The blog of author Matthew J. Kirby

For Teachers

For an in-depth discussion guide connecting my first three novels (The Clockwork Three, Icefall, and The Lost Kingdom) to Common Core, click here.

For information about the images that inspired Icefall, click here.

For information about the musical inspiration behind Icefall, click here.

16 responses to “For Teachers”

  1. I am a librarian at an elementary school. A quiet, polite little fellow came up to me one day and asked if we had any science fiction-fantasy type books for kids. I gave him your book, Quantum League for a Book Talk event for our Scholastic Book Fair. He came back a couple of weeks later and told me it was his most favorite book ever that he has ever read. Thanks a ton.

    Reply

  3. Hi! My fourth grade students and I just finished reading The Lost Kingdom as a novel study, and the students were wondering if it was possible to write letters to you? They have several questions that they were wondering about, and I thought it might be a great opportunity for them to express in words their love of the book. If you could email me back and let me know if it’s possible, that would be great!

    Janet Thomson
    Guthrie Public Schools
    Guthrie, Oklahoma

    Reply

  4. “When we got married I knew what I was getting myself into. It was amazing that he can see in this dark and misty place. Can you not see that the whole thing is brought about through the craft of the devil.

    Reply

  5. Hi, I’m an ESL teacher in Quebec, Canada and my students couldn’t get enough of Quantum League and a year later, they keep asking me when book 2 will come out. Do you have any idea when we’ll have the chance to put our hands on that sequel?

    Reply

  6. Hi, All,

    I’m Patti Lynch, an English/Language Arts (ELA) teacher from Whitefish Bay Middle School (a suburb in the north shore are of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

    We (my fellow ELA colleagues) added “Icefall” to our curriculum this year. “Icefall” is part of our Literature Discussion Group (LDG) unit; the students choose from one of six other titles.

    A major portion of this unit is the “author study essay”, where the students write about the author of their LDG novel. The essay assignment consists of a biography and the motivation/inspiration/idea behind the writing of “Icefall”.

    Since our research began, the students are having a difficult time finding any in depth personal/professional information about Mr. Kirby. While this and other websites have been somewhat helpful, the students are looking for more.

    We would love suggestions on other sources where the students could find out more information, i.e. personal life (education in addition to college, date and place of birth, family, etc.), professional life (occupation, literary career), etc.

    Thank you in advance for your help,
    Patti Lynch, ELA teacher, Gr. 7
    Whitefish Bay Middle School,
    Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin

    Reply

  8. Dear Matthew Kirby,
    As a summer writing camp instructor at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, I am looking for guest authors to fill some presentation spots in our teen writing camps this year. Each camp can accommodate about 30 participants, but we could have anywhere from 10-30 depending on enrollment. The camps are geared toward teens entering grades 7-9 (12-14 years old). These teens are creative, active, love to write, and are excited to learn how to improve their craft from published authors. We are mainly interested in authors of teen fiction/fantasy or similar genres that would interest youth, which is why we would love to have you as one of our authors this year.

    Below are the dates, times, and topics available. Guest authors will be compensated for their time (about $60-70).

    Writing Camp: Writer’s Society
    June 5, 2018 11:00-12:30
    June 6, 2018 11:00-12:30
    June 7, 2018 11:00-12:30

    Writing Camp: Reel in Creativity
    June 12, 2018 11:00-12:30
    June 13, 2018 11:00-12:30
    June 14, 2018 11:00-12:30

    Writing Camp: Twisted Tales and Evil Villains
    June 19, 2017 11:00-12:30
    June 20, 2017 11:00-12:30
    June 21, 2017 11:00-12:30

    If you are interested in any of these spots, please let me know as soon as possible. I can email you directly with further information if needed.

    Thank you so much for your help!

    Amanda Fawcett
    BYU Writing Camps

    Reply

  12. Hello Matthew,

    I was reading your book, The Clockwork Three, as a read aloud before our school was closed due to the virus. We are now doing online teaching, and I would love to finish the book. Could you give me permission to do so?
    Thank you!
    Jennifer

    Reply

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