Lucky us!! We had a fabulous day with Dan at our Kids Bookfest 2004. Families of all ages enjoyed his reading/slide/song presentation. It was visually stimulating and perfectly paced with enough variety to please everyone in the audience. Dan’s calm and casual demeanor engaged and entranced both kids and adults.

The afternoon drawing demonstration with audience participation was tremendous fun, for participants and observers alike. Dan’s interaction with children as they worked together to create pictures put them at ease while simultaneously sparking their creativity. Those not actively involved in the process had great fun watching the illustrations evolve and listening to the conversations between Dan and the young artists.

Dan was terrific to work with. As the organizer of this event I deeply appreciate his unique combination of good humor, organizational skills, flexibility and his generous spirit. I hope to have the opportunity to work with him again in the future.

Our elementary school was privileged to have a visit from Daniel Kirk several years ago. Definitely one of our best author visits and an unforgettable experience for the children! He is warm, likable, and truly connects with the children. The students were in awe of his ability as author, illustrator and musician and are still talking about Daniel Kirk. Of course, his books continue to fly off the library shelf...

Daniel's visit was the highlight of our school year.  Two years later the kids are still checking out all the autographed books from the library and talking about when "they" met a real author and illustrator! Daniel sang songs, played guitar and the children fell in love with him and his work. Teachers use the CD's with his music in their classrooms all year.   It was an event that is etched in the memories of our children and teachers.

We love Dan's books and were eagerly awaiting meeting the man behind them. We were not disappointed. The children and teachers had a wonderful time listening to Dan. He has a great rapport with students and an easy manner they can relate to. His presentation is lively, interesting and full of his humor. We look forward to his visit every year at our school.

TESTIMONIALS: PRESENTATIONS FOR ADULTS ABOUT PICTURE BOOKS

I just want to tell you that I thought last night's meeting was great. Dan Kirk was bright, articulate, entertaining, thoughtful, helpful, and filled with wonderful stories. I was happy to see as large a turnout as we had. The people who missed this missed one of the best meetings that I've ever attended. Keep up the good work.

Daniel Kirk was funny, entertaining and enlightening; warm and personable. He "shed" light on his struggles with children's book editors, art directors and the like, and yet he goes "doggedly" along, until his book is a "howling" success with the "top dogs!" Stan Cohen and I are still talking about it and based on what we learned at this meeting, we were inspired to begin developing a new children's story. Daniel, you have a golden soul and it shines through your work. May it touch more and more lives along the way! Dogs May Rule, but You Are Cool!

3d grader Meg says, "I like it when he sings about the stories he writes!  It makes me feel like I want to run around!  I also liked when he showed his sketches; like before he made the books he had to make them perfect."

Daniel Kirk was booked as a visiting author to our school, but what we got was so much more!  Yes, he shared his writing, which was funny and pointedly childlike (while offering chuckles for the grownups as well!).  He also offers the additional bonus of being an artist and songwriter.  It was interesting to hear about the journey an author/illustrator must take to give you the final polished product.  He taught all of us the benefit of using many senses to enjoy a story and that a picture can really speak 1,000 words.  If Jim Croce had ever made music for children, this would be what he had in mind!

"From his opening song, through his entertaining readings and all the way to his closing "imaginoodling", Daniel Kirk enthralled, enlightened and inspired my Kindergarten through third grade students during a recent school visit. Best of all, the next day there wasn't a single Daniel Kirk book left on the library shelves!"

"Daniel Kirk was fabulous!  His multi-faceted presentation caught and held the students' attention while also providing solid curriculum for today's ELA standards.  He was flexible and accommodating to our school's hectic schedule.  The children were thrilled to meet the creator of such unique characters as Snow Dude, Rex Tabby, and the Lunchroom Lizard.  A wonderful time was had by all!"

- Meg Tillapaugh, Johnson City Central
School District, K-5 Librarian