Creative Curriculum

Designing teacher and reader guides for children’s authors and illustrators, and their publishers.

“Working with Anna on the Discussion Guide for NOTHING BUT BLUE was a real delight and the final result exceeded my expectations! She gave my novel an extremely thorough read and formulated thought-provoking discussion questions and ideas–stuff that I, as the writer being too close to my own work never would have come up with. The design is sharp and user-friendly. Anna was accessible, professional and personable throughout the process.”

If you are looking for an experienced writer and educator to craft a Teacher/Reader Guide for your book, you’ve come to the right place. As a writer, I know that your time is best spent working on your next project, but you also want to make sure that your upcoming release is read and loved by children everywhere. A great way to do that is to provide educators, librarians, and readers with a guide that makes your book relevant to classroom curriculum and encourages your readers to think deeply about your work.

Fees & Services

What are Teacher/Reader Guides?

Teacher/Reader Guides are commissioned by an author or by the publisher. They are often posted as free downloadable PDF’s on a website for educators, librarians, and readers. The guides can be distributed as a pre-visit tool to prepare an audience for an upcoming author presentation. Home-school families, kids’ book clubs, and classroom readers can benefit from the extra information and questions in the guide. Many public school teachers and librarians are required to deliver instruction that meets the requirements established in the Common CORE, which I include at the Platinum level.

Where can I see your work?

Click through to see the following examples of my work, or please contact me annaeleanorjordan [at] gmail [dot] com and I’ll send them to you asap!

• Melanie Crowder, PARCHED Reader/Teacher Guide
• Linda Ashman, PEACE, BABY! Activity Guide
• Linda Ashman, RAIN! Activity Guide
• Holly Thompson, THE LANGUAGE INSIDE: Discussion, Writing, Activity & Service Guide
• Lisa Jahn-Clough, NOTHING BUT BLUE Guide
• A.J. Smith, EVEN MONSTERS Guide

Please note that these were completed under the name Anna J. Boll.

What can I expect if I hire you?

• We will have an initial meeting or meetings (via phone, email, or Skype/Google Video chat) to discuss the book, and determine your needs and expectations for the project.
• I will send you a letter of agreement with a description of the agreed services, the deadline, and an estimate.
• You send me a copy of the book or ARC and any other author provided text. (Ex: existing research you want in the guide, book cover image, and/or author interview responses)
• I will do multiple readings of your book and complete a draft of the guide.
• I will send you the draft for comments.
• I will complete the guide, format it to your needs (Word, Pages, PDF) and deliver the final product.

Are you qualified to do this work?

By hiring me to craft a teacher/discussion guide, you get to focus on what is most important – your writing. I want you to be happy with the guide you receive, and I bring my experience as a writer and educator to every document I produce. I am a veteran educator with over 15 years of elementary, middle school, and adult classroom experience. I hold a Masters of Science in Education with a concentration in “Teaching and Learning” from the University of Southern Maine as well as a Masters of Fine Arts from the Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adult program. I have been an active SCBWI volunteer for the last ten years – most recently as the Regional Advisor for Northern New England. Please visit my LinkedIn site to read recommendations from satisfied collaborators and clients.

Anna [Jordan] did an excellent job with the teacher’s and reader’s guide for The Language Inside, and the collaborative process was smooth and professional, from initial Skype brainstorming sessions to making the final design touches. Anna created an insightful guide that is uniquely suited to my novel and will be a tremendous resource for teachers, librarians, book groups and individual readers. I highly recommend Anna’s services.
—Holly Thompson, THE LANGUAGE INSIDE (Delacorte Press)

How much would this cost?

Please review my list of fees and services. (Downloadable PDF ) If you don’t see what you’re looking for, or if you have a different model in mind, please tell me. I’m happy to create a document that meets your needs.