UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS
We have never asked a
teacher, principal or parent for a testimonial.
We let the performance
speak for itself (Prek-Grade Eight)
"I
just received a note from our principal. She absolutely loved the
performance! Our parents were asking where in the world I found a
program like this. They could not believe it. Thank you so much. I
will contact you shortly about scheduling again for April 2012," Jen Bagliavio, Literacy Specialist, South School, New Canaan CT
"Thank you for
visiting South School. We were all mesmerized by your literary
performance. You should have seen the looks on the children's (and
parents) faces. It was amazing. Plus, I had a great time as your light
controller," Pr. Rocco, South School, New Canaan, CT
"What a creative
experience for the children. The best author visit/enrichment performance
I have ever seen," Ralph Nuzzo, Principal, Mary L. Tracy School, Orange, CT
Before: "I called
Clintonville School and the office staff said your show was, and I quote,
"A pep rally for reading!" I love that description! Please
pencil me in for next year....I am so looking forward to working with
you," Tara Jones, Reading Consultant, Webb School, Wethersfield, CT
After: "Joe, you
rock! I have never met anyone (in my
entire teaching career) who could capture the attention and imagination of the
children like you. The pre-visit was beyond anything I ever
expected. As for the actual performance - Wow! I loved it! Loved it!!
LOVED IT!!! I designed a whole showcase with pictures from the
performance. The children can't stop talking about the experience," Tara Jones, Reading Consultant,
Webb School, Wethersfield, CT
“When teachers asked the students (K-grade 5) how they enjoyed your
performance, the response was an overwhelming “AWESOME”. I especially appreciated how you emphasized
how important it is to do LOTS OF READING to develop your imagination,” Debbie Bares, Language
Arts Consultant, Botelle School, Norfolk, CT
“This is what an author visit should be about. So many author’s come in (charge a high fee)
and just show how a book is made and then read a few exerts from their
books. Joe’s performance was
interactive, creative and most importantly of all he got the children fired up
about reading. To see the grade five
student’s on the edge of their seats was something else. I especially loved the way Joe explained to
the children why reading is essential when it comes to writing. I never expected that,” Janet McMullin,
Davenport Ridge PTA, Stamford, CT – Reading Consultant, South School, New Canaan, CT
"My daughter came
home after the performance with her Huga Tuga books, she was so excited! She
asked if the blue Sea Monster could come live with us with his stories. How
could I say no to a kid who is so fired up about reading," Carolyn Leon, Parent,
Lordship School - Stratford, CT
"What a
brilliant reading event. I never expected such a creative
experience. You had the children (K-GRADE 4) on the edge of their seats
every second of the way,"
Kate Tibbitts, LMS,
Chaffee School, Newington, CT
"Joe, every teacher
and educational performer in this country wishes they had your ability to
capture the undivided attention and imagination of the children. It was
truly remarkable to watch," Peter Furness, Teacher, Chaffee School, Newington, CT
"I loved the grade 3 & 4 performance. It was absolutely
perfect," Rachel Weiss, Assistant Principal, Jeffrey School,
Madison, CT
"What a
performance! I'm so happy. I have been scheduling enrichment
programs for years. Huga Tuga Reading Rocks Live was everything I ever
hoped for but never thought I would ever find," Tracy DeCosta, PTO,
Ryerson School, Madison, CT
"The best performance
we have EVER had at our school. The children were absolutely
mesmerized! If reading is a priority at your school Huga Tuga Reading
Rocks Live should be mandatory," Alison Dougherty, LMS, Stevens School,
Cromwell, CT
“Great
job yesterday! The children were all thoroughly
engaged. They can’t wait to receive
their autographed books. Reading Rocks!” Rozanne
Gorley, Valley View School, Teacher, Portland CT
“We have a
child who simply does not like to read.
