engagement we have had!”
“Love watching how all the kids are so ENGAGED! If we have to do remote learning—this is an awesome example of how to make it WORK! KUDOS!” —Kathy Alexander, Participating Educator
