Book Guides & Resources
Plan an Author Visit With Mr. J and the Tower That Fell
Plan an author visit with Mr. J and the Tower That Fell using clear goals, audience choices, preparation steps, student questions, and booking links.
An author visit with Mr. J and the Tower That Fell can turn a read-aloud into a wider school conversation about emotions, responsibility, movement, and beginning again. Hey! It’s Mr. J offers school assemblies and author visits. This planning guide helps a school identify goals, prepare students and staff, develop useful questions, and use the verified school assemblies page and contact page for current details.
Illustration by Hafsa Asad: the book's resilience lesson carried beyond the final page
Begin an Author Visit With Mr. J and the Tower That Fell
Dave Joisil, known as Mr. J, is a certified Health and Physical Education teacher, children’s author, artist, and children’s media creator. Hey! It’s Mr. J uses music, movement, mindfulness, hip-hop energy, resilience, self-belief, and emotional regulation to help children live healthy and happy lives.
*Mr. J and the Tower That Fell*, illustrated by Hafsa Asad, follows Mr. J after delayed responsibility contributes to uneven work with his best friend. The friendship changes, the tower falls, and he moves through stuckness, creativity, honesty, tears, and one-block-at-a-time rebuilding.
A visit can draw on both the story and Mr. J’s educator perspective. Schools should confirm the current program format, availability, capacity, timing, travel or virtual options, pricing, accessibility, and technical requirements directly rather than assuming details. The official booking pathways are the sources for those specifics.
Choose One or Two Visit Goals
A clear purpose helps the school and presenter shape a coherent experience. Suitable goals might include introducing an independently created children’s book, reinforcing emotional regulation language, exploring accountability after mistakes, celebrating literacy and the arts, or connecting movement with a resilience message.
Do not attempt to fit every SEL priority into one event. For younger students, the central idea may be “name a feeling, breathe, and take one small step.” Older students might consider how intention differs from contribution or how honesty and support help after a setback.
Write the goal in a sentence and share it when inquiring: “Our K–2 students are practicing how to begin a large task with one manageable action.” That gives the planning conversation more value than a general request for an inspirational assembly.
Select the Audience and Setting
Amazon lists the book’s reading age as 4–8, and adult-guided conversation can extend across K–5. A single K–5 gathering may build community, while narrower grade bands allow vocabulary and questions to be better tailored. Ask what grouping the available program supports.
Consider room size, seating, sight lines, sound, sensory load, transitions, and mobility access. If movement is included, define safe personal space and provide seated participation options. Assign staff to normal supervision roles; an author visit does not replace the school’s behavior, safety, or student-support procedures.
If students will receive books, coordinate edition and distribution plans separately. The bulk book order guide covers ISBNs, quantities, and the special-order email. Do not promise signed or personalized copies unless that arrangement is explicitly confirmed.
Preparation Checklist
- Review current offerings at school assemblies, then send logistical questions through contact.
- Identify grade levels, estimated attendance, preferred dates, venue, time window, and accessibility needs.
- Share the school’s learning goal and any relevant schedule or technology constraints.
- Decide whether students will read the book before, during, or after the visit.
- Confirm adult supervision, arrival procedures, parking or virtual access, and a day-of contact.
- Ask before advertising program content, book sales, signing, recording, photography, or livestreaming.
- Prepare a backup transition activity in case normal school scheduling changes.
Written confirmation protects everyone from mismatched assumptions. Keep families informed according to school policy, especially when books are sold or images may be captured.
Dave Joisil, known as Mr. J, leaping energetically against his bright orange brand backdrop
Prepare Students Without Scripting Them
Give students enough context to participate: the author is also an educator and artist, the book uses a tower to explore rebuilding, and respectful questions are welcome. A class may preview the complete book guide or read the book beforehand if that fits the confirmed visit design.
Generate questions in class, then sort them into story, creative process, teaching, and message. Remove requests for private details, spoilers the school wants to preserve, and questions that assume unverified facts. Invite students to ask how a choice was made rather than demanding a single hidden meaning.
Useful questions include: Why was a tower the right image for this story? How do words and illustrations work together? What does being a teacher add to creating for children? How can someone make a large creative project manageable? Why can accountability and self-compassion belong together?
The book grew from a deeply personal chapter after a painful breakup and rebuilding from emotional loss. Students do not need private details about that experience. A respectful question may ask how creators transform a difficult feeling into child-appropriate art without asking about the former partner, timeline, or events.
Extend the Visit Afterward
Within a day or two, have students recall one idea and turn it into action. Younger children can place a block after naming a classroom task’s first step. Older students can write three sentences: what fell, what remained, and what could be rebuilt differently—in a fictional or academic scenario.
Teachers can also use the companion activities or reading comprehension questions. Select one extension that serves the original visit goal instead of assigning a large packet.
Thank-you messages can mention a specific idea students are carrying forward. Follow school privacy practices and obtain any needed permission before sharing student work publicly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are author visits and school assemblies available?
Yes. Hey! It’s Mr. J offers school assemblies and author visits. Confirm current formats, availability, and terms through the official pages.
What ages can participate?
The book is listed for ages 4–8, with broader K–5 guided discussion possible. Ask which audience grouping best fits the current program.
Where should a school begin?
Review /school-assemblies, gather the planning details above, and use /contact to make an inquiry.
Bring *Mr. J and the Tower That Fell* Home
This book fits schools that want an author-centered literacy experience grounded in movement, emotional honesty, creative process, and a practical resilience metaphor.
Order *Mr. J and the Tower That Fell* on Amazon or visit the official book page to learn more about the story, classroom use, bulk school orders, and author visits.
Dave Joisil—known as Mr. J—is a certified Health and Physical Education teacher and an independent Black male children's author. Supporting his independently published work helps make room for more educator-created stories and Black male representation in children's books.