Sheryl is currently planning on ways to make appearances fun and educational for students. She would enjoy discussing ideas with teachers for ways to bring the curriculum based items in Moon Tree Brothers, into her school visits and into readings.

Teachers may contact Sheryl at: Sheryl at SAVanVleck dot com

Ideas she is currently working on, include:

• Sheryl has a collection of replica pre-1800 clothing and accessories to bring history to life for the students. This would include having a boy and a girl try on the period clothing, which is also the clothing the Moon Tree characters wear.
• Supplying a handout booklet that students can use to write and illustrate their own stories and discussing what makes a story come to life.
• During school visits, Readers' Theater is encouraged based on the teachers Curriculum reference requested.

Following is a sampling of items featured in Moon Tree Brothers that may fit into your curriculum:

Some Sixth grade Curriculum references:

• Native American cultures: Native American Mythology in the book, as well as Native American customs.
• The Roman Empire: There is a small mention of Roman plumbing to explain the plumbing in the Moon Tree Brothers tree.
• Food for growth and energy: Moon Tree Brothers takes place in the forest and the food eaten, on a day-to-day basis, is healthy food that might be eaten in our every day world.
• Recycling: the world is based on a culture of not wasting. The main mention of this is when the student's old clothing is recycled into rag rugs.
• Citizenship and social responsibility: Reporting child abuse and caring for others
• Phases of the Moon: The Moon Trees were inspired by Astronaut Roosa, who took tree seeds around the moon. It is explained to the children that each tree has a different function based on the phase of the moon when planted.

Some Seventh Grade Curriculum references:

• Prehistoric peoples: There is mention of a timeline from Neolithic man, when the magical people joined them in crossing the land bridge to North America
• The Roman Empire: Mention of Roman plumbing
• Contemporary problems and issues: child abuse is discussed.
• Environment: This is a world that basically lives in nature and is not industrialized
• The cell: How the cells in trees function
• Effects of weather and climate: Since they live in the woods, weather is mentioned often in the story
• Properties and uses of water: Water is also mentioned as a tool for scrying
• Ecology and environment: As mentioned above, conservation and care of the environment is an important part of their life.
• Energy: Magic, in the book, is based on use of the natural energy all around us. It acts by induction upon the earth and on electromagnetic devices. This atmospheric medium contains combined electricity and a considerable quantity in a free and uncombined state. As a rule, this uncombined energy is of an opposite kind to that of earth. This very global atmospheric electrical circuit is what they are supposed to use to harness for magic.
• Mythology: Some European and some Native American Mythology is used in this book.
• Family life and personal and public safety: The Moon Tree Brothers discuss family abuse.