We have tried everything. After
experiencing your performance he was the first one to show up at my door with
his autographed book slip. I wouldn’t
have believed it if I had not seen it with my own eyes. Thank you so much for making a difference,”
Christine Jez, LMS, Washington School – Mohegan Lake, NY
“To “kick-off” the week our PreK-2
students met with Joe Shandrowski who is a local author who has published the
“Huga Tuga” books. Mr. Shandrowski spent
time talking to the students on how he developed his books including the
illustrations. His presentation was
outstanding and included a display, lights and even dry ice fog to set the
stage. Our students were
enthralled!" Carole Schloss, Principal - Center School,
Ellington, CT
"Your ability to capture the
attention and spark the imagination of the K-3 students through your
presentation was enjoyed by all. Their minds were racing to the moon and
back! Your presentation to grades 4-8 on overcoming challenges and
following dreams was inspiring. The feedback from the teacher's was very
positive. This was a wonderful program that sparked the creative literacy
skills for the students. I would highly recommend this to other
schools," Cindy Herr, Parent's Association, St. James School - Manchester, CT
“The students were enthralled with
your presentation. It was well planned
and paced and age appropriate. As
teachers, we were excited that you included the thinking skills of
visualization, connection, predicting, and questioning. The kids loved the dancing breaks and sound
and visual effects. Most importantly of
all you delivered the message to help create literate students,” Priscilla
Eller, Language Arts Specialist,
Hayestown School -
Danbury, CT
“We have a town wide PTO meeting
coming up. I want to make sure every
school in town gets your information. I
hve never seen our children so enthralled!” Erin
Silverman, PTO, King Street School, Danbury, CT
“I’m usually half asleep at the
end of most of these author/enrichment programs. Two thumbs up to Joe. Not only did he hold our attention he had
everyone on the edge of their seats for 45 minutes,” Matt Fox, Teacher, Valley View School,
Portland, CT
"Mr. Shandrowski was unlike any
other author that has visited our school (including authors from Scholastic,
Random House etc). Instead of merely talking about his craft
lecture-style, he had a set with lights, music, and special effects to hold the
students’ interest. He adjusted his program for all students, thus both
challenging and entertaining students from Kindergarten up to fifth
grade. The students and teachers loved his program not only for his
message to use your imagination, but also for the creativity and “magic” that
he used to entertain and engage. I highly recommend the program to every
school,” Joanna Teodosio, Teacher/Cultural Arts Director, Calf Pen School -
Milford CT
"Joe, Thank you so much for your
visit to Stratfield School. The Kindergarten and First grade classes
really enjoyed your program. It's great to be able to have someone come
in who gets the kids involved in the presentation. They really loved all
of the visuals. The teachers commented on how much they enjoyed your
telling of how your books were born,” Patti Dyer, PTA Programming, Stratfield School
- Fairfield, CT
“The children absolutely loved your
program. The teachers all had a
wonderful time and thought the program was outstanding. Joe had a wonderful way of relating to all
age groups,” PTA & Office Administration, Branchville School -
Ridgefield, CT
“Children
gathered at Yale Children’s Hospital to watch the Huga Tuga show, an
educational and theatrical program that encourages children in kindergarten
through third grade to explore the boundaries of their imaginations.The program
did a great job of teaching children to be imaginative whilemaking them more
literate,” Yale
Children’s Hospital - New Haven, CT
“The children absolutely loved
your program. The teachers all had a
wonderful time and thought the program was outstanding. Joe had a wonderful way of relating to all
age groups,” PTA & Office Administration,
Branchville School - Ridgefield, CT
I
just want to say you were a breath of fresh air! I can’t wait for my
youngest son to see you “live” someday soon. I’m writing to just say
“Thanks” our world needs people like you!” Heidi
Johnson, Parent, Brookfield, CT
"I put the Huga Tuga plush toy you gave
our school with your book and he gets checked out from the library and taken
home almost nightly for students to read and snuggle with. They love the set.
Thank you again for all you have done to enhance literacy at Middle Gate and
Newtown!” Gail
Huitt, Language Arts Director, Middle Gate School - Newtown, CT
"What a wonderful educational
experience. The children loved your
literary show!! My son came home so excited about it. I mentioned
it at our PTA meeting last night to get feedback, and everyone said their
children came home excited and said they loved it!" Sue
Dow, PTA President, McKinley School - Fairfield, CT
"What
an amazing educational experience.
Authors usually visit our school and simply read from their books but
Joe's interactive program was absolutely enthralling. I have never seen the students so excited
about reading. The teachers are still
talking about it. We work with Putnam/Westchester Boces to help
subsidize the cost of our programs and highly recommend Huga Tuga Literary
Theater to all schools who place a high value on reading, writing and the
arts,"
Diane Sinitsky (PTO Cultural Arts Coordinator) - Brewster, NY Elementary
Schools
“Wow! “Thank you so much for
visiting our school and making our Readers Celebration such a wonderful
success. Huga Tuga is so cool! The
children had an awesome experience!" Ellen
Levesque, 2nd Grade
Teacher - Center School, Ellington, CT
“I
just wanted to say thank you for the great performance today at our school. My
first grade class loved it!!”
Maria Aparo, Teacher, Webb School,
Wethersfield, CT
“I have never seen the children so excited about reading. A pep rally indeed,” Katie Adams,
Teacher,” Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School, Boonton, NJ
“Mr. Joseph Shandrowski,
the author of the HUGA TUGA adventure books, came to Rockwell Elementary School
on March 31st for two presentations. The shows were excellent! He talked about
how the children can use their imaginations to write and draw. He showed us his
newest book and how he wrote the story. He was funny and entertaining and used
many props to involve our imaginations. He drew a picture of a cartoon pencil
and showed us how he used his imagination to complete the drawing. He was
awesome! Our Principal for the Day,
Timmy, absolutely loved the show and he recommends the books to everyone!” Brian Kirmil, Principal, Rockwell School,
Bethel, CT
“To sit and watch the
eye opening reaction of the students and teachers as they experienced Huga Tuga
Literary Theater was something I will never forget. If the goal of your enrichment committee is
to bring in programs that will impact the lives of the students for years to
come - Huga Tuga Literary Theater has to be at the very top of your list. I don't know if we realize how lucky we are
here in Connecticut to have an educational program like this at out disposal," Mary
Squicciarino, PTA Director, Wolf Pit School – Norwalk, CT
"Everyone in town who has experienced your program has absolutely
raved about it. Thanks so much. It
was truly a magical literary experience," Jen Ackerman, PTO, South School - Southington, CT
"Two years in a
row! I just wanted to let you know
that they absolutely loved you!! Thanks so much,"
Cynthia
Colbrook, PTA , Austin Road School – Mahopac, NY
“I talked to
the teacher’s about the effectiveness of the program and each one of them could
not say enough positive things. The children
absolutely loved the books you signed for them. It is definitely something the
children will remember for a long time.
Thank you so much!” Howard Landman, Principal, Sterling School –
Plainfield, CT
“Joe, your program was
something very special. We are so accustomed to author programs that are
not age appropriate or authors who just visit to sell books. It was so
refreshing to experience a program that not only showed children the world of
an author but also how important reading is. The program directly related to
each age group and was animated, fun and definitely an experience the children
will remember for years to come. This is what enrichment programs should
be all about.” Teaching
Staff, Daisy Ingraham School - Westbrook, CT
“The other principals in town raved
about your performance and now I know why.
It was truly a one of a kind reading experience,” Pr. Nocera,
Plantsville School – Southington, CT
“You were the HIT of our
book fair! (8 other authors participated). It was a wonderful, lively and
inspiring presentation. I have never seen the kids so excited about reading and
the arts. You made their imaginations
come alive. Our entire schools would
like to thank you for a terrific
experience that the teachers and children loved and will long remember,” Allison
Doucet, LMS & Cathy Lawlor, PTA, Farmingville School - Ridgefield, CT
“It is people like you that make the beautiful
State of Connecticut such a wonderful place to live. Your continuing concern for early childhood
literacy education is important to our states future. Your thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated,” ***Governor
M. Jodi Rell – State of Connecticut
“Thanks! Great books! Hunter
absolutely loved your performance. It is
all he talks about,” Sharon Stolze, Parent, Quaker Farms School, Oxford, CT
NBC -
"MAKING THE GRADE"
COPY & PASTE FOR VIDEO LINK
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Huga_Tuga_Hartford-118996784.html
“Keynote Speaker: An
Evening of Reading - Thank you so much for your pre-visit on Friday. The children were so excited. I can’t wait for the performance. We expect a full house on Monday!”
Jen Bagliavio, Reading
Coordinator, South School, New Canaan CT
"What a wonderful educational experience. The children loved your literary
show!! My son came home so excited about it. I mentioned it at our
PTA meeting last night to get feedback, and everyone said their children came
home excited and said they loved it!" Sue Dow, PTA President - McKinley School, Fairfield
“The kids
absolutely loved Huga Tuga. The kids
raved about the special effects, Huga Tuga song and the freeze dance. It was the most creative literary program I
have seen. P.S. – The mom’s wanted me to
thank you. Their kids brought home the
Huga Tuga books and they read them every night while snuggling with the plush
toy,” Sarah Grant, Teacher -
Noroton School, Darien, CT
“You were the HIT of our
book fair! (8 other authors participated). It was a wonderful, lively and
inspiring presentation. I have never seen the kids so excited about reading and
the arts. You made their imaginations
come alive. Our entire schools would like
to thank you for a terrific experience
that the teachers and children loved and will long remember,” Allison
Doucet, LMS & Cathy Lawlor, PTA, Farmingville School - Ridgefield, CT
"Hundred’s of Wilcoxson School
(Stratford) students were wowed as children’s author Joe Shandrowski treated
them to a light show, bubbles, and smoke to help them use their
imaginations. “The object is to get
children to realize the amazing things they can create through reading, writing
and the use of their imaginations," WTNH Channel 8 Making The
Grade - Educational Program
“Hatton
School was privileged to have Joe Shandrowski, author of Huga Tuga, a
children’s book, come to do a program for our K-5 students. Joe, not only shared how he got his ideas, he
shared his process of writing and illustrating his books (through an amazing
special effects experience). His program
was extremely interactive and really kept the students’ interest,” Mrs.
Roberta McAloon, Principal - Southington, CT
“You were the HIT of our
book fair! (8 other authors participated). It was a wonderful, lively and
inspiring presentation. I have never seen the kids so excited about reading and
the arts. You made their imaginations
come alive. Our entire schools would
like to thank you for a terrific experience
that the teachers and children loved and will long remember,” Allison
Doucet, LMS & Cathy Lawlor, PTA, Farmingville School - Ridgefield, CT
“Thank you
for everything on Tuesday. The children
absolutely loved it! All we hear is Huga
Tuga around the school,” Melissa, O’Halloran, Parent, Armonk NY
“My child absolutely loved the performance and the Dinosaur Adventure
book. She can’t wait to get her copy of
the Seashell Mystery,” Kris Griffith, Parent, Trinity School, Caldwell, NJ
